Jill Penton-Browne finds out how to have the perfect pool

Remember Henk and Greet? They’re the Dutch couple I wrote about back in the spring who had trouble with the pool that came with the villa they’d bought just outside of Théoule. “It seemed okay at first sight,” Henk said, “but we had problems soon enough.” Keeping the pool and its water clean turned out to be expensive. They ended up paying a local youngster seventy euros a week to do the job. Then there was the problem of disinfecting the water. An ill-advised use of chlorine led to the couple having “punk-style green hair”. There were further snags with the heating.

“Every aspect of a pool’s functioning”
To avoid such a chapter of accidents the solution is to get an expert in. I talked recently with Robert Petit of SWIT Pools in Saint-Laurent-du-Var. “What those people discovered — painfully — is that a pool can be a headache. But it needn’t be. I’ve been in the business for twenty-five years of helping people have a trouble-free relationship with their pool so they can enjoy it with no worries.” So what happens if you call in the man from SWIT? “Well, think of me as your pool doctor. I’ll come over and have a look at what you’ve got and make a diagnosis. I’ll tell you if anything’s wrong — with the actual physical structure, for example — and what needs to be done and what can be improved. I’ll give you a quote and then, if you’re happy, we sign a contract. Afterwards you can have a maintenance agreement allowing for regular check-ups.”

Robert deals with every aspect of a pool’s functioning from water supply to heating. “One specific feature of our service is the S.A.T.I.N. system of treating the water. The advantage of this is that it’s fully automatic and makes no use of chemical products. I won’t go into the technical details but it depends on natural ionisation. It guarantees water that is pure and has no smell, no taste and no funny colour. It controls the pH level and at the same time it kills off bacteria and algae. The only restriction is that it’s only applicable to tiled pools not those lined with plastic or concrete. But tiles are best, anyway, and it could be a good idea to change.”

“It’s the right time … ”
On a greyish November day spring and summer may seem distant. But it’s exactly the right time to think of renovating your pool. Adds Robert, “I’ve dealt with a lot of English-speaking clients — Brits, Dutch, Scandinavians and the rest. I’m quite happy to refer anyone who’s interested to my old customers. I know what they’ll say … ” 

From Reporter 106 - Dec 2004

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