Dirty pool, Dulwich Leisure Centre

[ctovey]

Just back from a swim at Dulwich Leisure Centre.  Whilst in the pool, we saw the lobby outside the family changing room being washed,  The person doing the cleaning then washed the mats taken from the family changing room and then put them in the pool, laying them on the steps!!!.  Not only was this dangerous - they were laid on the top step in such a way that they overlapped the step -  when we got out  there was a load of grit on the top step where they were taken out.

When we got changed, I asked at the desk to speak to the manager.  Guess who it was??? The guy who had been doing the cleaning!!!!  I said I was actually complaining about what he had done with the mats ie, dumping them in the pool.  His response - 'Did I dump them too aggressively for you?'  When I said I thought it was unhygienic to put the mats in the pool , his response was that he had actually cleaned them, but had put them in the pool to remove the residual cleaning fluid!!!!!  I don't know what's worse - having cleaning fluid dumped in the pool or the dirt!  He also asked how I knew the dirt in the pool was from the mats???

Wonderful customer service!  I won't be going back in a hurry!

[Sue]

7 hours ago, ctovey said:

Just back from a swim at Dulwich Leisure Centre.  Whilst in the pool, we saw the lobby outside the family changing room being washed,  The person doing the cleaning then washed the mats taken from the family changing room and then put them in the pool, laying them on the steps!!!.  Not only was this dangerous - they were laid on the top step in such a way that they overlapped the step -  when we got out  there was a load of grit on the top step where they were taken out.

When we got changed, I asked at the desk to speak to the manager.  Guess who it was??? The guy who had been doing the cleaning!!!!  I said I was actually complaining about what he had done with the mats ie, dumping them in the pool.  His response - 'Did I dump them too aggressively for you?'  When I said I thought it was unhygienic to put the mats in the pool , his response was that he had actually cleaned them, but had put them in the pool to remove the residual cleaning fluid!!!!!  I don't know what's worse - having cleaning fluid dumped in the pool or the dirt!  He also asked how I knew the dirt in the pool was from the mats???

Wonderful customer service!  I won't be going back in a hurry!

That's really awful.

There must be someone further up the management chain who could be made aware of this? 

[ctovey]

I intend to if I can find a link on the website to make a complaint.  The guy shouldn't be a manager with his attitude!

[Azalea]

Thanks for flagging this up.

[Curmudgeon]

The staff at Dulwich are generally fairly unpleasant to customers, with the odd exception.  It’s like all human pleasantries and helpfulness have been surgically removed 

[claresy]

I thought the manager there was a woman.

[Sue]

1 hour ago, claresy said:

I thought the manager there was a woman.

I think there is a separate swimming manager and an overall manager of the whole centre, but I might be wrong.

It's a while since I've used the pool.

[ctovey]

I asked at the desk for the manager and the girl went into the office and this guy came out and said he was the manager.  Incidentally, he was the person who put the mats in the pool.  He obviously thought there was no problem in what he did.  In the past I've seen the attendants using a bucket to scoop water from the pool to clean the surrounding area, so it seems to be acceptable to contaminate the pool.

[Sue]

There was a change in the company running the leisure centre, wasn't there?

Who oversees that? The council? 

The pool manager or the general manager must ultimately be  responsible to someone outwith that company?

Edited 21 hours ago by Sue

[ctovey]

I have just seen that the pool has been closed temporarily 'due to an imbalance in PH levels'.

[Sue]

8 minutes ago, ctovey said:

I have just seen that the pool has been closed temporarily 'due to an imbalance in PH levels'.

What on earth does that mean?

Imbalance between the  pH  levels of what and what?

Edited 19 hours ago by Sue

[wozroy]

51 minutes ago, Sue said:

What on earth does that mean?

Imbalance between the  pH  levels of what and what?

Probably that's its below or above the acceptable level for swimming (7.2-7.6)

[Sue]

53 minutes ago, wozroy said:

Probably that's its below or above the acceptable level for swimming (7.2-7.6)

I think I'm just pedantically quibbling about the use of the term "imbalance", sorry.

Maybe all this cleaning stuff they seem to be putting in the pool has affected the pH 🙄

[David Peckham]

1 hour ago, Sue said:

I think I'm just pedantically quibbling about the use of the term "imbalance", sorry.

Maybe all this cleaning stuff they seem to be putting in the pool has affected the pH 🙄

Unlikely.

It would take a little more than a bit of Milton to alter the pH of eighty-odd thousand gallons of water.

[Sue]

10 hours ago, David Peckham said:

Unlikely.

It would take a little more than a bit of Milton to alter the pH of eighty-odd thousand gallons of water.

🤣

Very true!

So how did the pH get "imbalanced" ?

And how are they going to "rebalance" it?

And how often do they test it, and what is the health implication of this "imbalance"?

Edited 5 hours ago by Sue

[David Peckham]

1 hour ago, Sue said:

🤣

Very true!

So how did the pH get "imbalanced" ?

And how are they going to "rebalance" it?

And how often do they test it, and what is the health implication of this "imbalance"?

Well, Sue, much of this should really only be answered by a fully qualified pool technician.

Online courses are available for about fifty quid.

I think they check the pH daily, that's the recommendation.

London water is naturally 'hard' and generally has a pH above that of a swimming pool, but it's perfectly fine to drink. Introducing an acid will bring the pH down. I believe hydrochloric acid is the fashion. 

Still fancy that daily dip?

As regards health issues, skin or eye irritation seem to be the main issues of an imbalance in pH levels.

The only pool problem I've ever had was my hair going a bit green after an ill-judged home peroxide job as a teenager.
 

Edited 4 hours ago by David Peckham
Sp

[Sue]

I find it worrying that the pH problem was considered  bad enough for the pool to be closed.

Something must either have been wrong with the water going into the pool in the first place, or something was added afterwards which shouldn't have been, or in the wrong quantity?

Whatever, surely there should be checks every time a change of any kind  is made to the water, and appropriate action taken?

Or was this closure a result of such a check? In which case, I wonder what went wrong?

 

[ianr]

According to https://www.compass-pools.co.uk/learning-centre/news/the-complete-guide-to-swimming-pool-maintenance/: ...

"Your weekly tasks should include: ... 

• Checking the pH levels and adjusting the water balance ...
• The ideal pH rating of swimming pool water is between 7.0 and 7.6. Anything lower than 7.0 and metals and pool finishes can start to corrode, while anything above 7.8 and there can be issues with scaling due to calcium salts in the water and chlorine becoming ineffective."

And for comparison of different pH values, see for example the examples chart at https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/z38bbqt#zb2kkty

There are several other sites that can easily be found that say something about variation and correction of pool pH levels.

 

[David Peckham]

43 minutes ago, Sue said:

I find it worrying that the pH problem was considered  bad enough for the pool to be closed.

Something must either have been wrong with the water going into the pool in the first place, or something was added afterwards which shouldn't have been, or in the wrong quantity?

Whatever, surely there should be checks every time a change of any kind  is made to the water, and appropriate action taken?

Or was this closure a result of such a check? In which case, I wonder what went wrong?

 

Word on the street is that somebody overcompensated for the 'Gritty Steps' debacle.

Expect heads to roll.

Nuff said.