Anyone can keep a pool clean in winter, but as summer approaches you need to be on your game. Nobody likes green water, so out to the pool I go.

I notice a few things not right. First, the skimmer box inflow is very low. Debris remains on the water surface after the filtration cycle is finished. Perhaps something’s wrong with my filtration pump – that could be expensive. Secondly, I notice that the weir doors to the skimmer boxes have both snapped at the pivot and fallen flat – a minor problem easily fixed. I’ll deal with that first.  

So off to the pool shop I go. I get two new weir doors (expensive enough at $114) and, after installation, the water flow magically improves, and all the floating debris is gone.

Turns out there was nothing wrong with my filtration pump at all. My only problem was broken weir doors. They not only held floating debris within the skimmer box, but also restricted the cross-sectional water flow into the skimmer box to a thin top layer, resulting in a much faster flow velocity and hence more effective surface skimming.

I was reminded of a foundational Christian truth. Paul writes about the local church, ‘Those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable… If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honoured, every part rejoices with it’ (1 Cor 12:22, 26).

If at times you feel like a humble weir door, don’t despair. God’s church is not complete without you. If Penno is to fulfil the good works God has established for us, we need your contribution, however humble it may seem to yourself or others.