Where normally swimmers swim their laps or children splash in the water, there are currently only empty pools, and in them manner with rubber boots, to see.
One of them is swimming master denis latyshev, strong stature, friendly and above all hardworking. Let's get one thing straight: nothing bad happened here. But once a year, in the first two weeks of september, the rodenbad is closed.
The basic cleaning is pending. Although the term is probably a little too simple for the many different jobs that latyshev and his two swimming pool attendants, markus ehrlicher and andreas lurz, as well as some cleaning staff, have to do.
Much more than just cleaning
"We drain the water, check and repair the joints, maintain the technology, check the entire operation and make everything hygienically clean", says latyschev and goes down the stairs into the branched cellar. Pipes, cocks and flashing displays dominate the picture here and an unexpected warm one drives some sweat drops on the forehead. The swimming pool attendant stops at two blue boxes where he can read the chlorine content, ph value and redox voltage.
"Here, the water is monitored for 24 hours, and if something is wrong, we get a signal. We also check the water three times a day by hand with a measuring strip", explains latyshev. At the next station, the 42-year-old rodentaler immediately picks up a touch pen and uses it to print around on a screen showing pipes, basins and many luminous dots. "They are all flashing red, because the plant is currently in operation", says latyshev. At the moment, his day-to-day work looks more like that of an IT technician.
Swimming pool master also for EDP
"Swimming supervisor is a misleading term, people think we run around all day on the edge of the pool and watch people swim", he emphasizes. Continue through the narrow aisles to a rough silver box. Behind this is a second "for each tank there is a separate beam, so that they can work independently of each other", he explains.
Hidden inside, quite inconspicuous from the outside, is the new and advanced ceramic filter system. It is the pride and joy of the three swimming pool masters and also of their boss, michael eckhardt, the managing director of the rodental public utility company. "The pool was closed for a year and a half until mid-2012 for basic energy renovations.
That's also when we decided on the new filter system, which requires much less chlorine", explains eckhardt. The refurbishment cost around four million euros, including 600,000 euros for the special filter, of which there are only very few in germany, as the manager points out.
Soft water for delicate skin
"People always ask how we get the water so soft", says latyshev. His boss explains: "less chlorine means less aggressive water, which is particularly beneficial for baby swimming or other courses." Meanwhile, upstairs, water is being pushed into the coarse pool from a hose. "It takes two days for the 400 cubic meters to be in the pool and then another three days for the temperature of 28 degrees to be reached", explains latyshev. He grabs a scrubber and looks for his colleague markus ehrlicher. Together they go into the water area and polish up the coarse female paddling pool. Because everything has to be in tiptop condition before the reopening on monday.