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If you are preparing for an Orange County health department pool inspection in the Orlando area, start with what inspectors actually marked in Sep 26–Oct 25, 2026: 212 public pools were Pool Closed or Unsatisfactory, and Flowmeter led the citation list. Below is a practical order of fixes for Orlando, Winter Park, Ocoee and the rest of Orange County — mapped to DOH form DH 920.
Buy the $9 checklist See Orange failure statsCounty health department inspectors use the statewide DH 920 inspection key under Florida Administrative Code Chapter 64E-9. They walk the deck, test water quality, review the maintenance log, and inspect the equipment room. Results that show up as Pool Closed or Unsatisfactory in the public search are the ones property managers and service companies care about most.
Free chlorine/bromine, pH, stabilizer, and appearance. Out-of-range chemistry is a top reason pools close the same day.
Life ring, life hook, rules signs, fences/gates, suction outlet covers, handrails and lighting.
Filter/pump, flowmeter, gauges, feeders, autofill, and the daily maintenance log (DH 921-style records).
Ordered by how often each DH 920 item appeared on Pool Closed and Unsatisfactory records in our Sep 26–Oct 25, 2026 public-records tally (212 facilities). Not a substitute for the inspector’s judgment.
Confirm the flowmeter works and reads
Flowmeters must be functional and readable across roughly half to 1.5× design flow. A stuck or missing meter is a frequent close-out item.
Check pressure and vacuum gauges
Gauges should be installed and readable on the filter system. Replace cracked or fogged faces before inspection day.
Set water level for continuous skim
Water should skim the gutters/skimmers at rest. Fix autofill so the level does not drop overnight.
Test free chlorine every day the pool is open
Keep free chlorine in the DOH range (typically 1–10 ppm for conventional pools; spas higher). Have a DPD test kit on site.
Mount a life ring with rope
Ring buoy with attached rope must be present and usable from the deck — not locked in a shed.
Check fence and gate hardware
Gates should self-close and self-latch; fencing and barriers must meet the applicable public-pool rules.
Keep pH between 7.2 and 7.8
Adjust with the pH feeder before the inspector arrives; out-of-range pH often pairs with chlorine citations.
Fill out the daily maintenance log
DOH expects a daily record of disinfectant and pH on days the pool is open, plus weekly cyanuric acid when used.
Confirm flowmeter and gauges read, feeders run, pump hits design flow, chemical drums are labeled, and the equipment room is dry and lit.
Stabilize chlorine and pH in range, clear algae, set water level for continuous skim, and catch the maintenance log up to date.
Test water with the approved kit, check life ring/hook, rules signs, gates, suction covers, and post the latest inspection report if your pool type requires it.
Orange County Environmental Health handles public pool permitting and inspections under FAC 64E-9. Confirm any local scheduling details with the county health department. This guide is for commercial/public pools (hotels, condos, apartments, HOAs), not residential home-sale inspections.
Our $9 PDF maps plain-language tasks to DH 920 codes and is ranked by real citation frequency across Florida counties we have tallied. Use it with the Orange-specific order above.
Not legal advice. The DOH inspector’s judgment governs. Citations: public FDOH inspection records; DH 920 key.
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