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If you are preparing for a Pinellas County health department pool inspection, start with what inspectors actually marked in Oct 10–Nov 9, 2026: 255 public pools were Pool Closed or Unsatisfactory, and Maintenance log led the citation list. Below is a practical order of fixes for St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Largo and the rest of Pinellas County — mapped to DOH form DH 920.
Buy the $9 checklist See Pinellas 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 Oct 10–Nov 9, 2026 public-records tally (255 facilities). Not a substitute for the inspector’s judgment.
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.
Run the filter and pump at design flow
A dead pump, bypassed filter, or system that cannot hit design flow is a common Unsatisfactory or Closed result.
Check pressure and vacuum gauges
Gauges should be installed and readable on the filter system. Replace cracked or fogged faces before inspection day.
Inspect suction outlet covers
Covers must be in place, intact, and compliant. Missing or broken covers are serious.
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.
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.
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.
Tighten handrails and ladders
Loose, missing, or damaged handrails/ladders are called out on deck walkthroughs.
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.
Pinellas 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. Status shown is as published at the time of the failing inspection (full later-outcome re-check was skipped for this county).
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 Pinellas-specific order above.
Not legal advice. The DOH inspector’s judgment governs. Citations: public FDOH inspection records; DH 920 key.
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