You’ve probably heard the saying, “You get what you pay for.” Well, it’s true–with anything, and definitely with pool chemicals. Big box stores can sell products at a lower cost because, typically, they purchase lower-quality products. They put a bid out for a product, and whoever can deliver for the lowest price wins the bid. This means the product comes from who-knows-where, and the quality control is mediocre at best. We have no way of knowing  what kinds of additives are in these chemicals, or what they might do. Often, the glue that is used to hold lower-quality chlorine tablets together can be damaging to pool equipment, gumming them up and keeping them from working properly. Low-quality chemicals can be harmful for pools and for swimmers.

Pool stores are stocked and run by people who care about pools and who know what it takes to keep them running well. The chemicals purchased at your local pool store might be a little more expensive, but they will be well worth the price. They are of higher quality, meaning they will work better in addition to being less damaging to your pool. The products that are sold at pool stores are not stocked by the lowest bidder. Instead, they are stocked for their quality and effectiveness. You can be more confident about the quality of these chemicals, and the ingredients in them.

So, while it might be slightly more inconvenient to make a trip to the pool store, and you  might have to pay a couple extra dollars, it will be well worth it in the end. You can be confident in your chemicals, knowing they are of good quality and will not harm your pool or the people who swim in it.

There are different ways to fill up a swimming pool. For a standard swimming pool opening, hose water is adequate for most homeowners. However, some homeowners have trouble with hard water or other problems with their well water. Sometimes, homeowners may be tempted to fill their swimming pools from easy sources, but that might not always be the best option. For example, filling a swimming pool from a fire hydrant can create a lot of problems with the water balance, and can result in cloudy water that can take days or weeks to straighten out. Similarly, filling a pool with an outdoor water source like a pond or stream can leave a homeowner with dirty or cloudy water that is incredibly difficult to balance.

If your water is questionable, we highly recommend you hire a water truck to fill your swimming pool for you. Most water trucks can hold from 8,000 to 9,000 gallons of water. This water is clean, clear, and of great quality. For a swimming pool opening, if you have qualms about your hose water or whatever other water source you might use, one truck of water should be sufficient. If you are having your liner replaced, your gunite acid washed, or need to fill your pool completely for another reason, most swimming pools will take 2 trucks. In most cases, it’s perfectly okay to top off your swimming pool with hose water or another water source, but it is really important that the majority of the pool is filled with clean, high-quality water.

If there is any question at all, we think it’s worth it to get a water truck. It is much easier to maintain clean and balanced water when it starts out clean. It will make your pool season much more enjoyable, you’ll be able to swim sooner, and you won’t have to fight with your water chemistry all summer long trying to get it in balance.

If your vinyl liner has seen better days or is worn out due to age, sunlight or other issues, a new liner is just the thing to make your pool feel bright and new again. Watch as this vinyl liner is replaced and showcases a new backyard swimming pool for the owners to enjoy for years to come!

. Enjoy!

A must for saltwater pools!

We get a lot of Ask the Pool Guy questions about what the proper water chemistry levels are for a swimming pool. Here are some of our guidelines that you can follow:

Water Chemistry Quick Reference:

• FCL 1.0-3.0 ppm
• pH 7.2-7.6
• TA or ALK 80-120
• CH 200-350 Gunite Pools or 150-200 Vinyl Pools
• CYA 30-60
• TDS <1500 in non salt pools, the lower the number the better

Water Chemistry Quick Definitions:

• FC – Free Chlorine – Free chlorine does the hard work of killing bacteria and oxidizing contaminants. Chlorine must be constantly replenished.
• TC – Total Chlroine – When the free chlorine combines with contaminants, it becomes combined chlorine, or chloramines. In water, this form of chlorine has very little sanitizing ability, and no oxidizing ability. Total chlorine is just the sum of both combined chlorine and free chlorine.
• pH – Acidity/Alkalinity – Needs to be kept in balance to prevent irritation and protect the pool equipment. (7.2 to 7.6)
• TA – Total Alkalinity – Appropriate levels help keep the pH in balance. High levels can cause pH to rise. Always adjust TA before adjusting pH
• CH – Calcium Hardness – Appropriate levels help prevent plaster damage. High levels can cause calcium scaling, low levels plaster etching.
• CYA – Cyanuric Acid – Protects chlorine from sunlight and determines the required FC level.
• Salt - The salt level should be in line with the salt generator manufacturer directions. Under 4,000 ppm according to the Pentair IntelliChlor Units (3,000-3,500)

A note about: Salt Water Pools - when you are generating chlorine with a salt water system you may find that the pH tends to run high. Liquid chlorine has a pH of approx. 8. To offset this pH you may need to add pH reducer or muratic acid to the pool. You can also keep the alkalinity on the low end of around 80ppm which should help the pH stay on the lower levels.

Total Hardness: (Total Dissolved Solids)

Total hardness in swimming pools is a measure of all the dissolved minerals such as calcium, magnesium and sodium.

TDS or Total Dissolved Solids is the measure of the total of all the soluble substances dissolved in the water. It is usually measured by assessing the electrical conductivity of the pool water.

Distilled or pure water has a TDS value of 0 ppm. Drinking water can have a maximum TDS value of 500 ppm according to EPA Water Standards.

For regular fresh water swimming pools, the maximum recommended TDS level is 1,500 ppm. Values above this can lead to problems such as cloudy pool water, staining of the pool surfaces, scaling, hard water and a salty taste. TDS values of up to 4,000 ppm and more have been noted in some well-balanced pool water so the individual levels of total alkalinity, hardness, conditioner, pH and metals should be considered along with the general state of the pool and its chemical demand. The TDS value should be used as an indicator of the volume of soluble particles in the pool relative to that of the fill water used.

In swimming pools using salt-chlorine generators, the large volume of salt added radically increase the TDS level, so any measurements are redundant due to the addition of salt.

If the pool water has become saturated with contaminants and the TDS level confirms this, the pool should ideally be drained and refilled with fresh water. There is no method to reduce TDS effectively without replacing some or all of the swimming pool water.

FC – Free Chlorine

Maintaining an appropriate FC level is the most important part of keeping your water in balance. It is important that you do not allow FC to get too low, or you run the risk of getting algae.

Free chlorine shows the level of disinfecting chlorine available (active plus reserve) to keep your pool sanitary. FC should be tested, and chlorine added daily. If you have an automatic feeder or SWG, you can test it every couple of days. FC is consumed by sunlight, and by breaking down organic material in your pool. The level of FC you need to maintain depends on your CYA level and how much you use the pool.

pH- Acidity/Alkalinity

pH indicates how acidic or basic the water is. pH should be tested daily at first. Once you gain experience with your pool, less frequent monitoring may be appropriate, depending on your pool’s typical rate of pH change.

pH levels below 7.2 tend to make eyes sting or burn. PH below 6.8 can cause damage to metal parts, particularly pool heaters with copper heat exchange coils. High pH can lead to calcium scaling.

For lowering pH use either muriatic acid or dry acid. To raise pH use soda ash.

TA – Total Alkalinity

Total alkalinity is a measure of the total alkaline substances found in the pool water. Total alkalinity indicates the water’s ability to buffer pH changes. Buffering means you need to use a larger quantity of a chemical to change the pH. At low TA levels, the pH tends to swing around wildly. At high TA levels, the PH tends to drift up. TA should always be adjusted prior to making pH adjustments.

Total Alkalinity, or TA, should usually be kept at 80 – 120 ppm, though in high alkalinity waters this is often hard to achieve without resulting in an abnormally low pH.

Low Total Alkalinity

The results of a low TA may be one or more of the following:

• etching of the plaster, marbelite, marcite or tile grouting;
• corrosion of metal parts (pool heater, steps, scoop pole, . . .);
• staining of the pool’s surfaces;
• green water;
• burning eyes and itchy skin;
• pH bounce (rapid fluctuations in pH).

Raising low total alkalinity

Sodium bicarbonate (bicarb) will raise the TA without excessively raising the pH. Regular pH-up will raise the pH as well as the TA and should not be used. Care should be taken to increase the TA over a period of time, adding a maximum of 1 pound of bicarb for each 6,000 gallons of water. The bicarb can be added at this rate every 4 days, until the required level is reached.

High Total Alkalinity

The results of high TA may be one or more of the following:

• pH keeps going up despite regular addition of pH-down;
• cloudy water ;
• burning eyes and itchy skin;
• reduced chlorine efficiency resulting in algae growth.

Lowering high total alkalinity

Regular small “acid shocks” with pH-down will reduce the pH while lowering the TA. This can be an extremely slow process and it may take weeks or longer to reduce high TA. One suggested method is as follows:

• turn off the pumps and allowing the water to settle;
• slowly add the pH-reducer into one spot in the deep end of the pool;
• allow the chemicals to “burn off” some of the alkalinity for 15 – 30 minutes (You may notice some bubbles rising to the surface. This is carbon dioxide and is indicative of the destruction of excess alkalinity.);
• turn the pumps back on and allow the water to mix thoroughly.

The above method should be used only when the pH is high and your pool requires pH-reducer. If the pH is normal, adding a shock will reduce the pH to undesirable levels resulting in further pool problems.

Care should be taken not to let the pH-reducer sit for too long as it will begin etching and softening the plaster, marbelite, marcite or tile grouting. It is also recommended to dilute the pH reducer in a bucket of water before adding to the pool to prevent this problem from occurring.

CH – Calcium Hardness

Calcium hardness indicates the amount of calcium in the water. Over time, water with low calcium levels will tend to dissolve calcium out of plaster, pebble, tile, stone, concrete, and to some extent fiberglass surfaces. You can prevent this from happening by keeping the water saturated with calcium. In a vinyl liner pool there is no need for calcium, though high levels can still cause problems. A plaster pool should have CH levels between 250 and 350. Calcium helps fiberglass pools resist staining and cobalt spotting. If you have a spa you might want to keep CH at at least 100 to 150 to reduce foaming.

You increase CH with calcium chloride.  You lower calcium by replacing water or using a calcium hardness reducer which contains chelating agents to bond with the calcium to keep it trapped in solution.

Low calcium hardness results in corrosive water. The plaster surfaces or tile grouting softens and erodes, metal equipment and accessories oxidize and rust quickly, and the water becomes aggressive. This can lead to staining of the pool’s surfaces as well as an eventual need for resurfacing.

High calcium hardness results in scale formation on the pool surfaces as well as scaling in the pipes, plumbing and filter. In extreme cases the water becomes dull and cloudy with the calcium precipitating out into the water rather than onto a surface. High calcium levels will also irritate swimmers, causing sore eyes in particular.

CYA – Cyanuric Acid

Cyanuric acid, often called stabilizer or conditioner, both protects FC from sunlight and lowers the effective strength of the FC (by holding some of the FC in reserve). The higher your CYA level, the more FC you need to use to get the same effect. It is important to know your CYA level so you can figure out what FC level to aim for. If you don’t have a SWG or problems from extremely high amounts of sunlight, CYA is typically kept between 30 and 50. If you have a SWG or very high levels of direct sunlight, CYA is typically kept between 70 and 80.

You increase CYA by adding cyanuric acid, often sold as stabilizer or conditioner. CYA is available as a solid and as a liquid. The liquid costs a lot more, and generally isn’t worth the extra expense. Solid stabilizer can take up to a week to fully register on the test, so don’t retest your CYA level for a week after adding some. Solid stabilizer is best added by placing it in a sock in the skimmer basket. The pump should be run for 24 hours after adding solid stabilizer and you should avoid backwashing/cleaning the filter for a week.

In nearly all cases the best way to lower CYA is to replace water.

Pool water problems – copper, iron or manganese

Copper, iron or manganese in swimming pool water all cause the water to discolor without affecting the water’s clarity much.

If the water changes color after chlorine (or any other oxidizer) is added, the swimming pool water probably contains a metal.

Which metal is in the pool water?

Green pool water – iron or copper

Brown pool water – iron (occasionally copper)

Purple/ black pool water – manganese

FerriTabs are an excellent product for removing iron, manganese and trace minerals from the water.

Pool Busters LLC | a Michigan Pool Removal & Demolition Company

Pool Busters

Michigan Pool Removal Services

Are you thinking.. “Am I the only person to ever remove a swimming pool?” Let me assure you you’re not. The fact is you’re in the company of thousands of pool owners who every year chose to remove their swimming pools. Why do they do it? Here are some common reasons.

* Cost of maintaining the pool
* The pool has outlived its purpose
* Pool is preventing buyers from considering your home
* Reducing your personal liability
* Pool structural failure

We recently exchanged emails with a customer looking to install a new pool liner this season. Here are the questions and answers:

1. I have heard several different things about the ‘mil’ of the liner, does it matter the thickness of the liner?

The thickness of the liner matters to engineers (who can tell the difference between such a slight variation in thickness) that some feel better about a 30 mil. There are certain circumstances where a thicker liner may be warranted, but in 99% of our liner installs today we recommend the 20 mil as being just fine.

2. Will a 20 mil last just as long as a 30 or 40 mil?

Liners come in 20 mil or 30 mil from the majority of the suppliers. They all age the same, sun and water chemistry affect them the same. The only difference is an incrementally thicker liner with the 30 mil – not necessary in our opinion.

3. Are each of them just a easy to puncture? We have a dog and he will not be allowed in the pool but you never know if he’ll jump in!

They are just as easy to puncture or scratch. Avoid sharp objects, knives/glass or anything that could puncture the liner.

Dogs can swim in liner pools as long as they are shown the right way to get out of the pool (via a step) so they don’t head to the side of the pool and claw the liner. You might want to consider a drop in step (they are plastic resin). We could also pour concrete steps under the liner, but then I’d still be a little hesitant allowing a dog to walk on it.

4. Please quote for different mils, we don’t really care about or how many designs there are, we just want top quality.

The we give an option for the thicker liner as an upcharge on our quote form.

5. What are the payment options? Cash? Credit? Check?

Yes, cash, credit or check are fine!

6. Will the removal of the old liner be included in the quote?

Yes, we remove and dispose of the old liner.

7. Will water be included?

You as the homeowner are responsible for the water to fill the pool, either by hose, or by truck (approx. $1,000). You can also do a combination, set the liner with 1 truck load of water ($300-400) and fill the rest with the hose.

8. Will chemicals be included?

Chemicals are not included, but the source water is typically pretty stable at start up. We can show you how to do water tests and explain the various chemicals that you will need.

9. Can you pressure test the lines?

We do offer pressure testing of the lines. This should be done prior to the liner install, that ensures if a leak is located it could be addressed prior to the liner going in (especially if it is in the main drain line or one of the return fittings)

10. Will new white covers/caps be included?

Yes, it does include new main drain (bottom of the pool), return (circles in the side of the pool), and skimmer (rectangle in the side of the pool) rings/gaskets and covers.

(March, 2013) Allan Curtis, designer and builder for Legendary Escapes Pools, is a true innovator. He is pioneering a whole new process of swimming pool design and construction, working to give his clients a new and customized experience. He has combined vinyl liner and gunite swimming pools into one unique process, so customers can reap the benefits of gunite without the drawbacks and enjoy the benefits of vinyl liners without the limitations.

“I always like to challenge the boundaries of what people expect,” explains Curtis. “I deliver an experience, a life enhancing addition to their home.”

In an industry where builders are typically set in their ways, Curtis thrives on experimenting and expanding what people can expect, particularly considering the short season in this climate. He thrives on giving homeowners something truly new, with design and function features typically only seen in high-end tropical settings. “Let’s give them something wonderful. Even if they can only use the area for a few months each year, why not make those moments extraordinary?”

Take, for example, the Hybrid Pool ™ backyard resort he built for a homeowner in Saline as a custom pool builder in Michigan. Far more than an attractive in-ground swimming pool, the entire design includes a swim-out seating area with a floating table; a 10-foot sun shelf where guests recline on lounge chairs in a few inches of water; a custom carved waterfall that sits beside a fun water slide; and a hand-built pool house that hides the mechanicals built to resemble a Rocky Mountain Mining Camp.

By combining vinyl and gunite elements within one swimming pool, Curtis is able to customize each swimming pool he builds and create a truly one-of-a-kind work of art in a client’s backyard. He uses vinyl liners for the basic structure of the swimming pool, because it is the most comfortable surface for the swimmer, and a practical choice for most customers. The limitations of vinyl liners, though, lie in the design features available. Curtis knew there had to be a better way—some way to give clients the benefits of vinyl with the freedom of gunite. So he began combining the elements in a way unlike any other.

Curtis is developing this process of combining the elements to form a Hybrid Swimming Pool™. A vinyl liner pool can have a gunite sun shelf, so swimmers can sunbathe in shallow water. It can have a swim-up bar or a built-in, tiled waterslide. By combining these elements that have been separate for so long, Curtis is able to build backyard getaways that are specifically tailored to each and every one of his clients.

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Allan Curtis is the designer and builder for Legendary Escapes Pools. With decades of experience in the swimming pool industry, he is passionate about finding new ways to best serve his clients. If you are interested in a custom swimming pool for your home and would like to learn more or schedule a consultation, you can contact him or a member of his team by phone (248-478-4978), email (pools@legendaryescapes.com), or online (www.legendaryescapes.com).