DIY Pool Care

The Most Common Causes of Cloudy Pool Water

Matt Giovanisci — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 16:44:08 +0000

- Algae Growth

- Bad filtration, maybe your swimming pool filter or pump are too small for your size pool.

- Constantly backwashing. Did you know that the more debris in your filter, the better it filters. That debris helps to collect more debris.

- Not Swimming. Swimming helps circulate the pool water.

- Lots of debris, trees and dirt getting into the swimming pool

- Too many swimmers and not enough sanitizer to match it.

- Your Heater, warmer water promotes algae growth and less sanitizer levels

- Not enough sunlight, natural UV rays can kill bacteria.

- Lawn & chemical sprays getting into your swimming pool.

- HIGH pH

- HIGH Calcium Hardness

- Pool not being vacuumed or brushed on a regular basis.

- Trace heavy metals (iron, copper, manganese) present in the water.

- Broken or otherwise damaged filter lateral (sand), septum (DE) or element (cartridge).

- Dirty pool toys & floats putting a strain on the sanitizer.

- You, lack of pool-owner care as in regular testing, vacuuming & maintenance.

You Should Buy An Automatic Pool Vacuum

Matt Giovanisci — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 16:55:26 +0000

Every swimming pool owner out there knows this, vacuuming your swimming pool sucks. It takes forever, it’s hard to set up right, your filter gets all messed up. It’s just not a fun chore.

Think of the stress levels that go into vacuumin your pool and don’t forget about all the time it takes to do it. Sure we can make it easy, but why would we want to. Just go out and buy an automatic pool vacuum. Why?

Here are just a few reasons you should own an automatic pool cleaner.

- They are easy to set up
- No manual labor
- Easy to clean
- Picks up more debris
- Constantly keeps your pool clean, which prevents algae growth (what do you think of that!)
- Uses your filter or uses a bag for big debris

I could go on and on, but why bother. You can get good automatic cleaners for $99. That’s really cheap. You could go really expensive but if your on a budget (which we all are) then there are plenty of cleaners out there for you. Start looking.

If your into the heavy duty cleaners check out this article on the Robotic Pool Cleaners

Using Pool Shock The Right Way

Matt Giovanisci — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 16:11:18 +0000

Here is a simple tips to add shock to any swimming pool.

- Always Shock at night (sunlight burns off more chlorine, so it will work better at night)

- Pre-Dissolve all shock. Some won’t require you to but do it anyway, it spreads it around better and it won’t sink to the bottom of your pool possibly bleaching your liner

- Use gloves, you can never be too safe using pool shock.

- Wear clothes you don’t like. Chances are a little shock water will splash on you, it will bleach your shirt.

- Allow your swimming pool to run for at least 8 hours straight after adding shock.

- Do not swim in shocked water for 12 hours. Let the shock do it’s job and let the chlorine drop down before swimming.

How To Use Your Above Ground Pool Vacuum