Feeling Overwhelmed! First time opening pool up.

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nigelisabelle

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Sep 1, 2012
13
We live in Eastern PA and we have a semi inground pool. We got it professional closed up last year and have had a mesh cover over it for the Winter. Starting to plan on opening it up at the end of May. We have no clue what we are doing. I'm feeling overwhelmed. Hubby wants to do it all himself but I say have the professionals come in and help us. We have a salt water system.

Ugh. I'm stressed.
 
I am in the same boat as you. Opening our pool for the first time (bought the house in Dec) and never had a pool before. It is all a bit overwhelming, especially when you read so many things on this site and are told other things by people at pool supply stores. I chose to do it myself, not just because I'm cheap, but because I want to be able to learn about it all and do it myself. I'm sure I'll make tons of mistakes, but I'm hopeful they won't make me want to put a sledgehammer through the pool and maybe through it all, even be able to help people here in these forums!
 
acehorne said:
I am in the same boat as you. Opening our pool for the first time (bought the house in Dec) and never had a pool before. It is all a bit overwhelming, especially when you read so many things on this site and are told other things by people at pool supply stores. I chose to do it myself, not just because I'm cheap, but because I want to be able to learn about it all and do it myself. I'm sure I'll make tons of mistakes, but I'm hopeful they won't make me want to put a sledgehammer through the pool and maybe through it all, even be able to help people here in these forums!
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So glad to know I'm not alone :) good luck!
 
Can you take and post some pictures of your setup? Including the inside of your skimmers and your returns. Once you have the plumbing returned to normal there is not much to it. Do you know the details of the winterization they did?
 
nigelisabelle, I note you said you have a mesh cover. If you wait until late May to open, the pool will probably be pretty green and require a lot of chlorine to take care of it. I have a mesh cover in NJ and always try to open by early May. Even then there will probably be some algae growing in the pool. It is not a major problem. Just, don't be surprised or feel beaten if you take the cover off and see a green pond. Read everything, here. Keep the pool at shock level and over a few days to a week, it willl turn clear. (There will also be vacuuming and probably backwashing involved, but oncce you figure it out, it is common sense).
 

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ChrisL said:
nigelisabelle, I note you said you have a mesh cover. If you wait until late May to open, the pool will probably be pretty green and require a lot of chlorine to take care of it. I have a mesh cover in NJ and always try to open by early May. Even then there will probably be some algae growing in the pool. It is not a major problem. Just, don't be surprised or feel beaten if you take the cover off and see a green pond. Read everything, here. Keep the pool at shock level and over a few days to a week, it willl turn clear. (There will also be vacuuming and probably backwashing involved, but oncce you figure it out, it is common sense).
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Thanks so much. I think we might open it early May. I've been told that next year we should do a mesh cover and then put a huge tarp over the mesh cover and secure it down with sand bags. Ever heard of that? A few people told us that having leaves sit on the mesh cover isn't good.

I just want the pool open, clean and know what the heck I'm doing. LOL. I'll get there though...thanks so much. Joanne
 
harleysilo said:
Can you take and post some pictures of your setup? Including the inside of your skimmers and your returns. Once you have the plumbing returned to normal there is not much to it. Do you know the details of the winterization they did?
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Sure I can. Will do once it stops raining :)
 
acehorne said:
It is all a bit overwhelming, especially when you read so many things on this site and are told other things by people at pool supply stores. I chose to do it myself, not just because I'm cheap, but because I want to be able to learn about it all and do it myself.
Click to expand...

Welcome to TFP, to you and isabelle. Congratulations on choosing to take charge of your own pool! Even better, you came here before the season started with plenty of time to prepare, as opposed to after you threw a bunch of money at a problem.

Here are your first two assignments:

1. Stop listening to anything the people at the pool store say regarding chemicals. The vast majority of them do not have the collective knowledge of this board, and you will find them giving you advice that directly contradicts the way we do things here. If you have to go to a pool store for supplies, just smile and nod and ignore them.

2. Start reading through Pool School. There is a lot of information there, and you at some point will start to feel overwhelmed, but don't worry - you have plenty of time, so take it slow, and we will help you every step of the way.

You'll start to recognize a lot of the same names posting over and over, (the mods here are the best), and we all do it because we love helping.
 
Someone told me puuting a tarp over the mesh was not a good idea as it unnecessarily increases the tension on the mesh springs. They said if a tarp was a must then its advisable to put it below mesh instead and install pump on top of it.
 
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