So, we just expanded our family with twin girls, for a total of 4 kids.
We needed a new house, and finally bought a house - with a pool.
Yep, in at the deep end.
I have never owned a pool before, and my wife has only ever taken care of a hot tub. So, we have a bit of a learning curve ahead of us.
The pool is about 500sqft, is kidney-bean shaped, with a dark plaster bottom and hot tub.
All the equipment is Jandy; it is salt-water, and has a PDA remote.
Oh, and we live in Sothern California.
The PDA remote is pretty cool, and tells me what's going on, but it is really slow. I have since discovered that it's a pretty old version, and I can replace it with a newer version that will be much faster.
So, to start off with the pool heater would not work.
The pool guy came out, and changed something (still not sure what.)
He charged me $100, and left.
Everything worked.
Then a few weeks later I started getting an error message on the PDA.
Then the pool turned green.
Doh.
Spoke to the pool guy, and found out that the AquaPure (chlorine generator) was bad.
I tried cleaning it, but was still bad.
I called the home warranty company, but they told me that even though I had a pool policy, it did not cover salt-water pools, as the wrong policy has been purchased.
Called the realtor, who put things right.
Called the insurance company who sent someone out, who agreed that it was bad (they also tried to clean it) and ultimately agreed to replace it.
Meanwhile, I found the local pool store, and a VERY patient lady behind the counter who has been explaining things to me.
My pool had no conditioner, and no chlorine, and high phosphates.
I opted to wait until the chlorine generator was working, instead of shocking the pool. Not sure that was the right decision, but it's in the past now.
I added conditioner, and my chlorine levels are now good – now that the aquapure has been replaced.
Now I'm working with killing the phosphates / algae.
Getting there, and the green is going away.
I had a SunRay pool cleaner. It would get stuck in the corner all the time.
We replaced it with the Zodiac MX8. The MX8 is great - never gets stuck and runs all over the pool all day long.
The SunRay left a definite line around the pool - where it would not climb the walls. The MX8 climbs the walls all the way to the water line. We have nicknamed him Robbie the Robot - he's the new family pet.
The MX8 does a great job of any vertical surface and the floor of the pool – but should be noted that it really can’t do the steps.
With putting in the chemicals to kill the phosphates, I was told that I would have to back-wash the main filter, and might even have to clean it.
Finally I took the cleaner apart, and it was a total mess.
The dirt was caked on so thickly that some of the filters were stuck together with more than an inch of grime in-between.
So, I learned how to clean filters, and made a mess of my driveway.
We are almost there.
I have been wiping down the pool walls with my newly purchased pool brush.
I’m wondering if I should get a small hand brush for scrubbing all the corners, steps, etc.
Not sure if I want to climb into the pool, and then scrub the corners, but it might be the only way.
I don’t think I would have gotten through this without the local pool store – a mom & pop operation. They have given me the best advice, and test the water every time I go in.
I do have a couple of issues with the rock around the edge of the pool.
The rock around the edge of the pool is called “Bouquet Canyonâ€. It is not used in the pool itself, but is around the pool as a decorative feature.
The salt water gets into the rock, and is causing it to flake apart. I’m told that there’s nothing I can do, except to replace it.
I also need to replace some of the grout between some of the rocks. Not sure what to use there yet.
Still, I feel that I’m most of the way into my learning curve.
The pool will get used this weekend, and I will spend my summer learning about chlorine % generating, pump run time, and all the other stuff I never knew existed.
Anyway, just saying Hi.
We needed a new house, and finally bought a house - with a pool.
Yep, in at the deep end.
I have never owned a pool before, and my wife has only ever taken care of a hot tub. So, we have a bit of a learning curve ahead of us.
The pool is about 500sqft, is kidney-bean shaped, with a dark plaster bottom and hot tub.
All the equipment is Jandy; it is salt-water, and has a PDA remote.
Oh, and we live in Sothern California.
The PDA remote is pretty cool, and tells me what's going on, but it is really slow. I have since discovered that it's a pretty old version, and I can replace it with a newer version that will be much faster.
So, to start off with the pool heater would not work.
The pool guy came out, and changed something (still not sure what.)
He charged me $100, and left.
Everything worked.
Then a few weeks later I started getting an error message on the PDA.
Then the pool turned green.
Doh.
Spoke to the pool guy, and found out that the AquaPure (chlorine generator) was bad.
I tried cleaning it, but was still bad.
I called the home warranty company, but they told me that even though I had a pool policy, it did not cover salt-water pools, as the wrong policy has been purchased.
Called the realtor, who put things right.
Called the insurance company who sent someone out, who agreed that it was bad (they also tried to clean it) and ultimately agreed to replace it.
Meanwhile, I found the local pool store, and a VERY patient lady behind the counter who has been explaining things to me.
My pool had no conditioner, and no chlorine, and high phosphates.
I opted to wait until the chlorine generator was working, instead of shocking the pool. Not sure that was the right decision, but it's in the past now.
I added conditioner, and my chlorine levels are now good – now that the aquapure has been replaced.
Now I'm working with killing the phosphates / algae.
Getting there, and the green is going away.
I had a SunRay pool cleaner. It would get stuck in the corner all the time.
We replaced it with the Zodiac MX8. The MX8 is great - never gets stuck and runs all over the pool all day long.
The SunRay left a definite line around the pool - where it would not climb the walls. The MX8 climbs the walls all the way to the water line. We have nicknamed him Robbie the Robot - he's the new family pet.
The MX8 does a great job of any vertical surface and the floor of the pool – but should be noted that it really can’t do the steps.
With putting in the chemicals to kill the phosphates, I was told that I would have to back-wash the main filter, and might even have to clean it.
Finally I took the cleaner apart, and it was a total mess.
The dirt was caked on so thickly that some of the filters were stuck together with more than an inch of grime in-between.
So, I learned how to clean filters, and made a mess of my driveway.
We are almost there.
I have been wiping down the pool walls with my newly purchased pool brush.
I’m wondering if I should get a small hand brush for scrubbing all the corners, steps, etc.
Not sure if I want to climb into the pool, and then scrub the corners, but it might be the only way.
I don’t think I would have gotten through this without the local pool store – a mom & pop operation. They have given me the best advice, and test the water every time I go in.
I do have a couple of issues with the rock around the edge of the pool.
The rock around the edge of the pool is called “Bouquet Canyonâ€. It is not used in the pool itself, but is around the pool as a decorative feature.
The salt water gets into the rock, and is causing it to flake apart. I’m told that there’s nothing I can do, except to replace it.
I also need to replace some of the grout between some of the rocks. Not sure what to use there yet.
Still, I feel that I’m most of the way into my learning curve.
The pool will get used this weekend, and I will spend my summer learning about chlorine % generating, pump run time, and all the other stuff I never knew existed.
Anyway, just saying Hi.