Stupid Pool Tricks

[mguzzy]

Thanks to this website I have amassed many intriguing tricks for managing my pool. For example I now prowl the aisles of women's sundries at Wally World to see if knee high socks are on sale.. they make great skimmer basket nets.. and I use them for the Sock Method of CYA dispersal too. They hold a revered spot in my test kit.
OR
Arguing with my son about why the pool just turned green.. I say iron, he says algae.. When I showed him the Polyfill guts of dead stuffed animals in the skimmer basket that is turning brown! He says, how come we never learned cool things like that in High School chemistry.
AND
AA and VitaminC tricks are just the coolest thing ever.

So I thought I would make a thread where others can share their stupid pool tricks (with all due deference to Mr. Letterman for blatantly plagiarizing his title). The ingenuity and creativity of the people that hang out here never cease to amaze me.

--------------------------------

Ok, here is my first stupid pool trick! I put a pool noodle on my pool sweep hose and it seems to keep it from getting tangled up. no really! I use to have to untangle the thing all the time. With the noodle on it the hose it creates a long stiff section that is less prone to looping back on it self and starting a Gordian's knot.

20210522_110901_sm.jpg

• mguzzy
• May 23, 2021

Your turn...

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Buy polypropylene hairnets on Amazon for 6¢ a piece and use them to cover the skimmer basket.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Mark,

I wonder is that same trick would work on a Robots cord, to keep it from tangling???

I think I will try it and see what happens..

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[mguzzy]

Buy polypropylene hairnets on Amazon for 6¢ a piece and use them to cover the skimmer basket.

The best price I can find on Amazon at the moment is 8¢ each.. and I have to buy a 1000 of them. If I use two per year that will last 500 years. hmmm. OR these knee highs seem to last a year or two and I find them for a buck for a pack of 6 (3 pair) when they are on sale. So lets see a buck for 12 years or 80 bux for 500 years? I think I will pocket the 79 bux and spend it on cheap Merlot, Either way I am set for a while.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Mark,

I'm pretty sure it is a 100 to a pack for $8 bucks...

Besides.. if you are all about time is money, then you just throw the old ones away and install a new one.. Nothing to clean up.

I have two skimmers and two sets of skimmer baskets.. When it is time to clean out the skimmers, the dirty baskets and hairnets come out and the clean ones immediately go in. I then throw the old hairnets away and install new ones for the next cycle.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[mguzzy]

I'll have to beg laziness on this one... the few hits I got on Amazon had the 100 packs for 10 bux.. but whatever. I'd probably ask my son that works in a fast food restaurant to kype a fistful for me. They go through them like air. And then what would I do with the ladies knee highs? Wear them I supp-hose.

 

[Mdragger88]

Mark,

I wonder is that same trick would work on a Robots cord, to keep it from tangling???

I think I will try it and see what happens..

Thanks,

Jim R.

Please Report back on the findings of your experiment!

 

[Jimrahbe]

And then what would I do with the ladies knee highs? Wear them I supp-hose.

Mark,

The Security guys at Wally World said they don't care, as long at it keeps you from creeping around the ladies department.. They said they have been getting a lot of complaints lately.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[mguzzy]

They said they have been getting a lot of complaints lately.

I only try on the things that fit me?

That reminds me of a joke..... ...nope, better not!

 

[EmilyOTR]

is there a trick anyone has to keep your vacuum from getting stuck on your ladder? I"m going to try the noodle trick. though trimming mine might fix the issue too.

 

[Saturn94]

Thanks to this website I have amassed many intriguing tricks for managing my pool. For example I now prowl the aisles of women's sundries at Wally World to see if knee high socks are on sale.. they make great skimmer basket nets.. and I use them for the Sock Method of CYA dispersal too. They hold a revered spot in my test kit.
OR
Arguing with my son about why the pool just turned green.. I say iron, he says algae.. When I showed him the Polyfill guts of dead stuffed animals in the skimmer basket that is turning brown! He says, how come we never learned cool things like that in High School chemistry.
AND
AA and VitaminC tricks are just the coolest thing ever.

So I thought I would make a thread where others can share their stupid pool tricks (with all due deference to Mr. Letterman for blatantly plagiarizing his title). The ingenuity and creativity of the people that hang out here never cease to amaze me.

--------------------------------

Ok, here is my first stupid pool trick! I put a pool noodle on my pool sweep hose and it seems to keep it from getting tangled up. no really! I use to have to untangle the thing all the time. With the noodle on it the hose it creates a long stiff section that is less prone to looping back on it self and starting a Gordian's knot.

20210522_110901_sm.jpg

• mguzzy
• May 23, 2021

Your turn...

Hmmmmm………I like that trick.

 

[mguzzy]

Its been a week and its time for (drum roll please) another Stupid Pool Trick... lets see which one for today.. MY PRESSURE GAUGE.

I bought this really cool pressure gauge off TFTestkits.net.. Glycerin filled and all chromed out! Its the center piece of my equipment pad (yea-right!). BUT the little brass pressure relief pip on the top kept falling off. After loosing it for the umpteenth time it was finally gone in the morass that surrounds my pad. I needed a replacement pip before it got filled with dirt or some little bug took up residence. So I went to garage of endless parts and pieces and after considering little stainless steel or brass bolts and screws or other various widgets I decided on a drip line plug! I have a ton of them.. so if I lose it again I have a ready supply. I trimmed it down just a bit so it would fit in the hole a little smoother and still allow the atmosphere to equalize.



Also for those that don't have little sliders on your gauge I put a mark on the crystal with a Sharpie to indicate my clean filter pressure. Its a little visual reminder for me.

 

[CTFocusST]

Its been a week and its time for (drum roll please) another Stupid Pool Trick... lets see which one for today.. MY PRESSURE GAUGE.

I bought this really cool pressure gauge off TFTestkits.net.. Glycerin filled and all chromed out! Its the center piece of my equipment pad (yea-right!). BUT the little brass pressure relief pip on the top kept falling off. After loosing it for the umpteenth time it was finally gone in the morass that surrounds my pad. I needed a replacement pip before it got filled with dirt or some little bug took up residence. So I went to garage of endless parts and pieces and after considering little stainless steel or brass bolts and screws or other various widgets I decided on a drip line plug! I have a ton of them.. so if I lose it again I have a ready supply. I trimmed it down just a bit so it would fit in the hole a little smoother and still allow the atmosphere to equalize.

Are those little brass plugs supposed to be kept fully seated or slightly out? Accidentally threw the little piece of paper out.

 

[mguzzy]

The little piece of paper doesn't say anything about it as I recall.. but here's an article that describes what that vent does.

Venting Liquid-Filled Pressure Gauges – Sprayers 101

sprayers101.com

 

[BassPlayingDude]

My "stupid pool trick" goes like this:
I have a mesh cover, so unless I chlorinate all winter (usually I dont) I usually have some algae and have to do an opening SLAM. I have a DE filter, and I got tired of servicing it 3-4 times a day during the SLAM.

What I do now is, run my pump on recirc for about 2 days while slamming, then, contrary to cannon, shut off my pump for about 12 hours. After all dead algae and other pollen and junk settles to the bottom, I slowly and thoroughly vacuum to waste. After that I bring my filter online and end up with only 1 or 2 backwashes instead of like 10. Saves on DE usage too.

 

[riny]

Speaking of socks and hairnets... what do you do if you have a skimmer angel? I have a Waterway skimmer basket with a folding handle that locks under a little rim to keep it from floating up. Once after a storm, when the basket was overflowing with leaves, I reached in to fish the handle out and ended up grabbing a frog. I'm never doing that again. So I put in a skimmer angel and it's great... but it attaches with screws. It would be really impractical to remove and reinstall it every time the hairnet needs changing.

I was thinking about making my own tool out of some stiff metal wire or a deconstructed coat hanger that I can use to reach in and grab the handle. Not sure about this though.

 

[BassPlayingDude]

Stupid pool trick #2:
If you have a float valve and main drain and want to either:
1. Pump water below the level of your skimmer inlet for closing, repairs etc...
2. Sweep a bunch of crud at the bottom down the drain
3. Test to make sure that your float valve will save your pump if water level drops while you are away

Take the lid off your skimmer bucket and hold the wier door closed ... the pump will suck water out of the skimmer bucket until the float valve closes with an audible "clunk". Let go of the wier door, and voila, you are now sucking water 100% with your main drain. To reset, lift the float valve out and re-seat it.

 

[BassPlayingDude]

Speaking of socks and hairnets... what do you do if you have a skimmer angel? I have a Waterway skimmer basket with a folding handle that locks under a little rim to keep it from floating up. Once after a storm, when the basket was overflowing with leaves, I reached in to fish the handle out and ended up grabbing a frog. I'm never doing that again. So I put in a skimmer angel and it's great... but it attaches with screws. It would be really impractical to remove and reinstall it every time the hairnet needs changing.

I was thinking about making my own tool out of some stiff metal wire or a deconstructed coat hanger that I can use to reach in and grab the handle. Not sure about this though.

I have one, I just stretch it as far around as I can and just accept the fact that the skimmer sock only gets 90% coverage and live with it. I'm a little OCD so it took a lot of emotional fortitude for me to accept this.

 

[Newdude]

Ok my turn !!! I had an old school 500W pool light. At nightime it was the water-chemistry-trouble-finder-9000. It would show off any issues a few days before the TF-100 would pick up on them. With perfect water the light would create a sun like ball of light


if anything was brewing, or some pollen fell in, it would start to create an out stretching beam away from the light.


the longer and fatter the beam, the more issue was happening. Just from regular crud forever dumping in the pool it was nearly impossible to irradiate the beam, but keeping it under 6 inches was great. At 1 or 2 foot it was a wake up call to look further into it. 9 out of 10 times I could go out there, flip on the light and know my next tests were gonna pass with flying colors.

 

[mguzzy]

DIFFUSION! Your using your pool light like one big CYA turbidity test! Nicely done!... and you tease me for sticking my finger in the water and tasting it!