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Hi all, We just sold our home with a pool, with the plans of building a new house down the line. Does anyone know if it would save money to dig/install the pool at the same time as the foundation was being dug? Wasn't sure if this is even a good idea. I just thought that combining the jobs...

Hi there, My pool has been clear all summer, no algae or obvious water issues. I am having an issue with the white steps into the pool though. They are beginning to yellow a bit. Also, at the water line, it looks dirty(grayish stains). Am wondering what this is from and looking for tips on...

Hi All, My CH is 200. I think I understand that this can be bad for the equipment and metal. Would the low CH be causing a yellowing on my white pool steps? I also notice a more distinct dirty line at the water line on these same white steps. I don't remember this happening last year...

Hi there, The small water tube that runs up the slide to squirt water onto the slide needs to be replaced. My slide looks like a standard slide with a curve. I can't find any labels on the slide to indicate the brand, type, size etc. I've seen replacement tubing parts on-line, but am...

Hi all, First time using new Taylor testing kit and I feel like I'm doing something wrong with the chlorine test. I added the 2 tiny scoops for the powder stuff and the water turns pink. I then add the drops, one at a time to determine FC. After about 20 drops, I stopped(water was still...

Hi there, My pool is surrounded by trees that will drop seeds until June. It's cold enough that we won't swim anyway til mid-June. I was thinking of filling up the pool and essentially doing the opening process without removing the winter cover. Obviously I'd have to pull it back a bit to...

First time closer and am just full of questions today. If you blow out the skimmer lines of water, add anti-freeze, drain pool water well below skimmer opening, and cover(my cover also covers skimmer lid)-Why the need to use the gizmo thing? I don't understand how that much water can get into...

Hi all, I've been wondering and am looking for the expertise of the pool guys on here. My freeform pool has 2 return jets on each end of the pool. There is also a third return jet on one side, but I've never felt water coming out. I've owned pool for one summer, so I have no idea if jet ever...

Hi All, I need help on blowing out lines in inground pool. I've blown out both skimmer lines fine, but am not sure how to isolate the return and main drain. When I tried the main drain, I never saw bubbles. Should I always see bubbles? I just read about laying a string accross the drain to...

Hi all, I closed my pool or at least have started to. I slammed pool, than added polyquat a few days later. I didn't realize it would take me so long to drain out the water to below the returns, so as a result, the pool stayed uncovered a few days longer(sunny days) than planned. When I...

As I'm closing my pool, I'd like to clean the ladder rails(shiny metal) before storing for winter. I'm wondering what is the best household product to clean, shine-remove water markks etc. I also want to clean the pool steps. They are a white hard plastic material. I was thinking of using a...

This will be my first closing and have been studying the how to's. I'm now focusing on making sure I understand how to properly clear lines of water and am looking for this site to confirm that I'm on the right page. I am planning to drain water to a couple inches below returns. Since my...

I just went to my local hardware store and they don't have polyquat 60 in any brand. I'm hoping to save time by asking on here. Is this only sold at pool stores or would Lowe's/Home depot carry it? THanks!

This will be my first winter pool closing. My plan is to slam and add some algecide. I was reading some good reviews on various slow release floaters to help with a clean spring opening. Was interested in feedback from folks here. THanks!

After recent August cold spell, I'm now wishing I had a solar cover. My biggest reason for not buying one earlier is I didn't want to deal with drudge of putting on and off, my pool is @ 20x40 and being cheap I don't want to buy the reeling system. Then I found the solar rings and thought...

Hi All, This will be my first time closing. I've read several blogs on the how to winterize and they all pretty much say the same thing, except I've found a difference when it comes to water level. Pool school says to drain water to below return jets and add anti-freeze. I've seen another...

Hi all, I am researching safety covers. I've read the pros and cons between mesh and solid covers, and have just about decided to go with the solid cover with the mesh panel in the middle. I have a lot of trees and won't open pool until June. But now to confuse me, I've just come across some...

Hi all, I'm interested in hearing on average if there is a certain date by which you close your pool. I live in Michigan and have a lot of trees in my yard. It seems like the main dump of leave doesn't happen until mid-Oct. I'm worried if I close too soon and we end up with a hot Indian...

Hi all, I am beginning my research on the best options for a winter pool cover. This will be my first winter. When we bought house in April, pool was covered with a vinyl pool cover secured by ropes, logs and cinder blocks. By this time, the pool cover had literally sunk to the bottom of pool...

I'm trying to get a better grasp of how to effectively maintain my FC levels. Up until last weeks heat wave, my pool has been clear with no problems. The heat wave brought algae, so obviously fc levels weren't high enough. I currently have a Pentair 300 offline chlorinator set to the max. I...

Hi there, I just had my first bout with algae. I noticed that the water was hazy then cloudy and could feel some slimy spots in pool. I slammed pool and brushed, and the water cleared in a day. I vacuumed and brushed some more. My question is regarding my cc. Is the high cc due to dead...

Hi all, This is my first summer of being a pool owner, so I'm still learning as I go. I found a Baracuda Alpha2 automatic cleaner left behind from previous owner. I'm curious as to how it's meant to be used. I know how to use it but am wondering, do I leave it hooked up all the time? I'm...

Hi there, With only 2 months of pool experience, I need some advice. I'll being going out of town for no more than a long weekend. I don't have a timer for my pump and am trying to decide what to do. I figure my two options are to either leave the pump on 24/7 or leave off for 3 days and just...

Hi All, I am a new pool owner of an older pool. Just bought house and so I don't have a lot of past maintenance info on pool & equip, but I'm assuming it wasn't kept up. So far, I've emptied several wheel barrels of leaves from pool bottom, shocked & balanced chemicals. The pool chemicals...