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One issue I've had with covering is the small pockets of water that you often get on the cover, which don't circulate. I ended up with an algae bloom after taking off the cover, and not having sufficient chlorine in the rest of the pool (was only FC of 3, CYA 60, which isn't TOO bad). My...

They are probably out enjoying their trouble free pool instead!

Is there a skimmer basket between your suction side pump and your cleaner? Up until this year, we ran ours directly connected to the pump, relying on only the pump basket to stop anything. However, this year I've been using the vacuum plate adapter for the skimmer, which allows you to keep...

This is fairly common. While there is the chance that DE is ending up in your pool if your filter is leaking it in, that is very unlikely. More likely, is this is the fine dust that tends to collect in most peoples pools that reappears faster than we would all like :) It is usually stuff not...

Just to add to the original question, there is a cheaper alternative. While I wouldn't recommend you use Vaseline or any other petroleum based lubrication, you should be able to use most silicon based lubricants, which you will probably find much cheaper in your local hardware store vs...

Do you have smart meters where you live? They are fairly big in Canada, not sure about the US. They basically allow you to be charged different electrical rates depending on the time of the day the power is being used. We get a significant energy savings by running ours at night vs. the day.

We had a tent blow in ours last year, luckily none of the pole ends were too sharp, it was just a kids dome type one. I had a fair amount of irresponsible fun swimming in and out of it in the pool though (yes, yes, I was aware of all the risks :))

I also have a two speed pump with no timer. Ironically, we got it when we bought the house, and thought it was a one speed pump, then opened up the switch box to it and saw that it had been hardwired to one speed. I added a switch, and now our electric bills have dropped dramatically.

Yeah, been a cold spring all over most places. The good news (maybe?) is they are predicting a hotter than normal summer at least in my neck of the woods (Southern Ontario)

Got this figured out easily and cheaply thank goodness. Turns out the Oring on the basket looked ok, but on closer inspection had a number of cracks forming, figured out it was the basket lid by watching through the clear panel and moving it slightly. If I positioned it just right, no more air...

I buy most of my pool chemicals at Canadian Tire. One of the things I like is that my local store puts a bunch of bleach out in the pool section as well, and at a reasonable price. That isn't what you want. You want something called "Stabilizer" though, but not that one. It's usually in...

I think I know the answer to this one, but I'm really hoping I'm wrong. Have an inground pool, single skimmer, no main drain. 2 speed pump (not sure on make/model) that came with the pool when we bought the house. For 2 years, everything has been working well for the most part at least with...

I also have no main drain, and don't really notice the difference. I'm sure I'm getting less optimized water turn over, and I try and make sure I give it a good brushing in the deep end more regularly to keep things stirred up if I'm not swimming often, but seems to be working ok for me.

What about a 2 speed pump? Our pool doesn't have such a drastic height difference, but it wont prime on low, I put it on high, prime it, then switch. Also, maybe you could move the pump closer?

Can't help you much with whether or not your pool will pop, but I can tell you I just ripped out a previous paver deck that the last homeowner put in in favour of poured concrete. The pavers were a bit of a pain to be honest. The sand would always get all over your feet, had problems with...

I might try and do a visible inspection around the current water line, just to be sure. In theory, if you had a major leak, given how long our winters are in Ontario, its probably down to that point by now, and would have stopped leaking at its current level. But there are other possible...

Unfortunately, while a neat idea, my guess is that more critters would crawl IN to this thing than out of it.

I have a follow up question. I'm also considering installing solar panels, and I don't think I'll have any issue with the connection. My bigger concern is how to attach them to the roof? Is it fairly easy? Thats the piece I don't want to mess up. Also, what area do you need to be noticeable...

Re: DYI IG LINER POOL part3 -style and depth 48" tall walls I assume mean 48" deep shallow end, which is a bit deep, especially if you have kids in the pool. We have 36" walls, leaving the water about 32" deep, which is great for kids and just hanging around in.

Our pool is at 45. My wife is daring me to go in, I think I just might, but I'm not jumping in the deep end, that's for sure!

Have people had much luck with the pool noodle trick? I've tried similar things (boards with noodles etc) on them, and the squirrels still don't seem to get out. I'm not sure they have the intellegence to swim around the edge of the pool to find it, or they simply don't last that long, because...

I would also warn to be very careful in an enclosed space with it. Carbon Dioxide is actually toxic, at lower then you would expect levels. That guy in the video link who jumped in the spa with it was probably being much more risky than you would think, plus that looked like an enclosed room...

Hello, I live in Canada and have a few questions on winterizing. We bought the house a couple of years ago, and the first winter, the pool was put to bed by the previous owner. They put two tarps (joined in the middle) attached to bungie cords across the whole thing. The setup was held...

Still swimming here in Canada :) My wife thinks I'm crazy though. It's in the low 60's, I'll stop when it hits 55 or so. I get out when my legs go numb! Who says we only get 2-3 months of swimming in Canada!

How often do you heat? How much do you spend on it? It sounds to me like that is now really the only reason to do this, to cut back on heating. This makes this a fairly easy process. Calculate how much you currently spend to heat the pool. Figure out how much you would reduce the volume of...

A couple of other ideas: 1) Keep exposed pipes insulated in the winter, you can buy those foam pieces that wrap around the pipes. Underground will be fine, but if your pool water gets too low, there is a chance that it could freeze in the lines where they are exposed to air. 2) Keep your...

A high pH I don't believe is an indication of algae, but the high pH will interfere with the ability for the chlorine in your pool to be effective. While there are other reasons a pool might turn green not related to algae (chemical reaction, dirt type in your area), the fact that yours is...

Does anyone actually have any of these? It would seem to me that the actual heating costs associated with one would be tremendous.

Ours died as well. Before you order a new battery and motor kit, swing by your local RC store. They use standard size motors/batteries, and you can find cheap replacements for both locally. The whole compartment is pretty easy to get into, just open it up, bring it to the store, and you can...

Its not as simple as just the pump. What's your plumbing diameter? How many returns? How many skimmers? Main drain? In floor cleaner? Distance from pump for all of the above?