After 4 seasons, I am ready t try to do this on my own.

[hennesma]

Hello from NJ. Bought the House in January 2013. Had a pool company on call for chemical issues. First season revealed a very old liner and heater. We had to replace the pump immediately. Second season we were losing water by the foot. We patched the liner and had to repair sight glass on the filter. We also replaced the heater and installed a Polaris. Third season we replaced the liner. This revealed that our 1970 pool is actually cinder block. Fourth season we were going to replace our slide but found it cost prohibitive. We still can't get great water up to it. We made a major repair to the filter. Now, I have picked up quite a bit of knowledge from my pool service and am ready to maintain this pool on my own. We opened Monday. Today I have mostly clear water. Hoping the filter takes me the rest of the way. -Mary Beth

 

[Paul & Crystal]

Mary Beth,

Welcome to TFP!

Here's a couple things you need to get started.

Top priority is your own test kit. Check out TFTestkits.net.

Make a pool signature that tells about your pool.

Start reading the short informative articles in pool school.

You will love handling your own water!

Crystal

 

[jblizzle]

Welcome to TFP!!!

Unfortunately (or is the fortunately?) you may find that the method we teach do not match what you may have learned from your pool service ... and for good reason as they often do not truly understand the chemistry.

As stated above, one of the recommended test kits is the key to taking control of your pool.

Even if your water is clear, that does not mean that it is safe ... need test results to know that.
And if anything is growing in the water (causing it to only be "mostly" clear), a filter is not going to solve the issue as it is in fact a chemistry problem.