As recommended by a friend I ditched them and called a local pool company, Gregg’s Pool. The guy came out, checked my water with a test kit, added chems, (was blown away by the old school pool controls on our bedroom wall!) and diagnosed our faulty pool filter! He was great and gave me an estimate but told me to call my home warranty company first!
I tried to have them do the filter replacement but the home warranty company said it has to be a company in their approved list. I told them I tried but it was going to be another company and they were just happy to know I was going to get it replaced.
AV Hawaiian (an hour away in Colfax) did the work and I was very happy with them. I tried to give him a tip but he wouldn’t accept it and said you already paid for the service call ($85) and he thanked me for the thought!