Need some help and advice

Need some help and advice

My sister in the SF Bay Area CA is buying a home with a pool. She doesn't have a clue about pools... how to maintain the pool / water etc.

Some people say buy some tablets, buy an automatic moving cleaner. Others say get a pool service. What should she do ? What tablets are these ? Are these tablets expensive ? is it easy to do by oneself ?

Would any one with experience, pls shed some light on this.

Thanks Linda

Reply to
lindagoldstein100
Loading thread data ...

Need some help and advice

My sister in the SF Bay Area CA is buying a home with a pool. She doesn't have a clue about pools... how to maintain the pool / water etc.

Some people say buy some tablets, buy an automatic moving cleaner. Others say get a pool service. What should she do ? What tablets are these ? Are these tablets expensive ? is it easy to do by oneself ?

Would any one with experience, pls shed some light on this.

Thanks Linda

Reply to
lindagoldstein100

Linda-

,,,,,,,She doesn't have a clue about pools... how to maintain the pool / water ,,,,,,,,

I have lived in houses with pools for about 30 years of my life...as a kid I maintianed the pool for my parents...as an adult I had a pool service

if your sister (or SO) is not handy & doens't have the time, inclination or desire to become handy....a pool service is the best apporach

btw I would never suggest buying a home with a pool unless you're getting some sort of great bargain or you REALLY want/need a pool...they're a $100 / $200 per month expense (or more if heated)

My neighbor just discussed "de-commisoning" his pool...he's tired of the expense & the room it takes up.

cheers Bob

Reply to
BobK207

To keep a pool in good cleanliness you need to maintain a proper PH balance (acidity) and a proper chlorine level to kill bacteria.

You also need to remove physical impurities by skimming and filtering the water.

There are automatic systems that dispense chlorine or you can load up chlorine tablets in a floating holder.

If the pool is not actively being used you can treat and filter once a week.

There should be books available from the library , or pamphlets from your pool supply store.

It takes maybe an hour to do a good job with manual pool brush , maybe less if the pool is very clean. Nearby trees dropping leaves into the pool is a big problem . The vegetation will harm the PH and chlorine balances quickly.

A pool cover is not a bad idea.

If you are not going to swim in the pool you may be able to convert it to a water feature (pond) by adding some fish and aquatic plants . Then you dont need the chemicals or skimmer, just a pump to recirculate and aerate the water.

Reply to
marks542004

Reply to
buffalobill

July 17, 2006: Buffalo NY: Our Pool: Theory and Care and Feeding of our

12,000 gallons of pool water, which is 3-1/2 ft. deep: Above ground 24ft round flat bottom, Hayward sand filter S-144T, 2-speed pump. Note: There is a left low / "center off" / right high speed pump switch on the far side of our pump.
  1. ADD WATER [hose fills the pool at only one-half inch per hour]. Water level in the skimmer box should be 2/3 full plus whatever you are about to use for vacuuming and backwashing. Skimmer Box Level must not be below 1/2 or the pump will suck air thru the skimmer box, damaging the pump. Skimmer Box Level must not be full, or the skimmer can't skim the floating leaves off. Add water as needed for vacuuming to waste, backwashing, and rinsing, and to replace evaporation and splashed water. Hose water to fill the pool: At 11 Upper kitchen, it takes 30 seconds to fill a one-gallon pitcher with cold water. Hose delivery will be faster at the pool [at ground level without kitchen fixture]. Use 2 hoses without nozzles for refilling in spring. 12,000 gallons at only 2 gpm takes 6000 minutes divided by 60 minutes in an hour = 100 hours, to fill to 42 inches. But that's at a fill rate of only .42" per hour. Our average water depth is 3.5 feet. Walls are 4 feet tall. The capacity of a Circular shaped pool, which measures 24 feet in diameter with a depth of 3.5 feet of water , is approximately 11894.4 gallons.
  2. Manually clean the Pool: Use hand skimmer to remove leaves, etc.
  3. In your swimsuit, whirlpool your bottom leaves to the center, use hand skimmer to remove debris and to make vacuuming easy.
  4. Pump off, Empty skimmer basket.
  5. Pump off, Empty pump basket.
  6. Vacuum to Waste never to Filter. Vacuuming requires a higher level of genius intelligence than usual! Find the skimmer box's insert adapter, vacuum hose, and brush head on extension handle. a. Hose dirt off the vacuum hose. Connect 30-foot hose to brush head with extension handle, submerge vacuum brush head with vacuum hose attached. b. Turn pump on in Filter mode. Fill the floating vacuum hose with the fast return hose from filter [or slow garden hose] until air bubbles stop. This will take several minutes. You may encourage the air bubbles to move along by tipping the vacuum hose to allow the air bubbles to get pushed out the submerged brush head. c. Pump off. Quickly attach vacuum hose thru from pool to skimmer box insert adapter while keeping brush submerged. Pump on in WASTE mode.
  7. BACKWASHING: Pump's SAND FILTER likes low 10 pounds pressure on the gauge. When pressure reaches over 16 pounds: Pump off. Shift to BACKWASH. Pump on for at least 3 backwash minutes [or even better until waste water discharge hose is clear]. Pump off. Shift to FILTER. Pump on and FILTER. [Watch the clock or you will pump out your water to the bottom of the skimmer box and cause pump damage. The water cools the pump!]

page 2 POOL CHEMICALS: Do not mix chemicals. Choose the most suitable one for the dose.

Leaves, dirt, and sunshine reduce the chlorine level. 1. Avoid skin contact. 2. With filter running, and when swimming is over for the day, add to empty skimmer basket and run pump overnight. 3. Rinse hands, measuring devices, and bottle. Circulate liquid bleach 5 minutes or dissolve 5 oz. granular 10 minutes minimum.

  1. Bad Water? If water is cloudy or green algae or "heavy bather load" or chlorine smell is present: a. If going swimming now add big 22 oz. scoop of granular Oxygen [sodium persulfate] to skimmer basket with pump running for 10 minutes or until return hose is clear. b. If after swimming time add shock dose to skimmer with pump running:
22 oz. granular chlorine for our 12,000 gallons. Also use shock dose of 22oz. weekly during 80-degree hot weather, and August algae season. Note August hose water may arrive with higher levels of chlorine, so it's always best to test.
  1. Testing. If water is sparkling clear [object on the floor of the pool appears in focus], test the water at 18-inch depth with 5 yellow drops in chlorine tester. TYPES OF CHLORINE we choose from, depending on temperature and bather loads: Pool "hockey pucks" are EXPENSIVE STABILIZED CHLORINE: maintain
1.0 to 1.5 ppm chlorine. One 3" tablet per week or as needed to maintain proper chlorine levels. Dosage may vary depending upon water condition, bather load, time of day and geographical location.] When tester shows 1.0 ppm or less, just add a chlorine "hockey puck" tablet to an empty skimmer.] GRANULAR CHLORINE: If tester results are clear [with zero ppm], add routine chlorine dose with pump running: 5 oz granular chlorine for our 12,000 gallons. Maintain 0.6 to 1.0 ppm chlorine when using granular chlorine. CLOROX: If you are going swimming now you may use Regular dose of liquid Clorox: Add One quart (32 ounces) will raise the pool 1.0 ppm. There are 4 quarts in a gallon (128 oz.) CLOROX LIQUID BLEACH (5.25% sodium hypochlorite) (800) 242-7482 from product bulletin 224-83 FOR OUR 12,000 GALLON POOL Regular dose of Clorox: One quart (32 ounces) will raise the pool 1.0 ppm. Shock dose of Clorox: Two quarts (64 ounces) Cloudy Water/Algae dose of Clorox: One gallon (128 ounces) Bill's Note: Clorox is more expensive than granular chlorine. It works faster in the pool. It weighs more, so is less convenient. Read % ingredients when using other chlorine liquids. EXPERT Department: Never let your water be less than crystal clear. If pool is a not crystal clear, algae is beginning to cloud your water. Liquid acts faster than granular. Tester used with proper chlorine added will bring pool water to similar levels required for drinking water. Because of dirt it is not for drinking, of course. Pool chlorine tester may also be used for testing refilled fish tanks when removing chlorine.
  1. PH Test [red drops] Skip it unless you have water trouble. ph range should be 7.2 to 7.6 (It usually stays in this range by itself, due to "acid rain" in our area.

snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com wrote:

Reply to
buffalobill

There are two advantages for your sister in engaging a pool service:

  1. No mistakes,
  2. Pool boy.

When picking a service, make sure they show your their album of pool boys.

Reply to
HeyBub

Hmmm, Pool in the middle of quake zone? Nothing is perfect as far as maintaining pool goes. Lots of work for sure. Also if small children are around, MAKE sure to prevent accidental you know what.

Reply to
Tony Hwang

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.