Hey guys as you all know i have not been posting lately because i have been bussy. I am in the process of moving into a new home that has a pool and also a hot tub. Now, I need recomendations on how to maintain it. I need a good company that is not a rip off. Does anyone know of a company that i can give the contract to. Also how mouch does it normally cost to do this. Is it easier to do it myself?? Is it worth paying someone to do it?? I have never owned a pool home so I am confused and I have an orientation with centex pools on Friday so I want to go prepared before they pressure me to sign a deal with them............Please Help Me !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I was paying $90 a month for a service.

I stopped by "pinch-a-penny" to see what I needed if I wanted to do it myself.

I spend about 30 minutes (maybe less) per week cleaning the pool.

By a vacuum, brush, net, acid, liquid chlorine, and tablet chlorine and a test kit.

I think I spend about $10 per month on chemicals.

My routine is to:
1) pull the leaf skimmer and empty it.
2)vacuum the pool
3) brush the walls and floor
4)wash out the filter
5) test the water
6) add acid and chlorine.

I make it a saturday morning chore. I take my time, get a little sun, and clean the pool.

It is really easy!

 

well it is def alot cheaper if you do it yourself. I use to work at pinch a penny as a summer job. Depending on what type of surface the pool is will depend on what you can add and not add. If its a marcite pool you will find yourself having to add liquid chlorine weekly along with chlorine tablets. You want one tablet per 5,000 gallons of water. If it is a fiberglass pool you will find your chemicals will stay in the pool alot longer because the surface is not pores. Ok now if you are lazy and dont like physical labor then go to a pool store, buy an automatic cleaner and let that bad boy work. One thing you also want to remember ro do is clean out the filter cartridge. If you fail to clean this out then it will clog your system, slow down the pump, and eventually blow it up. With testing the water i would leave that to a pool place. If you get your water tested every other week your more than fine. The reason being those test kits suck, they usually read way off. Plus the pool store can read for calcium hardness, akalinity, and all those other fun things.

Liquid chlorine (jug 2.5 gallons) first time you buy it 8.95
chlorine refill 3.95
Chlorine tablets range from 3.99 a piece to 79 for a 40 pound bucket
Vaccum (go with hayward navigator) 499.99(bunch of discounts come with it)
if you ever have any issues with ur pool pm me... i wouldnt trust some of the people at pool stores. find someone who actually knows what their talking about

 

If you are up to taking pride in your pool by maintaining yourself I would certainly suggest visiting
www.poolsolutions.com
-edit- added this link as well
http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/index.php

Get into the site and research by reading the material within. They also have a forum that is an excellent resource with very helpful people to aid in problem solving and maintaining your pool. The forum is not near as busy as this site is and you are getting into the period where most people are starting to close their pools for the winter. Don't get discouraged by this, I'm just giving you a heads up.

Trust me. If you are going to do it on your own it can be very simple! At first it will seem overbearing or complex. However, once you get the hang of your own pool you will be saving tons of money by using the knowledge you gained on your own. This in itself is very self gratifying!

There are few things that will be a must. Be sure you have the right test equipment (you can order full test kits from that site) such as drop based kits. Stay away from test strips as they are garbage!
Be sure you are willing to take the time to learn to do it. Again it is very simple. I was lost a bit at first but there are people out there to help you maintain your own water. Before you know it you will be the envy of the block by having the cleanest, most comfortable pool water around.
And finally but certainly NOT least be cautious when entering pool stores without a clue. Most will oversell you on items you should never put in your water and you will walk out having wasted money un un-needed items.

Good luck with your new pool man. They are certainly fun. I can’t help too much with the hot tub portion but again the site has information regarding hot tubs and maintaining them too.

-edit- Sorry y'all. I just realized that this was in the Florida G35 Club forum. I hope the information helps anyway.

 

Crazyg35coupe, while I agree with some things you mention some items needed clearing up. I certainly do not mean any offense by correcting you. We just need to be sure that cj350 is properly informed.

Absolutely!
Not necessarily. If the pool is anything other than vinyl you will need to keep your calcium hardness in check. All other chemicals will be the same.
You can't give figures such as one tablet per X gallons because not all tablets are equal. Some are trichlor tablets some are dichlor. They aren't equal and BTW NEVER mix them.
I couldn't agree more. Although a good in ground pool cleaner may run you over $1K.
We don't even know what sort of filter system he has to recommend this. It could be a sand filter, DE filter, or cartridge. They all require different cleaning methods and the first two are more common on inground pools.
Sorry man... waaaay off. The BEST way to test your water is to do it on your own.

Do NOT trust the pool store results. Reason being is that most (I say most because I can not say that ALL pool stores are this way BUT the majority are) stores are setup with testing equipment which looks all nice and fancy but if the operator doesn't really know what to do with it, it is useless! Normally you will find young teenagers working in the stores during the summer and most of them don't have any clue on how water testing works. In return all you will receive is a large printout of items for the store to sell you. It is very convincing, trust me, I've been down the route. Never again.
For example: The pool store told me that my calcium level was WAY too low in my vinyl lined pool so they tried selling me products to raise it. Luckily I knew better by that time.

You WILL want your own kit because testing every other week is no where near enough. At first you will test everyday for your chlorine level (Free Chlorine and Combined Chloramines) and pH at the very least making small adjustments when necessary. Weekly tests of Alkalinity, Stabilizer (CYA), and Calcium hardness should be done as well. Again the tests will be weekly at first until you learn how YOUR pool acts. You will get the hang of that.
I use liquid chlorine as well in the form of 6% Sodium Hypochlorite. In other words Wal-Mart brand Ultra Bleach. The liquid chlorine that pool stores sell is usually 10-12% Sodium Hypochlorite which is more dangerous to handle and breaks down much faster than the ultra bleach does.

Wheeew. I think I covered it all

 

a secret i learned from a pool service i used a few years ago. get some PHOS_FREE or NO_PHOS. they are sold at Leslie's pool supply, and Pinch a Penny.

they remove phosphates from your water, and are natural products. phospates are what algae eat. no phospates...no algae. the stuff ain't cheap, but you only need like a capful in your skimmer once a week or so. it has kept my pool algae free for the last 3 years! that means no more algacide, and almost no shock needed! i use an automatic chlorinator, with tablets, and a cartidge filter. the water stays super clear all year long.....

 

Hey guys just got back from the closing. Love the house. Also I really appreciate all the info you guys have given me. Thanks to al the answers. I think i will do it my self and i will also get an automatic cleaner....
Thanks a million guys really appreciate it!!!!

 

congrats on the house! doing it yourself will be a lot cheaper. it doesnt take but a hour or 2 a week to keep it in good condition. as long as you maintain it, it will be a breeze.

 

Congrats on the new house. In what part of town is it located?

 

Avlon Park (New Home)

 

Good, you're still in the area. Say hi to Wes when you see him down there.

 

I think if you are going to live somewhere, you should learn how to spell the name of your subdivision...

 

Word.

 

Not necessarily. If the pool is anything other than vinyl you will need to keep your calcium hardness in check. All other chemicals will be the same....

Calcium is important in marcite pool, however it is far more important in fiber glass pools. A to high or low calcium level over time will break down the surface of a marcite pool faster, but in reality a marcite pool will have to be resurfaced on average every 6-10 years. Whereas if you have a fiberglass pool. The calcium hardness level can cause the surface to flake, bubble, and pop in little over a year.

As far as testing your own water. I would only suggest you doing it if you know how. I say this because the store I worked at did none of things you talk of. Yes the water test lab is fancy, but in actuality it was very easy, the computer does not have you add stuff your not suppose to, only stupid employees. Most test kits that a worth a damn are 60- 100 dollars and are not as accurate. Most only read from a 0.0 to 3.0 in total and free chlorine. When you want to read up to a 5. Also with you having your water tested at a store, your information is in a computer. Therefore, when your water is tested the computer will tell you exactly how much of which chemical to put in and when to put it in. That is where many people screw up. You cant just add random chemicals to the pool. For example most people dont no that you cant add metal control and any other chemical on the same day....

And pool cleaners.... please $1K.... your crazy, the hayward navigator is more than sufficient and retails for 400 dollars.

Also filter cartiages are the most common inground pool filtering systems. Not DE and sand. DE is trash, waste of money and is by far the worst at filtering. Sand are very adqute and are easy too use. But by far the best filtering system is cartridge. although it doesnt make your water as soft as the other too it is the cheapest, easiest, and most effective way of filtering...

HAHAHA you buy the walmart shock? Well as he said himself, it is less affective and hate to tell you liquid chlorine no matter if its 12% or 8% will break down at the same rate. The shelf life for liquid chlorine is 30 days. I know this cuz its against the law to sell it after that date. Also by adding the crappy shock, you will find yourself using more shock then if you just bought stronger stuff. Also if you get algae, ha good luck cleaning the pool with the lower level chlorine.

one thing i do agree with is every pool is different, twitch is right by saying you need to learn your own pool. In my case i own a fiberglass pool. I put 2 chlorine tablets in weekly and shock with 1.25 gallons of liquid shock. along with cleaning out my filter. If my alkalinity or anything else is off the store will tell me. If you dont feel so right about pool stores go TO A BUNCH WITH THE SAME SAMPLE. see what each say.... and do your own test of the sample. In my experience i have heard of stores that screwed up someones pool, but if you do your homework and find a good store, it makes your life alot easier