The Ultimate Guide to Pool Chlorine
Welcome students! Today’s topic is one that is near and dear to my heart – pool chlorine! Chlorine is the most common chemical treatment used to kill bacteria and other disease causing organisms....
View ArticleFiberglass Pool Stain Removal & Prevention
It only took about a month of enjoying the glistening sheen of my freshly gel-coated fiberglass pool surface before I began to notice a faint, dark ring subtly form around the water line. The optimist...
View ArticleThe Ultimate Guide to Pool Water Balance
It really is a balancing act – to maintain the correct levels in the pool water. If pH or Alkalinity is too low, or Calcium Hardness levels are too high, there can be problems. Other pool chemicals...
View ArticlePool Chemical Myths & Misconceptions
Pool chemistry is complicated. There are so many variables to consider, when trying to simultaneously keep balanced and sanitary water, while protecting pool surfaces and swimmers. That is why myths...
View ArticleAbove Ground Pool Maintenance Guide
When I became a proud owner of an aboveground pool, I had no clue about how to maintain a pool. Luckily, I just started a career at In The Swim and found all the help I needed! Aboveground pools are …...
View ArticleWhat Chemicals are Needed for Pools?
Keeping your swimming pool clean and clear can be a tough job, especially if you don’t have the right chemicals. Keep the basics on hand for regular maintenance as well as anticipated water problems....
View ArticlePool Maintenance: DIY or Go With a Pro?
A pool is an impressive feature of a home, but it can also be the most difficult and expensive to maintain. When it comes time to decide between DIY pool care and using a professional pool cleaning...
View ArticleThere’s an App for That!
Just over 15 percent of American homes have some type of pool or spa, according to the American Housing Survey. If you’re reading this, you’re likely part of that crowd. And over 75% of homeowners have...
View ArticleSalt Water Pool Chemistry
Welcome Back to the Lab, Students! Salt Water Generators or pool salt systems, create chlorine from electrolysis of a saline solution. In the process of making your own chlorine, chemical reactions...
View ArticleHeavy Rains & Swimming Pools
Mother nature has certainly been giving us some strange weather lately. In California, we’ve been pelted by torrential storms, with several inches of rain in a few hours. Our call center has taken...
View Article10 New Pool Tools to Ease Pool Maintenance
As a pool owner, I always have my ear out for new and inventive pool products that help make pool maintenance easier. New Pool Accessories that promise to save time, money or effort (especially effort)...
View ArticleDog Days of Summer: Step Up Your Pool Maintenance
The Dog Days of Summer. The hottest time of the year and the busiest time of the year for pool owners. People you haven’t heard from since last late July come knocking to find sanctuary in the cool...
View ArticleChlorine Shelf Life: How Long Can I Store Pool Chemicals?
Welcome back students of pool – today’s lecture is on chlorine shelf life, and more specifically, do pool chemicals expire, or do they lose efficacy over time? In an ideal world, the pool season would...
View ArticleControlling Scale Deposits in Pools
Hello again students of pool, let’s get settled into our desks and the lecture can begin. Dr. Pool: “You there, in the front row, Charles, is it? Tell me about hard water and soft water, in pools.”...
View ArticleNo Drain Pool Acid Wash
For those of you pool students with a stained plaster finish, today’s lecture will be very meaningful. For my vinyl pool students in the class, please read Chapter 7, Stains in a Vinyl Liner Pool. A...
View ArticlePool Chemical Levels and Chemical Charts
Hello Class, as a well-known pool chemistry conference has called on me to deliver a keynote address, I will be unable to lecture today. However, today’s class has not been canceled! I have prepared...
View ArticlePool Chemicals: How Much of What is Needed?
How much, and which pool chemicals are needed, for an entire season? In an ideal world, pool closing would come as you finish the last few tablets, clarifier, algaecide and everything else. But as we...
View ArticlePool Opening Instructions: Chemicals
Pool opening, as a process, is pretty much the reverse of the pool closing. Today we skip the process on how to open a pool, and focus on restoring good water chemistry after a long winter. For some,...
View ArticleWhat Chemicals are Needed for an Intex Pool?
Every summer, tens of thousands of Intex Pools are set-up and filled-up, with dreams of long afternoons spent splashing and relaxing in a private backyard pool. And then it hits you – how do I keep the...
View ArticlePool pH and Alkalinity Problems
Welcome back, students of pool! Pool pH and alkalinity are crucial to protect your pool surfaces and provide sanitary water conditions. From Jackie’s pH / Alkalinity Tips – we’ll review why high or low...
View ArticleHard Pool Water: Removing Calcium Scale
Hello, I’m Dr. Pool, resident chemist at In The Swim. Today’s discussion centers on calcium scale in the form of calcium carbonate, also known as lime scale. Many parts of the US have hard water which...
View ArticleHeavy Rains & Pool Water Chemistry
Good morning class, it is good to be back in session, after the long winter break! Today we cover a topic that may hit close to home for many of my students. Rainfall and the effects upon pool water...
View ArticleDIY Pool Care Strategies
Around here, we are decidedly D.I.Y. in our approach to pool care, every single post on this blog has been written to support and encourage the do it yourself pool owner. It used to be considered quite...
View ArticlePool Sanitizers, Oxidizers and Disinfectants
Welcome back class to another home-school edition of pool school. I got a question in the email this week; “Dr. Pool, how do I know if my pool water is safe from the Coronavirus?” Before we go too...
View ArticleTotal Dissolved Solids in Swimming Pools
Remember that science experiment in eighth grade? Keep pouring and stirring sugar (or salt) into a glass of water, and eventually it will stop dissolving – this happens when the water reaches it’s...
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