Things You Should Buy For Your Pool
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As a pool owner it is easy to get lost in a never ending world of things you need to buy for your pool. At some point, most people just stop caring and buy things for their pool only when absolutely necessary. Sure you can limp your pool along with rock bottom minimal chemical treatments and two pool noodles you got from the dollar store in 2007 - but sometimes it is worth it to spend a little money provided you can get a good return on your investment. Now, a return on your investment does not always have to be money, as sometimes a return for your investment could be fun. If you are interested in things that specifically save money for your swimming pool then that is a different article which can be summarized with a single product - variable speed pumps. If you want to learn about VS pumps and how they save you money then you should read this article on variable speed pool pump reviews.
The rest of this article will focus less on cost savings, and more on value. There are a lot of value purchases you can make for your swimming pool...depending on what your priorities are. Some people want to reduce their exposure to chemicals like chlorine as a priority...where other pool owners might be interested in the latest games and toys. As someone who has spent their entire life working with swimming pools the following list of items are thing that you might want to consider for your pool.
Pool Water Test Kits
Yes strips are easy to use, but unfortunately they are not as reliable as you might hope. Most pool owners rely exclusively on test strips or trips to the local water lab. If you own a swimming pool then you absolutely, positively need to have a Taylor 2006 Test Kit
which is the stand alone industry leader for test kits. There is no replacement for having an FAS-DPD from Taylor so don't even think of getting a knock off brand instead to save a few dollars. You can still use test strips for the most part for your day to day testing, but this test kit from Taylor should be your immediate go-to whenever you get strange readings from your test strips, or when your water does not look quite right.
Of all the ways to save money with your pool, being cheap with your water testing equipment is one that is absolutely going to cost you in the long run. Even a single time that you get an erronious reading with your test strips that causes you to make an unnecessary correction to your water will cost you more than just buying this test kit right now. Even water labs can be wrong both with their testing of your water as weell as their interpretation of how to correct any problems that you have. Some basic literacy with your water testing variables and testing equipment will go a long way towards alleiviating some stress for you as a pool owner. If you need to brush up on the basic principals of watger chemistry then be sure to read the water chemistry crash course which teaches the basics of pool and spa water chemistry. There are literally tons of resources available on the internet to help you learn water chemistry - this one in particular I have simplified in order to help people new to water chemistry, or those struggling, to understand some basic core concepts.
It is also worth noting that test strips, and test kits like the Taylor 2006 shown above do not last forever and you will need to replace them if you let them freeze or if they are more than a year old. If testing your water with accuracy is important to you then you should be replacing all of your reagents yearly.
Pool Solar Blankets
A pool solar blanket
is probably the number one thing that pool owners either don't have but should, or have and don't use properly. In my professional opinion a solar blanket for your pool may be the single highest returning (financially) investment you can ever make for a swimming pool - ANY swimming pool. Considering how cheap solar blankets are to buy these days you basically would have to be crazy to not own and use one nightly on your pool.
Unfortunately most pool owners do not use their solar blanket properly. Actually, most pool owners do not use their solar blanket at all since it takes so much effort to roll out and then put away every day. While putting a solar blanket on a pool is really not all that hard, it is the monotany of needing to do it day in and day out that loses most people. It would be nice if you could just put the cover on the pool and leave it for a week until you use the pool again, however doing something like this is very likely to cause your pool water to turn green. Having a solar blaket on your pool during the heat of the day will trap water on top of the cover where any chlorine in it will quickly dissapear. With the heat and UV from the sun, and no chlorine or filtration, water on top of your solar blaket will begin to grow algae. When you do eventually remove the cover from your pool you will end up dumping all of that algae into your pool and depleasting any free chlorine reserve that you had in your water.
One of the biggest misconceptions about solar blakets is that they are designed to heat your pool - which they are not. As discussed in the above paragraph, using a solar blaket during the day time, or for extended periods of time, can cause problems with your water chemistry and sanitizer levels. A solar blanket is intended to reduce heat loss from your water at night when the sun goes down and temperatures drop. Nightly use of a solar blanket can reduce your heat loss in yoru pool water by as much as 90% along with a marked improvement in evaporation rates and chemical offgassing. If you are willing to trade a little bit of time and effort and put your solar blanket on nightly and remove during the day, this is probaly the single best thing you can do to improve the functional useae of your pool.
The second most common misconception about solar blankets is how long they last. Solar blanket pricing is vastly less expensive than it used to be 10 and 20 years ago. This means that you can pick up a new blanket for a song, but don't expect to be passing it down to your children. A solar blanket should only last one to three pool seasons maximum before it will experience decay and failure from UV and chemical damage. Most pool owners try to get far too much life out of a solar blanket. For about $100 you should be replacing your solar blanket every two to three years at maximum. If you do not have one then consider picking up a solar cover roller
which are also much less expensive than they used to be. Using a roller will keep your cover off the ground and prevents creases from folding.
Pool Safety Fences
As a pool owner you have a resposibility to make sure that your pool area is safe and secure at all times. There are many pool safety and drowning prevention systems available for pools these days however I have always had a hard time recommending items like pool alarms. Sure, I think an audible alarm that sounds when someone falls into the pool is great, I just worry that it creates a false sense of security. When it comes to safety around swimming pools, especially where children are involved, there is no step too great or no risk prevention measure too bold. If you want a pool alarm then I say go ahead and get one - but there simply is no replacement for physically restricting access to the pool area with a safety fence
.
Pool safety fences are installed into the deck around your pool and can be custom installed to meet almost any pool shape or deck terrain. The best part about pool safety fences liek this is you can remove them if you want, which leaves only small (flush) holes in the deck where the uprights go. Now, installing these fences is not something you want to do every weekend on your pool, but this means that you can improve the safety and limit access to your pool when you want, but also remove the fence seasonally or for functions like pool parties where you would prefer more open space around the pool.
Again, as discussed in this article I wrote about essential safety equipment for your pool it is important to realize that there is no replacement for direct supervision when it comes to kids and swimming pools. Even a safety fence can not keep out intrepid young climbers who are not supervised and you should never assume your pool is completely "safe". Only slightly more secure. When it comes to installing a safety fence this is something that the average pool owner with a medium amount of familiarity with tools should be able to do. The manufacturer supplies a template for drilling holes in the kit, and the only real tool you need will be a medium sized hammer drill which you can rent from a hardware store if you don't have one.
Pool Intruder Escape Ramp
Part of the joy of owning a swimming pool is occasionally fishing out bloated corpses of dead critters that found their way in but could not escape the pool. Nothing says Saturday morning fun family time like scooping a dozen dead froggies out of the pool while your kids scream and cry at the horror of it all. Fortunately you are a kind and benevolent pool overlord and you are going to buy a Frog Log
to keep the frogs (and other critters) from floating and bloating in your pool.
In addition to just being a nice gesture to the local wildlife that may find itself in your pool, you may actually benefit from having an escape ramp for critters like this. In some areas things like frogs are a serious problem and can block skimmer baskets and starve pumps for flow. Also, in areas where sharp nailed critters like possums or raccoons may end up in your pool then having an escape ramp may very wekl save the interior surface of your pool from some wear and tear - especially vinyl liner pool owners.
A Child Sized Hamster Wheel
Let's get real for a second here. The only reason you have a swimming pool in the first place is to have something to tire out your kids. You are exhausted but they run on a 7000 calorie per day diet comprised exclusively of sugar and your shattered dreams. It used to be that a swimming pool was enough to tire out the most robust seven year old...but that was back when kids would go outside, and play baseball, and run and stuff. If you find that your kids still have a little energy left after swimming in the pool all day then the answer you are looking for comes in the shape of a giant inflatable water wheel
.
The only down side of the inflatable hamster wheel is that it is really not all that big and only suitable for younger kids most likely under 10 years of age. Fortunately if you are looking for something to tire out the bigger people in your life you can look at the next item on this list.
The Inflat-A-Bull
It is a tad ridiculous to have both a section about pool safety followed by this recomendation for the inflatabull
on the same list. Well, I am not here to tell you how to have fun. If you want to get wild and crazy in your pool then that is no business of mine. If you are looking for a toy that you can buy for your pool party that will get a lot of attention then this is the one.
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Swimming Pool Steve is an award winning, second generation swimming pool specialist from Ontario Canada and one of the most trusted voices in the swimming pool industry. With over 20,000,000 views on the Swimming Pool Steve YouTube Channel, winner of the Pleatco Pool & Spa Industry Leadership award and author of hundreds of pool and spa articles both online and in print. Steve is committed to helping pool and spa owners as well as pool and spa industry workers learn more about the technical side of building, renovating, repairing and maintaining all types of swimming pools and spas. Follow Swimming Pool Steve on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
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