Swimming Pool Secrets
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Shhhhhhh! Definitely don't tell anybody else but I am going to share with you some secrets about swimming pools, the swimming pool industry and chemical maintenance of swimming pools that will help to save you both money as well as frustration. So who are "they"? Watch the video at the bottom of this page if you want to hear how I address this question. As for the secrets I am going to share with you...honestly this is not revolutionary stuff but interesting and uncommon enough that very likely you will now know most if not all of these secrets.
All jokes aside I am a member of the profession, and I do endorse speaking with, hiring and shopping from swimming pool professionals. In general, these people are here to help you and make owning and caring for your pool easier and less expensive. However, there are times where a savvy and informed shopper can choose products which are vastly less expensive to care for common pool problems than the offerings available at your local pool and spa store. There is absolutely nothing wrong with an informed value shopper looking to lower the costs of what they spend maintaining their pool...and there definitely are some ways to accomplish this without compromising at all on the quality of the care you are providing. Let's look at four examples of things "they" don't want you to know about pools:
You don't need to buy and use algicide - It might come as a surprise to you if you regularly use algicide products in your pool to learn that algicide is not something that you need to buy and use regularly. In many cases external algicide treatments are really only needed for unique and specifically problematic algae issues, like mustard algae for example. In these cases there are times when an external algicide treatment would be beneficial, maybe even required to get the pool back on the right track, but if you are doing things "correctly" with your pool water chemistry you actually will never need to buy and use algicide. How can that be? Very easily, actually. We use chlorine in pool water as the chemical sanitizer of choice for four specific reasons. One of those four reasons is that chlorine itself is an algicide. Yup. So when maintained properly and not allowed to get out of control and end up with a prolific algae bloom in your pool, chlorine itself will function as an effective algicide and prevent all plant matter growth within your water. Plus, algicides often contain metals, such as copper, and while effective to control an immediate algae problem, these metals can and will have unintended consequences like staining of your pool or causing swimmers hair to turn green! Stick with chlorine to control algae and keep your free chlorine levels above zero at all times, while also maintaining combined chlorine at zero, phosphates under 500ppb and CYA between 30 to 50ppm. If you do these things the pool will not turn green and you will not need to buy and use algicide.
New pool technology is good (but complicated) - Why would a swimming pool industry worker tell you to not buy a new "fancy" variable speed pump because they are junk and don't work and won't save you money? Or why might a pool professional discourage you from looking into an AOP hydroxyl generator for your pool? In short, and something they definitely don't want you to know, is that they simply do not understand the technology, how it works, what it does and why you might want it. The reality is that the average person working on a swimming pool is not going to be informed on all the latest and greatest technical innovations. Many of these people will be disinclined to reveal to you that they have no idea what that technology is, how it works or what it does. This is, after all, the profession they have chosen to work in and yet they can't speak knowledgably on these products...and some people might be ashamed or embarrassed to admit that. So instead they give a knee jerk reaction that this "fancy new technology" is all garbage and expensive hype...but they would be wrong. We have entered a golden age for swimming pool equipment and the technological advancements that we are making with pool equipment these days is amazing. However, it takes a very serious commitment to learning and understanding new technology. Going back to school and constantly learning about the different (and new tech) is a commitment and not all technicians have the same level of aptitude for high tech stuff. If you want black and white proof you can see for yourself about why technology like variable speed pool pumps is definitely something you want invest in for your pool you can check out this page with a variable speed versus single speed pump savings breakdown.
Pool and spa chemicals price markup - Something that they definitely don't want you to know about swimming pool chemicals when it comes to spa chemicals versus pool chemicals is that for many of these products there is no difference at all between the small spa version and the much larger, much more economical swimming pool version. For example, the product used to increase the alkalinity in your pool is often the exact same product packaged for raising alkalinity in your hot tub...only the spa chemicals are much more expensive per unit. If you can read the ingredient list, which is always available if you go so far as to check the MSDS (material safety data sheet) which exists for every packaged pool chemical you can purchase, then you can even verify the two things are exactly the same. Sodium bicarbonate in a pool container does the exact same thing as sodium bicarbonate in a hot tub container. You just get a lot more for your money. I would not advise to take a blind approach to this as there could in fact be different chemicals for pools and spas depending on what products you are looking at, but reading the label or MSDS should alleviate any uncertainty about what is actually in the container. But we can even take this one step further...
Bulk products you can use for pool chemicals - Since we were just talking about the differences between pool chemicals and spa chemicals and how there is some real potential to save some money here let's go ahead and take this one step further and really start to save you some money with information that they absolutely, positively do not want you to know. We were just talking about sodium bicarbonate to increase alkalinity in both swimming pool and hot tub water...as many of you probably already know sodium bicarbonate is baking soda. The stuff sold as alkalinity increaser, which says 100% sodium bicarbonate on the package (or MSDS), is just baking soda. Absolutely nothing special about it. Except for the fact that when located within a package that indicates for use in pools and spas you will pay far, far more than you would from a bulk supplier. If you hunt around I would be willing to bet you can locate baking soda in bulk quantities from wholesalers, Costco, farm and Co-op supply stores...it is definitely out there and it is dirt cheap compared to what you are buying in a pool and spa store. Chlorine, acid and baking soda are three things that you will very likely need for your pool. I do think that chlorine is something that is best purchased directly from a pool and spa supply store. Maybe even muriatic acid for lowering pH as well, but the alkalinity increaser for sure you can locate in bulk for much cheaper, and potentially hardware stores can provide muriatic acid for less money than pool stores. I am a pool pro myself, so on one hand diverting you away from a pool store is harming the industry that I work in, but at the same time money is tight for people everywhere right now, and a little price competition keeps us all (the market) honest.
The pool and spa industry is filled with technical information and the more you understand about your pool, pool care and pool chemistry the more you will be able to leverage that knowledge for things like reduced operating expenses. Many times pool workers can gloss over important technical details about your pool, though not maliciously, but just in attempt to not overwhelm the pool owner. Not everyone learns things like chemistry at the same rate, or with the same level of depth or enthusiasm.
Not all pool hacks and tips are beneficial to pool owners. The swimming pool secrets revealed on this page will actually help you to lower your costs and make your pool operate better and more efficiently. Unfortunately you would not have to look very far online to find some pretty terrible advice for ways that you can reduce on cost and time caring for your pool water. Recently, the use of a copper pipe in a pool skimmer has been going viral as the next best thing...the only problem is that it is totally not the next big thing in pool care. I wrote an article to help pool owners avoid this trap. Learn more about putting copper pipes into your pool skimmer.
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Swimming Pool Steve is an award winning, second generation swimming pool and spa specialist from Ontario Canada. With over 10,000,000 views on the Swimming Pool Steve YouTube Channel, winner of the 2018 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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www.ClearComfort.com
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New Black + Decker variable speed pumps are available online from www.PoolPartsToGo.com and they are a drop in replacement for many popular pump models including Pentair Superflo and Hayward Super Pumps. With an adjustable platform base, union connections included and a very strong warranty these pumps offer an impressive value to pool owners.
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www.PoolSupplyWarehouse.com
Pool Supply Warehouse has a large stock of swimming pool equipment, chemicals, maintenance items and consumables needed for caring for your swimming pool. They offer fast shipping and by shopping with this retailer you are helping to support Swimming Pool Steve directly.
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www.PoolSuppliesCanada.ca
When it comes to ordering pool and spa supplies online in Canada www.PoolSuppliesCanada.ca is by far the best option. They carry everything from chemicals to replacement pumps to entire pool kits, with free shipping options and more "in stock" items than any other Canadian online retailer.
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