136 guides · written by someone who did the job
No guesswork, no upsells, no eight hundred words before the answer. Every page here is written by one person who spent fifteen years on service routes, on repair calls and on build sites, and got tired of watching owners pay to fix problems nobody ever explained to them.
15+ years on service routes, repair calls and build sites — behind every page on this site.
15+ years on service routes, repair calls and build sites — behind every page on this site.
Every part of pool ownership
12 areas, each one deep enough to answer the follow-up question you have not asked yet.
Editor's pick
When to close, how far your cover's maker says to lower the water, and the pump, filter and heater steps from the manuals, so nothing cracks in a freeze.
Long, complete and kept current. These are the pages the rest of the site hangs off.
When to close, how far your cover's maker says to lower the water, and the pump, filter and heater steps from the manuals, so nothing cracks in a freeze.
Barrier heights, gap limits, gate hardware and the climbable-surface rule that fails more inspections than anything else.
Dolphin's Nautilus robots carry one year of warranty and its Premier and Sigma three. Here's what that means for which robot is worth buying, with real specs.
How to size a pool pump properly using turnover and head, why oversized pumps are the industry default, and what variable speed changes.
Small backyard pool ideas for a tight lot: eight kinds of small pool, the best shape, the sizes that work, what they cost, and the layout rules.
A pool came with the house and nobody explained it. Here's what to identify, what to test, what to buy and what to ignore in your first month.
Wait until the water holds below 60°F. Closing warm leaves enough biological activity under the cover to burn through your winterizing chlorine — which is exactly why so many pools open green.
Closing, step by stepWhat the hot tub makers' manuals say about winter: freeze protection, power cuts, snow on the cover, and how to winterize a tub you won't be using.
What automatic pool covers cost, how the tracks, ropes and drum work, what the makers' warranties cover, what wears out, and when one is a safety cover.
Real running costs for each heater type by climate, why a cover changes the math more than the heater does, and what to expect per month.
What the spa makers' manuals say to check when hot tub jets go weak, surge or stop: the water level, filter, pump speed, air controls, valves and airlocks.
Which above-ground pools can stay up, how far each maker says to lower the water, and the plugs, pillow and cover that keep winter ice off the wall.
A guide goes up when it is finished and its sources are checked, and it gets corrected when something in it turns out to be wrong.
How Hot Spring, Jacuzzi, Sundance, Caldera and Bullfrog say to clean a hot tub filter, how often, what to soak it in, and when to replace it.
Why a suction or pressure-side pool cleaner stalls, sticks or circles, the speed test each maker gives, and the parts that really do wear out.
When filter sand really needs changing, how much each Hayward, Pentair and Jandy filter takes, and the fill step that protects the laterals underneath.
Chlorine reading high? Make sure the test isn't lying, stop whatever is feeding it, and let the sun do the work. When a neutralizer is worth using.
How inline and offline tablet chlorinators work, where they go in the plumbing, what the dial means, and the two mistakes that ruin heaters or start fires.
How a pool pump fails to start tells you where to look. Silent, humming, tripping the breaker or GFCI, or shutting off hot: what each means and what to check.
Equipment catalog
125 product pages covering pumps, filters, heaters, salt chlorinators, mineral systems, chlorine feeders, cleaners, lights, automation, test kits, above-ground pools and pool alarms, from 15 brands. Model numbers, specifications, warranty terms and parts lists, each read from the manufacturer’s own manuals and pages, with those documents linked.
Free tools
12 calculators for the questions that come up at the equipment pad, from pool volume and chlorine dosing to water balance and heater sizing. No signup, no email wall.
Why trust this site
Fifteen years of service routes, equipment repair and warranty work, pool construction and pool-store water testing. Everything here comes out of that, and anything that comes from a manufacturer is checked against the manufacturer.
Robert HenryFounderOver fifteen years on every side of the pool business — service routes, equipment repair and warranty work, new construction, and the test counter.The Skimmer
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