FeaturedReviews
The Best Robotic Pool Cleaners in 2026
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.
6 min readUpdated Sep 13, 2026
Pool Product Reviews & Buying Guides
Independent picks with no brand relationships and nothing sold. Every guide states plainly whether its conclusions come from hands-on testing or from published specs, warranty terms and pricing you can check yourself.
Where a category has one obvious winner we say so plainly. Where the honest answer is "the cheap one is fine", we say that too — and where we have not yet run something on a pool ourselves, we say that as well.
12 guides in this section
What you will find here
- Head-to-head comparisons on the specs that change ownership
- A stated basis on every guide — tested, or researched and cited
- Clear best-for calls instead of ten near-identical picks
- What the warranty actually covers, and when it quietly changes
Start here
The guide that covers the whole subject
If you only read one page in this section, make it this one. Everything else here builds on it.
All reviews guides
Everything published on reviews, newest first.
Buying guide
Best Pool Lights 2026: Retrofit Bulb or Full Fixture
Whether a dead pool light takes a new lamp or a whole new fixture, the three fixtures worth buying, and why this stays an electrician's job.
7 minUpdated Sep 26, 2026
Review
PoolRx Review: What the Mineral Cartridge Actually Does
A chelated copper cartridge that genuinely suppresses algae for months. Here's what it does, what it doesn't, and the chlorine advice to ignore.
7 minUpdated Sep 13, 2026
Buying guide
Replacing a Salt Cell: Genuine, Aftermarket, or Neither
Cells are not interchangeable, and half of them get replaced while still working. What to check first, and how the warranty math actually falls.
6 minUpdated Sep 13, 2026
Buying guide
The Best Above Ground Pools in 2026
Frame pools and steel-wall pools are different products with different lifespans and prices. Which you are shopping for, and what the set leaves out.
6 minUpdated Sep 12, 2026
Buying guide
The Best Pool Chlorine and Shock in 2026
What to actually keep in the shed. Which chlorine to buy for daily dosing, which for shocking, and the two you should never store side by side.
5 minUpdated Sep 6, 2026
Buying guide
The Best Pool Filters in 2026: Buy Bigger Than You Were Sold
Filter area decides how often you clean and how hard your pump works. Real models compared, and why the one your builder fitted is probably too small.
6 minUpdated Sep 26, 2026
Buying guide
The Best Pool Heaters in 2026: Gas, Heat Pump or Neither
Gas heats fast and costs a lot to run. A heat pump is the reverse. Which one suits your climate and swim season, with real models and honest running costs.
6 minUpdated Sep 12, 2026
Buying guide
The Best Pool Vacuums in 2026 (That Aren't Robots)
Suction-side, pressure-side and manual. Which one suits your debris, your pump and your plumbing — and when a robot is the cheaper answer anyway.
6 minUpdated Sep 13, 2026
Buying guide
The Pool Cleaning Tools Worth Owning
Six tools cover almost every job a pool asks of you. Which to buy, which brush your surface actually needs, and where spending more genuinely pays.
5 minUpdated Sep 6, 2026
Buying guide
The Best Pool Test Kits in 2026
Real models and real prices. Why a $150 drop kit beats a $20 box of strips, and what each one can and cannot actually measure.
6 minUpdated Sep 12, 2026
Buying guide
Best Variable-Speed Pool Pumps in 2026
Real model numbers, real prices and the spec that actually decides which variable-speed pump you should buy. Hint: it isn't energy savings.
7 minUpdated Sep 24, 2026
Common reviews questions
How does PoolBuff test pool products?
Two ways, and every review says which one applies at the top of the page. Hands-on guides mean the product ran on a working pool for at least one full season, with cycle times, energy draw, coverage and part failures recorded. Research-based guides draw on published specifications, warranty terms, current pricing and parts availability, with every source cited. We label them differently because a score means different things depending on where it came from.
Does PoolBuff accept payment for reviews?
No. We do not sell placements, rankings or awards. Some links are affiliate links, which pay us a commission at no cost to you, and they never influence a verdict or ranking. Our affiliate disclosure explains exactly how that works.
How often are reviews updated?
Category roundups are re-checked at least twice a year and after any significant model change, and every page carries a visible last-updated date. When a pick gets discontinued or a newer model changes the ranking, we revise the page rather than publishing a near-duplicate.
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