Ask A Pool Guy
Have a question you've been meaning to "Ask A Pool Guy"? This is your chance. As a new feature to Easy Pool customers, the Easy Pool team will be answering your important pool questions...
Dear Pool Guy,
How can I get rid of the white scaly material that is built up around my tile line?
Water is a universal solvant. It will dissolve everything over time, including pool plaster. As it dissolves material or other contaminents enter the water, it becomes more saturated. Two elements that effect saturation are dissolved Calcium and Total Disolved Solids. As a water's saturation level increases it can become aggressive and scale out by depositing the solids on pool surfaces. Mostly scale is found in areas where water is able to evaporate. The pure water leaves and the solids stay behind and form scale. Managing scale can be a fickle task. The best way is through good water chemistry, checking and maintaining pH, Alkalinity and Calcium levels help. In addition, using a sequestering and chealating agent will help keep solids in solution rather than plating out or scaling pool surfaces. However, there is not a 100% way to prevent scale. Only to control or mitigate it to some extent. There are lots of products for scale removal. Most of them are acid based or are a type of abrasive that will impact the surface the scale is attached to, or alter the water chemistry. Most often we recommend Watermark Pros for their one of akind process in scale removal that is the only inert, and least intrusive way known. To learn more about what causes scale or scale removal and mitigation visit www.watermarkpros.com.
Dear Pool Guy,
Is it okay for my dogs to swim in our pool?
Dogs love to swim in swimming pools. However, chlorinated water is not good for dogs. The chlorine can remove the natural oils from the dog’s body and cause dry, itchy skin. Also, too high a sanitizer level can irritate the dog’s esophagus if it drinks the pool water. If your pool is sanitized by chlorine or bromine, keep the level below 3.0 ppm if you allow your dogs to swim in the pool.
Dear Pool Guy,
What do I do with my pool in the winter when I'm not using it?
A swimming pool is a dynamic constantly changing aquatic environment and requires maintenance year round. The three most critical elements of swimming pool maintenance is circulation, filtration and water chemistry. These three elements must be checked and balance on a weekly basis. Typically swimming pool use will go down during the colder months. However, the water in the pool is in a closed system and must be maintained to ensure good water quality,equipment functionality, preserve the pool finish and allow for a healthy balanced start up during the warmer months. Abandoning or shutting down the pool for the winter will not save money on maintenance and will typically cost more for repair once the pool is brought back on line vs. maintaining the pool year round.
Dear Pool Guy,
We have had our pool filter pump for about twelve years and just recently it started making a very high pitched whining noise, is this common with older pumps?
It is a common occurrence that a swimming pool pump, in its older age, will start to whine due to the bearings and seals wearing out. This is the time to think about replacing your old pool pump with a more energy efficient model, which will save you money in the long run.
Have a question you would like to Ask the Pool Guy? Email us and we'll get back to you with your answer!