Newbie Needs Your Help!

[chefcore]

Hello all,

My parents just purchased a house without doing *any* research at all on how to maintain the indoor pool that came with it. Thus, it falls to me (obviously) to help them figure this out. And yes, I also know nothing about pool maintenance. Awesome! Anyways, I would really appreciate any advice you pool masters might have. Here is what I know about the pool:

It is inground. Approximately 18 ft long by 15 ft wide (grades from 3ft to 7ft deep). It is a granite pool with a plaster finish.

It has a Pentair DE filter system and a Pentair whisperflow pump (self-priming.)

It has two wall-mounted returns.

It is in an enclosed room at the back of the house, with a few sunlights in the ceiling and a lot of windows.

Chlorine is used as the cleaning agent.

Obvious questions:

1. How do they test it? Ive seen all sorts of different Test kits (Guardex, Taylor K-2005, 2006, 2006C, etc) I have no idea what they need.

2. How do they clean it? I've been told a pool specialist said there was no vacuum attachment, so I guess they can't use most of the pool cleaners I've seen on Amazon.

3. What don't I know? Do they need other agents besides chlorine to keep the pool clean? Are there any special things with indoor pools that anyone has run into? I've heard it may need a dehumidifier?

Again, any help you might provide is sincerely appreciated. If I have posted this in the wrong section, my apologies.

Thanks a lot!

[magpullin]

The best thing to do since you have no prior experience is to see if one of the pool service companies around you do a pool school.

They come out for an hour and teach you how to take care of your pool. a little expensive, but will save you money in the long run.

Basic care of a pool is pretty easy, but there are a thousand little thing that can trip you up that the pros know and you will

have to learn. Also start reading here and else where ALOT to learn all you can.

[codebrown]

We opened an IG pool this summer (autocover with a Hydrazzo/plaster finish, 16' x 40', 22K gallon) and I started from zero knowledge, other than a 45" rapid-fire demo from the PB and some basic stuff I picked up here. I cannot recommend enough the Taylor test kit, as it completely frees you from the shackles of the local pool folks. I use an app for the iphone/ipod called Pool Calc, and the chore of checking/adding chems takes under 5 minutes. We opted to use straight chlorine bleach as our sanitizer. I like the convenience, and probably wind up using 1 super-size 4$ jug every 2-3 weeks on average to keep the Cl at 1.5-2 ppm. Every 2-5 days depending on my usage, laziness, etc., I scoop a few mls of water to the level indicated by the test kit, add a few drops of 3 reagents (2 for the Cl, 1 for the ph), then use the app to figure what I need to add. In fact I don't even use the PoolCalc app anymore because I can tell by sight how much clorox or muriatic acid to dribble along the return-side of the pool.

I purchase muriatic acid from my local mason supplier. Home Depot no longer carries it where I live. I have not had to raise my pH as yet as long as I am careful not to lower the pH too much. The leeching of the plaster/Hydrazzo and bathers seems to push the pH from about 7.4 to 7.8 or so over about a 5-7 day period, assuming 2 kids and one adult using it about 30-60 minutes a day.

About once a month I use the Taylor to check the Calcium Hardness, CYA levels. Takes about ten minutes, but basically is the exact same process (put water in the test vial thingie to a set level, add reagent drops as they tell you, do a basic calc and you have your answer).

Also, you can buy the Taylor reagents online for a few bucks and get them shipped. The manuf. is back east I think and they are super nice to deal with. Even though it's less than eight miles to the pool supplier I like the ease of ordering online.

I can't comment on what sorts of things are different for an indoor setup, but I suspect it isn't too much different.

Also, I have not yet sunk any money into a cleaner, as I can't really determine what brand is really going to be reliable. I have almost no debris in the pool and what little does get in I just wave up into an extra net. Makes for nice exercise and gives me something to do when I want to get wet.

Use this forum and Trouble Free Pool to educate yourself. I suspect that once a person reaches out to the local suppliers they are sunk. It IS daunting at first, but unless you are truly inept at basic home maintenance you can do this. It is probably about as difficult a learning curve as caulking a bathroom. I also ordered a DVD called Pool School Pro online for around 15$, but by the time it arrived I had it pretty well figured out, although the 10" I've watched are really well done, easy to follow, etc.

[codebrown]

Also, as far as a cleaner, it sounds like the original builder didn't plumb for a side-pressure cleaner (I may have my nomenclature wrong). All that means is you would use one of the ones that look like a small tank, like Dolphin, etc. if you did want to purchase a cleaner. They seem to be a bit heavier and are plugged into a standard wall outlet and clean the pool in a few hours. My sense is one would rarely if ever need one if they were using an indoor pool with a cover since debris would be almost nonexistent, and you can always push small stuff toward the main drain with your brush.