Leaving your solar blanket on during the day, not circulating your water or just neglecting to do proper weekly maintenance.

Definitely not. You should never drain your pool completely. Treating algae is not as hard as you might think. All you really need is liquid chlorine and a really strong algicide.  The size of your pool would determine how much you are going to use.

Call us so we can get you the right recipe, and your pool should be clear within 24 to 48 hours. Please note that when algae is dead it may turn grey or a sandy brown colour and drop to the bottom.  It can be mistaken for dirt.

At this point you can do one of two things. Vacuum the dead algae to waste or drain with your manual vacuum, or use Pool First Aidâ„¢, which is natural product and will eliminate most of the vacuuming for you.

Always check alkalinity first. Alkalinity controls PH.  Hold the strips in the water, elbow deep, and make sure you read them within 15 seconds.  Go with the darker colour inside the square.  Remember that these are just a guideline until you can make into your local dealer.  Our tests are much more accurate.

If they have really blonde hair it could just be due to the sanitizer in your pool and it will go away shortly after being out of the water or after a shampoo.  If it does not come out, this is generally caused by copper in the water from low alkalinity. Please give us a call so we can walk you through getting rid of this problem.

Yes, there are certainly a few ways to achieve this. Leave your solar blanket off during the day and on at night to hold the heat, use the right products weekly and for a guaranteed algae free pool remove the phosphates from the water. Please give us a call to discuss further.

This is usually caused by an algicide, it does this to let you know there is algicide present in the water. However they make algicide now that does not create this problem as this bothers most swimmers.

This is caused by a broken stem pipe or lateral in your filter. To stop the sand from coming into the pool put your filter on recirculate and have the problem addressed. You can get the sand out of the pool by vacuuming on waste or drain with your manual vacuum.

This generally would be classified as algae, Believe it or not there are several strains of algae. Green being the most common then brown, mustard, pink (which is a tropical form) and black etc.

Usually this means your water is acidic. This is caused first and fore most by the rain, all secondary would be swimmer waste (perfumes, lotions, insect repellant, deodorant etc). This could create a very big problem for your pool equipment as well as feeling horrible on your skin. Your water is probably crystal clear and unfortunately clear water is not always good water cause acid is clear too. Not a huge thing unless you have left it for a while and it has eaten the heat exchanger out of your heater. If this happens you are into another problem altogether. Come in and see us chances are all you need is some Balance Pak 100 which is used to raise your total alkalinity, which in turn will raise your ph. You will find a huge difference in your water after putting this product in, as well you will see a big difference in bather comfort.

This is a common question from pool owners. There are a lot of variables with pool water, however I would start by asking yourself, is my water in proper balance? This means your chlorine, bromine or salt levels as well as alkalinity, stabilizer, calcium and ph levels. Are you shocking your water weekly with a fairly strong shock? Believe it or not what you use could be contributing to these problems. Are you getting your water tested monthly at a store? You should not need to spend that much on your pool nor should it be a lot of work. If you are finding that this is the case please give us a call so we can help turn your already full work week into less work and more money on the pool and enjoyment for you and your family. It’s just a matter of getting into the routine that should be less than 15 min. a week work.

Stabilizer acts like a sunscreen for your chlorine or salt. It does not usually need to be added every year, only two to three. Without it your chlorine/salt will draw off as fast as you putting it in. Bromine based pools do not need to add this product, just chlorine based which includes salt.

No you do not.  A pool only needs to circulate 12 hours a day, unless we are in a major heat wave.  Then you might want to leave it on overnight.

It is important that you run your pump for 12 hours during the day and turn it off at night. Doing it the opposite way could create problems. So pump on during the day and off at night.

Your motor is wired to the wrong voltage.  Most in-ground pumps can be connected to either 115V or 230V.

Shut off the pump immediately and bring it into the store so we can reconfigure the wiring.

Many pool owners use this term when in fact they have lots of pressure but their flow is very low.  This is caused by a dirty or clogged filter, a blocked return line, or a valve that is shut off or partially shut on the return piping.

The pump’s impeller could be clogged with debris.  Check by first shutting off the pump, remove the basket to check the impeller by putting your finger into the suction hole found in the pump strainer housing.

If you are unsure please give us a call and we will walk you through it or send a crew over to address the problem.  First try backwashing your filter or cleaning your sand with a filter aid.

The strainer cover could be loose or the gasket is damaged.  Check and replace the cover or gasket if necessary.

The pool water level could also be low, allowing air to mix with water through the skimmer.

The skimmer weir, sometimes called the flapper, may be stuck in the up position, allowing air to mix with water in the suction line.

There can be a leak at any connection in the suction piping or a leak inside any suction side valve at the stem “O” ring.

There could also be a leak in the underground piping caused by a loose joint etc.

The bearings may be noisy due to normal wear.  Feeding high concentrations of chemicals through the skimmer will cause corrosive damage to the seal.  This can cause a leak and damage the motor bearings.

Generally if this is happening you will see water pooling just underneath the motor.  You do not need a new pump per se.  Just bring it in and we will let you know what is going on with your pump. Chances are you just need the seal and bearings changed.

You could have a leak in your suction line, generally the fitting underneath the skimmer.  Usually, if the system is running fairly well and then you begin having problems when you are vacuuming, this would usually indicate that you have a cracked fitting underground.

If it just won’t prime when you go to turn it on and it was running fine before, this would suggest that the strainer lid may not be tight enough or the gasket under the lid is stretched or pinched.

DE (Diatomaceous Earth) is a powder, derived from fossilized mineral deposits, which are mined from the ground and then processed.

There are two types of DE – pool grade and food grade.

Food grade DE is low in crystalline silica and is considered safe for humans.

Pool grade DE is toxic and should only be used in filtration.  If inhaled it can cause irritation to your nose and lungs.

You may have a tear in your filter elements.  If you do this will have to be replaced.

Check for any air leaks.  This will also cause the system to leak DE back into the pool.

If there are air leaks, you will have to install a check valve between the pump and the filter valve.

Generally this would be caused by a broken stem pipe or lateral in your filter. These parts are all usually easy to replace. It is important to know that when you replace the sand in your filter you must backwash your system before turning on the system filter.  You also must use the right sand – #20 Silica Sand or 45-55 mm pool sand. We always have this in stock at the store. To remove the sand that has made its way into the pool just vacuum with your manual vacuum to waste or drain.

The filter elements may be clogged because of the accumulation of chemical deposits.  This is accelerated if chemicals are fed through the skimmer, or if operating your filter too long without DE after starting the pump.  DE must be added as soon as the filter is full of water, and the pump is putting out a steady stream of water.

If the pool contains very dirty water, this is normal.  The flow of water to your pool will be reduced if the filter has a lot of dirt or debris, so backwash or regenerate and recharge more often.

A lot of people feel like they need to buy a new head valve when this problem occurs. In fact a simple solution that is affordable and effective is a manual shut off. Call and ask for details as to how to go about this.

The DE is loaded with too much debris or algae. You need to backwash or regenerate your filter. If there is algae in the pool, super chlorinate, backwash or bump/drain and recharge as needed.

This problem can occur simply from not doing proper maintenance.  You need to backwash your filter weekly until the water runs clear in the valves sight glass.  This usually takes 2-3 minutes.

No, you must clean the elements at least once a year.