The Lazy Person’s Swimming Pool Care Guide

From the author: I grew up spending most of my summers in a public outdoor swimming pool. I accepted the fact that swimming pools were always cloudy and over-chlorinated to the point of causing stinging eyes and sometimes shortness of breath from spending the day in the water. I used to watch the lifeguard test the water and add liquid chlorine to the water. I would sometimes volunteer to help brush the bottom or skim the surface of the water, so my view of pool maintenance was pretty superficial. After retiring from teaching, I moved into a home with an in-ground screened pool, and soon realized that there is much more to pool maintenance than I thought. The pool in my new home was green and cloudy when I moved in. I spent most of the next three months obsessing over getting my pool clean, clear, and sanitized. I also found that the pools that I grew up using were poorly maintained and the stinging eyes was caused by either the incorrect PH or chloramines (spent chlorine and ammonia)in the water. My obsession turned into a business for me. The advice and instructions I give in this guide is the result of my experience servicing hundreds of pools.