The pool industry is a difficult place to find answers these days. It seems like everyone knows a little bit about their pool but when a problem arises they go to the professionals for answers and confusion sets in. You can ask ten "pool pros'" the same question and you might get ten completely different answers. Well that can happen because they are not pool pros at all; they know just enough to be dangerous costing the pool owner hundreds in the long run. What should you be looking for? Who are the pool pros?

Arizona is one of those markets where, if you have a truck and a pole, shazzamm, you are a pool pro. There are very little regulations concerning the pool industry and very little training in the trade. Your pool is actually an expensive piece of equipment that has been created through a CAD program using math. What is the CAD program? For those who don't know what a CAD program is; CAD is a software program that engineers and architects use when designing items that use hydraulics and load. The program will calculate the size of pipe and distance to figure what size pump needs to be installed to drive the correct amount of water efficiently and what size filter to handle the volume of water being treated. Well the correct answer is leaving your pool alone. Do not reinvent the wheel; let the CAD program do the work for you. If you currently have a 1 hp pump and the pump is down, replace it with the same product, in this case, a 1 hp pump. Another example, if you have a in floor cleaning system (pop-ups) and it breaks , don't let someone talk you in to buying a suction cleaner to plug into you skimmer because the "pool guy" thinks your current system is a piece of junk. In this case all you have created is more problems. By installing a suction cleaner into you system, you are not getting the correct flow through the filter not allowing you to turn the water at the right rate (crucial for turning the water) and you have added more pressure cutting your pumps life in half. This can be a costly investment later down the road.

There might be variations in water chemistry on what brand of chemicals to use but the fundamentals are the same. Keeping the pH and alkalinity properly adjusted is essential for swimming pools. By keeping up on the pool chemistry, you will insure:

• the sanitizer being used is going to be the most effective
• the pool surface will have a nice long life
• the equipment is not corroded with TDS (total dissolved solids) build up
• most importantly so you and your family have a safe enjoyable experience

Not every body of water is the same and you don't necessarily have the same answer to treat them all the same however, the fundamentals are the same.

Depending on the foliage and the water supply will determine what kind of special chemicals to use:

• algaecides
• phosphate removers
• calcium removers
• shock, etc