My Top 5 Pool Management Supplies

Not our house – but a really cool looking one from Pexels.com

We bought our home without a pool because we were worried about our young children drowning. (Unfortunately, we see too many drownings and near-drownings every summer. Along with riding lawnmower accidents and boating accidents … but I digress.) Once they were strong swimmers, we wanted a pool to survive the hot Texas summers by being able to burn energy out of our kids.

Pool Maintenance Made Easy

We got a new pool which means pool maintenance. I wanted to do the maintenance on my own, partially to save some money, but also because I wanted my kids to see the “old man” could do some manual labor.

A little background on the pool – It is 14,000 gallons, oval shaped, with a tanning ledge and bench seat that runs the length of the pool. I empty the skimmers, clean out the pre-pump filter, replace the chlorine tabs in the chlorinator, brush the bush, then add chemicals based on the chemical levels. It takes me about 30 minutes a week to complete the weekly maintenance. (I usually do this when we are swimming and add the chemicals when we get out.) I have found a handful of supplied that really make taking care of the pool less painful.

Top 5 Pool Management Supplies

Orbit Single Outlet Programmable Hose Faucet Timer This is a lifesaver when it comes to keeping the pool topped off. We have a simple pipe that goes from our outside faucet through the pool decking, to above the water line. (This sure beats having to run a hose every time we need to replace water in the pool.) I attached the programmable hose timer so that it refills the pool without me having to remember to do it. This timer is easy to program, easy to change, and with the manual fill function, you can add more water easily. During the spring and fall, it might fill for 10 minutes every third day, but during the summer, it fills for 15 minutes every day. Just turn the dial to turn on, change the settings, or turn off if you get some rain.

Trutest Digital Test Strip Reader It has mixed reviews on Amazon, but I have really come to like mine. I have had consistent results with mine as well. It drove me crazy taking water samples, counting out the test drops, then trying to interpret the colors. It was more like “how does the color red make you feel?” and I started having flashbacks to chem lab in college.

This tester checks the free chlorine level, the pH, and the total alkalinity. This information is what you will use the most to adjust your chemicals in the pool. The disposable test strips will probably remind of the point of care blood tester in your hospital. Don’t forget to order extra test strips to go with your Trutest.

Swimline Heavy Duty Leaf Skimmer Our pool came with one of those deep style skimmer nets like this one. The problem with the deep skimmers is that they can get heavy and when you are trying to skim out a mass of small leaves or the pine tree pollen pods out of the pool. This is a great addition to the other skimmer so that I can quickly work around the pool, skimming the pool.

Blue Devil Corner and Step Brush This brush is a lifesaver. Yes, I know. It looks like a crazy toilet bowl brush and I am sure the neighbors give me weird looks as they see this thing paraded in the air, but it does a great job. It helps to have a brush that can get into the curves of your pool to get all the surfaces clean. I use this one in the corners of the pool, along the tanning ledge water line, and around the steps.

PoolStone Swimming Pool and Spa Large Surface Cleaning Block If we had to put in another pool, I think we would have chosen darker tiles and coping so that water stains didn’t show as easily. With our light colored tiles, the water stains tend to show up easily. I use a pool stone with pretty good success. As you use the stone, it will wear down. I also use a gardening glove to keep the stone from tearing up my hands as I work.

Bonus Pool Maintenance Tool

I wouldn’t be a true “pool boy” unless I had some good tunes playing. I don’t want to get

AOMAIS GO Bluetooth Speakers Ok. This does not help me clean the pool, per se, but it does produce some great tunes. I can pair it to my phone via Bluetooth and keep my phone far away from the pool. The speaker has a pause button on it, so you can music through the speaker. It is water resistant and is powerful enough to annoy the neighbors if you wanted to. It comes in three different colors: black, blue, and red.

Thanks for Reading

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