Fall Approaches (Part 1)

Summer, believe it or not is almost here, which means one thing. Get ready for Fall and leaves. The next few posts will give you some great ideas to save you time and head ache this fall season.

In Texas, with the drought that has been going on, leaves are already falling. You might want to use that pool a few more times prior to covering but your skimmers and pump baskets are filling up. Replace those baskets with an Extra Heavy Duty Basket. The normal baskets you buy from the retail outlets are generic cheap baskets that the first time they over load they split sending a potential clog right through the pipes. These extra heavy duty baskets from valpak are designed to keep the leaves where they are caught. Check them out at Swim Clear Pool Supply.com

It's only July and my pool is as hot as a bath tub!

Hot dry weather turning that cool oasis in your back yard into an unconfortable out door bath tub? Swim Clear Pool Supply has the affordable answer.

The Glacier Pool Coolers are the perfect answer to uncomfortably warm swimming pools. Our swimming pool chiller is designed to solve the problem of hot pool water. The Glacier Pool Cooler is a solution that is affordable, easy to install, and inexpensive to operate. Our coolers are electric fan cooling systems that require no Freon or gas to operate.

Residential pools come in all shapes, sizes, and finishes. Glacier Pool Coolers has created a unit to fit your pool’s needs.

The ICE CUBE (GPC-23) is designed for small play pools less than 10,000 gallons.

The ICE BLOCK (GPC-25) will efficiently cool a pool up to 20,000 gallons.

The ICEBERG (GPC-210) can cool larger backyard pools up to 30,000 gallons.

However, if your pool has a pebble finish (any color), quartz, tile, or any dark colored plaster bottom and your pool volume is close to the gallon limits above, you should go up one size when choosing your unit.Not only will your pool be refreshing during those hot summer months but your pool water chemistry will be easier to maintain.A 10 degree drop in water temperature (95' to 85') can result in a savings of 20-25% on chemical consumption.

The New MX8 by Baracuda

Swim Clear Pool Supply brings you the newest most technologically advanced suction cleaner available for residential pools. Now for a limited time with a $100 rebate.

Combat debris with the Baracuda® MX™8, the high-performance suction pool cleaning robot that cleans faster and more aggressively than any cleaner in its class. It utilizes Cyclonic Suction technology to capture maximum debris while maintaining cleaning power. The Baracuda MX 8 features X-Drive navigation intelligence for X-treme floor and wall cleaning. No more time wasted battling a filthy pool. Eliminate your call of duty and claim victory over debris. Includes 36' of hose.

Click to watch video.

How your water chemisrty effects your pocket book.

See what happens to you when you do not check your water chemistry!!!

Normally the first thing that comes to mind with improperly balance swimming pool water is algae. And rightfully so, which obviously impacts the pocket book trying to treat the algae.

How much did you spend on the last algae treatment?

Improperly kept water chemistry can affect you another way a you may not even notice. As the heat rises so does the chemical usage but here is a helpful tip, have all the chemical levels tested and balance them. A good example of of how it can cost you is seen most often in salt water pools. Unlike using tablet chlorine which adds a "top off" of cyanuric acid (Stabilizer) with each tablet, in a salt unless you are subsidising with more stabilizer then the level will drop. With a lack of an adequate amount of stabilizer the chlorine in the swimming pool burns out faster thus the more need for chlorine, thus the burning sensation in the pocket book.

Spring Filter Cleans

We hope your enjoying the beautiful Spring weather. It is time to start getting ready for swimming season. If you are following our schedule, it is time for your six month filter clean. Find great information on these two posts "Are my DE Filter grids in need of replacement?" and "DE Filter tip #1 " Brought to you from Swim Clear.

Salt System with an EASY Installation

Have you been looking to convert your swimming pool to a salt water pool. Swim Clear Pool Supply brings you the the world’s first DIY Salt Water Sanitation System: the Jandy® AquaPure® EiTM, a compact, self-contained system. This is by far the easiest salt system to install on the market today. You can follow the installation guide by clicking here.

Featuring 120V plug-in convenience, the AquaPure Ei is very simple to install, taking just three easy steps and requiring zero pipe cutting. It is thoroughly backed by Zodiac with direct access to technical support. Salt water sanitizing has never been this easy or affordable.

Convert your swimming pool to a salt water swimming pool in less then an hour with the Jandy® AquaPure®

Is It Really O.K. For Pets To Drink The Pool Water?

There are alot of pet owner who also own swimming pools, and there always arises the question of... Is it safe to allow your pet to drink the pool water?

It is recommended that you pet owners limit the amount of pool water intake of your family pet. The chemicals used to maintain proper pool balance is not good for regular drinking for not only pets, but humans as well. Keep as much fresh water outside as possible to limit the pool water drinking. If you pet is free to travel in and out of the house, then keep just as much fresh water inside as outside of the home for your pet to drink.

Vets have said that too much intake of chlorinated water will destroy the good bacteria in pets that helps with digestion, which will cause them to get sick. Watch your pets closely if in fact he/she is drinking out of the pool regularly, as it could cause consistent diarrhea, constipation, and even vomiting.

If at all possible, try to prevent your pets from drinking your pool water, so the possibility of future health problems can not occur.

Warmer Weather, Pool Opening Time?

Finally past the freezing temperatures “we hope” and into some warm weather, it time to start thinking about routine Spring maintenance/start ups. It is always a good idea to start early so you can enjoy your swimming pool when the time is right.
Eight steps to help you get started
1. Check all pool equipment for leaks. A proper equipment pad should be dry and no air in the system.
2. Lubricate all o-rings including Lid, backwash valve, etc.
3. With sand filters, open to check sand quality and level.
4. With DE filters, it is a good time to take the filter a part, clean and inspect the grids. If you are following Swim Clear Pool Supply's time line March is the month to do it.
5. With cartridge filters open, clean and check cartridges for damage or wear.
6. Start and test all equipment pad equipment. Test the spa blower, Heater, Lights, etc.
7. Take the pool cleaner out of the water to check for wearing parts and replace as necessary
8. Do a full water balance test and make appropriate adjustments

Finding the opportunity now can save you time and money later!

Tired of Dirty Spas and Corners?

Some common question swimming pool owners ask about their swimming pool/spa is "What is an easy way to clean the spa?" or " My pool cleaner does a good job but it always misses the steps or one particular corner, is there an easy way to clean it? Well we have the answer!

Swim Clear Pool Supply brings you a portable easy to use option for cleaning the pool. The lightweight, powerful Pool Buster is the world's first and only rechargeable, Battery Powered, Self Contained Underwater Super Pool Cleaner. Its state-of-the-art, design is truly the first new cleaning technology to come along in over 40 years. The powerful Pool Buster is far more than a hand-held, spot-cleaner.The Pool Buster can be hand held to clean easy to reach portions of your pool or spa, that automatic cleaners usually miss, such as steps. By quickly and easily snapping onto any telescopic pole you can reach areas of the pool like the floor in the deep end, walls, in and around ladders, corners and drains. It is a Total, All-Pool Cleaning System that easily and affordably makes cleaning an entire Pool, Spa, Hot Tub or Fountain a breeze.

5 Steps To Protect Your Swimming Pool From Freeze Damage When The Equipment Fails

A second Winter blast hits North Texas in less than two weeks. The pool equipment for most of this time has been running nonstop as temperatures have been struggling to get above freezing during this cold spell. This amount of run time places a tremendous amount of stress on the equipment. So what happens if the pool equipment shuts down while its below freezing for any reason? If no action is taken, a large and costly amount of freeze damage can occur. Below are 5 steps to prevent freeze damage should the pool equipment fail at any time during freezing temperature.

1. Ensure mail power is turned off either through the breaker or main kill switch. This is done because if the pool equipment turns on after the following steps are preformed, additional damage can occur through the pump running dry.

2. Open lids to pool pump(s), chlorinator, or any items with removable lids excluding filter. It is a good idea to keep lids slightly on to prevent anything getting in them.

3. Open any air relief valves.

4. Remove all drain plugs. This includes all pumps (most pumps have 2 plugs), booster pump, filter, heater, etc.

5. Covering the equipment with a blanket is not necessary however a good idea.

Note, before pool equipment can be operational again, all plugs must be re-installed, lids tightened and pump re primed with water.

Swim Clear Pool Service is also available for addition questions

Related Post 5 Steps to Protect From Freeze Damage (Equipment Running)