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Keep These Plants Nearby to Ward Off Bugs This Pool Season
Nothing is worse than the moment you’re trying to enjoy your pool and are constantly bothered by bugs. Sure there are bug repellants, but there are other more natural alternatives to keep them away for good.
To get a head start, go to your nearest garden shop and look for these plants that repel bugs spiders, mosquitoes, flies, ticks and more.
  • Lemongrass
  • Mint
  • Basil
  • Rosemary
  • Sage
  • Catnip
  • Bay leaves
  • Lemon Balm
Not only will these plants keep bugs away but they will also enhance your outdoor pool space. Check out our other blogs here.


Ask Us: What Are Some Signs That My Pool Has Too Much Chlorine?
Most pools you’re familiar with contain chlorine – and for good reasons. Chlorine can help rid the pool of infections by keeping the water clean but too much can cause health-related problems. Chlorine is a very strong chemical and when found in high concentration, it can cause skin irritations and burning in addition to breathing problems.
The question then becomes, how do you get the right balance to keep your pool clean without harming swimmers?
Here are some signs your pool has too much chlorine:
  • Burning and itchy eyes
  • Skin irritation
  • Difficulty breathing
  • Other asthma-like symptoms
You’ll want to test your chlorine levels using strips or liquid drops to make sure you have a true chlorine problem.
Need help? Give us a call at (317) 650 – 5131.


Ask Us: How Many Types of Pool Pumps Are On the Market And How Do I Choose One?

How many types of pool pumps are on the market and how do I choose which one is best for me?
That’s a great question because having the correct pump for your pool can make all the difference in how much you need to maintain your water.
Here are the three main types of pumps:

  • Single-speed pump: Offers one speed and is usually controlled by a timer. While the timer does the work for you, there isn’t an option to lower the speed to save energy costs.
  • Two-speed pump: Has a high speed and low-speed switch that can help you control energy costs.
  • Variable-speed pumps: Allows you to change the flow rate of the water.

We recommend in-ground equipment from Hayward.
Have more questions about pool pumps, give us a call at (317) 650-5131.



Five Reasons to Get a Pool in 2019
As the weather gets cooler and the year winds down, you may be thinking about your wants for 2019. Is a swimming pool on that list? We hope so!
Now is the perfect time to think about and take action on purchasing a pool that will be ready by summer. Here are five reasons to make your pool purchase:
  • Build family memories: Whether it’s a pool party of a lazy afternoon in the sun, a pool is the perfect place to gather around.
  • Great form of exercise: You can skip the gym and use your pool as a low-impact form of exercise.
  • It’s your vacation spot: When you’ve had a long day at work, your pool will be the place you’ll want to unwind.
  • Make a good impression: When selling your home, potential buyers could be truly impressed by your pool amenity and which could help close the deal.
  • It’s great for your kids: Teens will want to hang out with their friends (which means they’ll be closer to home) and kids will play until they tire out.
Need a little more convincing? Call us at 317-650-5131.


The Pool Cover that Does More than Keep Debris Out

If you’ve been a pool owner for any amount of time, you’ve been told to use a pool cover. Traditional pool covers help keep dirt, leaves and other unwanted items out of your pool.
There is also another type of pool cover that has gained popularity – a solar pool cover. Not only does it keep debris out of your pool, it also heats your pool without fancy cords or machines. Solar pool covers capture the energy of the sun to keep your water warm.
In addition, solar pool covers also help keep more water in your pool by limiting the amount of evaporation that occurs.
 This type of pool cover is recommended for those who live in a sunny area and want to save money.



How to Use Tennis Balls to Clean Your Pool

There is a good reason why everyone is throwing tennis balls into their swimming pools. Not only are they the star of the show during a tennis match, they can also help you clean your swimming pool.
Sure, you can use traditional chemicals, but tennis balls can help give your pool a little scrub when you’re not in the mood to do it yourself. The rough exterior of the tennis balls will soak up dirt and oil that don’t belong in the pool – like sunscreens, lotions and hair products that have made their way into the water.
All you’ll need to do is toss in a tennis ball or two and let them work their magic.



Ask Us: What is a Wristwatch Alarm?

A wristwatch alarm is simply a safety device that your child or anyone else that might be in danger around your pool can wear. It’s one of many other precautionary measures you can take to warn you when something dangerous might be happening in or near your pool.
 
The wristwatch alarm is generally linked to a centrally located “base,” probably somewhere in your house where you can easily hear it. You will be alerted with an alarm when it comes into contact with water – i.e., when your child falls in and is in distress. The device is no bigger than a wristwatch and is a great preventative measure to keep your children safe around the pool. It’s not a replacement for a good eye as you should always watch your kids while they’re in the pool.



Maintain Your Pool with these Five Steps

Routine maintenance of your pool is critical to the enjoyment of your pool. Even if you employ a service company to maintain your pool, there are steps that you need to take to ensure your pool is swim ready at all times:

  1. Skim the surface: This should be done every few days. When debris falls to the bottom it can be harder to remove, so be sure to remove debris before it sinks to the bottom.
  2. Empty the baskets: This will help lower the need for chlorine, thus saving you money. This task should be performed at least once per week and it may help to spray out and scrub the basket as well.
  3. Maintain the water level: A lot of water is lost from your pool regularly. Whether it is due to evaporation or splashing and swimming, it is important to check the water levels regularly so they don’t get to low and compromise the pump. If levels do get low, you can quite simply use your garden hose to fill it back up.
  4. Scrub the walls: Be sure to scrub the walls regularly to prevent calcium deposits and algae buildup. The kind of pool you have will dictate what kind of brush to use. For example, a stiffer brush can be used with a concrete pool, but if you have a fiberglass pool you should use a softer brush.
  5. Check the pH: Make sure the pH in the water is between 7.2 and 7.8 to ensure safety for swimmers and that sanitizers are working.


How To Properly Open A Pool

Pool season is here and while many open their pools as early as March, Memorial Weekend is symbolically the start of pool season. Opening your pool properly will determine how quickly you and your family will enjoy the pool and will help you avoid potential problems such as chemical imbalance and improper filtration. Below are some key steps to properly opening your pool.
1. Clear or remove your pool cover. If you have an automatic cover you should have been keeping it clear of debris and making sure your pump off all the water prior to trying to operate the automatic cover. If you use a winter cover, remove the cover and store for the pool season. If you do not own an automatic pool cover you should consider a solar cover or other to help keep you pool warm and free from debris.
2. Retrieve all of your stored pool parts out of storage such as: return eyeballs,  o-rings, and  gaskets.
3. Check your equipment:

  • Heater – Just like your home heating system you will want to have your gas pool heater or electric heat pump serviced and ready for the season.
  • Filter – Whatever type of filter you use we recommend examining filter media to make sure it’s clean for maximum filtration. Consider having your filter cleaned professionally when you close or upon opening. Your family will appreciate clean water.
  • Pump – Examine all the wires to ensure no damage, place basket in pump housing and to prevent dry rot and help with a better seal use petroleum jelly or magic lube on gasket before installing (this is also recommended for all o-rings and rubber gaskets).
  • Automation – If your pool is equipped with this option reinstall the ORP and Ph probes. Note:  You should always store inside your house through the winter to prevent freezing.
  • The chlorine generator should be checked on the inside to see if the grids are clean. If they are not clean, use a 50/50 muriatic muriatic muriatic and water mixture to clean.

4. Install the pool return eyeballs, pump, and skimmer baskets.
5. Make sure pool water level is at proper level – middle to upper middle of skimmer.
6. Prime the pump prior to operating. Once everything has been checked and installed, simply fill the pump basket with water.
6. Add chemicals – typically chlorine shock, algaecide, salt, stain and scale preventer.  Your initial chemical composition will vary depending the type of pool that you are running and current levels in the water. Don’t experiment with this.

  • Chlorine pool – with a standard chlorine pool you will need test your water chemistry at least once a week (possibly more with extreme heat conditions) and add the necessary chemicals.
  • Automated pools – you will need to recheck the water within a few days after pool has been circulating to check the reading. Then set all of your levels to your preferred setting and your done for the season.

7. Sweep and brush as needed or use a robotic cleaner (just put in water as needed and it does the work for you). For pools with a lot of large debris, vacuuming on “waste” will  bypass the filter to avoid extra filter cleaning.
8. Monitor the seals, gaskets, o-rings, gauges and fittings closely for the first couple days for leaks.
Opening your pool is a good time to think about converting to a salt water pool. Salt water pools have many advantages including being better for your skin and less irritation on the eyes.
Your pool really is a relatively simple system, however, like anything with pumps and motors, proper maintenance and operation are key. Many chose to have their pools professionally opened and maintained to ensure that everything is functioning properly and to help extend the life of your equipment. We offer many options for opening, closing, and maintaining your pool. Ask about our Mud Club VIP program.
 
 



Who Makes The Best Pool Equipment?

We are continually asked who makes the best pool equipment? When considering what equipment we would use in our own pools and would feel comfortable giving a 5 YEAR WARRANTY to our customers we considered the three main manufacturers of pool equipment: Pentair, Hayward, and Jandy. We considered the warranty, reputation, ease of use (automation), wear and tear, manufacturing, training, and cutting-edge technology.
The Best
Hayward Pool Products has been the leader in pool equipment and innovation for decades and is the clear choice for our customers.
Why Hayward?
Hayward offers complete pool automation systems, so everything on your equipment pad is made by Hayward and Mud Slingers Pool and Patio offers a 5 YEAR WARRANTY on all Hayward equipment. Some pool builders only offer a one or two year warranty, so make sure you ask your builder what they offer.
Heaters
The most important part of a pool heater is the heat exchanger and on average to have replaced is $800-1000.  The three types of heat exchangers are: copper, copper-nickel, and titanium. Copper can wear down in 3-5 years with normal water chemistry, copper-nickel is 8 times more resistant to chemical wear than plain copper so life expectancy is >25 years, titanium will never wear down from chemical use. All hayward gas heaters come standard with copper-nickel heat exchangers. Electric heat pumps come with titanium heat exchangers.
Filters
If you want a clear and clean pool, your filter is a critical component. Sand is the most common and has been around since the beginning. They are very easy to use and maintenance time is minimized by simply backwashing when dirty, but it only cleans to a 30 micron particle so the water isn’t the cleanest it can be. Cartridge filters are very good and clean to a 5 micron particle, so water is very clean but cleaning the cartridge filter is very time consuming. A DE filter is like a hybrid of cartridge and sand, it has grids on the inside that with the combination of crushed sea shells coating them is essentially a double filtration that cleans to 1 micron or the equivalent of a red blood cell –  so ultra clean water. It also has the same backwash system as a sand filter, so you have the best of both worlds – ultra clean water and minimal maintenance time.
Pumps
Single, dual or variable ? A single speed pump run on high speed 24 hours a day so it consumes a lot of unnecessary power. A dual speed or variable speed pump is going to be the best option as it is not necessary to run your pump on high speed all day. Set your pump on high speed during the day so you have optimal filtration while swimming in your pool. At night you can turn it (or program it) to  low speed to keep water filtering and the heater running, but saving energy and money.
Pool Chemistry Automation
Itchy skin? Cloudy water? Red eyes? Water chemistry is the part of pool ownership most people will talk about. Older pools must be monitored daily to ensure proper chemistry and often wind up having ridiculous amounts of chemicals in them. Hayward has been a leader in this cutting edge technology for years. The Hayward Pro Logic and Gold Line controls have  made pool water chemistry very inexpensive to operate and virtually automatic. Your time messing with chemicals is reduced to checking an Omni Logic touch screen to get the water chemistry correct. Simple.
The pool industry has come a long way and Hayward has been leading the pack by investing in technology that makes your pool automatic and nearly maintenance free. Gone are the days of lugging harsh chemicals and dipping sticks in the water. Now owning a pool means more time relaxing with your family.




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