Discuss - Find a swimming pool cover that is strong and sturdy. The cover should not only keep your swimming pool clean, it should add safety as well for humans and animals alike.

1. How long have you been in business? Pool companies that have been around a long time usually have a good reputation. Usually, but there are exceptions. Always ask for references. And if they have any pools under construction in the area, ask if you can visit the site and talk to the homeowner about their experience so far. Also make sure they are not involved with any pending legal disputes.

2. Have you been in business under any other names? If they have, that could be a red flag that they changed their name because of bad reputation or BBB marks. Be cautious of this builder.

3. Are you a licensed and bonded contractor? Some states do not require licensing, but you will definitely want to find a licensed contractor. Most bad experiences with less-than-ethical pool builders are from homeowners that hire an unlicensed one to save a little money.

4. How much and what types of insurance do you have in place? You will want to make sure that any damage that occurs during installation - to property or people - is covered.

Discuss - Salt water pool systems will use an average of 500 watts of AC power for a 20,000 gallon pool. Copper Ionization systems will use an average of only 40 watts of DC power to treat the same amount of water.

5. Are your warranties spelled out in writing? If they aren’t, beware. If they are, get a copy of it and familiarize yourself with the exclusions and coverage. One of the things to specifically check for is “Acts of God” coverage that covers things out of your control, such as storm damage.

6. Do you provide service after completion? This is important because there will be times you have questions regarding maintenance, and times you will need your pool serviced. You need a good local contact that can help you. The pool company you choose should stand by their service and their service team.

7. Will I be instructed on the operation of my pool? Any answer other than yes is not acceptable. Choose a different pool builder.

Discuss - Copper Ionization systems work within a calcium hardness range of 200-2,000ppm. Because it converts calcium to bicarbonate, the Copper Ionization will eliminate and prevent calcium scaling on pool walls and rock features.

8. Will your crews clean up their messes? Oh yes, installing a pool is quite messy. Make sure the builder knows that you do not want to be the one to clean it up. This includes removing tire tracks from the access point.

9. Who is responsible for any damage to the house or the neighbor’s property? Also, who will repair any irrigation or sprinkler pipes broken during construction? Get this worked out before you move forward with any plans. Better yet, get it in writing.

10. Who applies for and obtains the permits? Get this worked out early. Permits can take a while.

These are only a few of the questions homeowners should have answered by potential pool builders. For more information on choosing, installing and maintaining a pool, visit PoolSpaForum.com

Top 10 Questions to ask a builder before purchasing a swimming pool. Learn what questions to ask at http://www.poolspaforum.com

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Discuss - A chemical called Floc or Flocculant is sometimes a good idea if you are in a rush. Lets say you have a pool party tomorrow and your pool is cloudy.

A swimming pool can provide families with hours of entertainment and the opportunity for healthy recreation. However, unless care is taken, swimming pools can prove very dangerous. The sad fact is that it takes just thirty seconds for a child to drown. It is for this reason that pool covers can be so valuable.

Swimming pool covers provide many useful functions, such as maximizing the benefits of the pool-heating system, thereby cutting back on the portion of the energy bill devoted to keep the pool temperature perfect. Hard-top swimming pool covers also function as a backup to a pool fence (an absolute safety necessity), ensuring that if a little child wanders onto a covered pool, he or she will not get entangled in a flimsy cover, which is a drowning hazard. Warmer environments only require simple plastic swimming pool covers — just to keep the pool clean and protected from airborne dust, dirt, and leaves when not in use. The choice of the type of swimming pool cover is determined by what the particular necessities are.

Discuss - Since salt water pool systems produce chlorine, the sanitizing effectiveness of the system is impacted by changes in temperature, bather load, sunlight and rainfall. Changes in any of these factors may require additional “shocking” of the water to prevent an algae outbreak.

Swimming pool covers come in a variety of choices: net pool covers, mesh pool covers, vinyl/in-ground pool covers, etc. They adapt to rocks and waterfalls and don’t obstruct views. A mesh pool cover has a tight-fitting safety barrier, and it prevents unwanted entry, reduces maintenance, keeps pool free of debris, and reduces evaporation. A vinyl pool cover boasts an outstanding safety barrier, and it operates with the turn of a key, seals out dirt and leaves, insulates and retains heat, and reduces chemical loss. All-Safe and Katchakid are two of the many manufacturers of swimming pool covers.

The mesh swimming pool covers serve dual purposes: safety and protection of the pool from leaves and debris. Mesh covers are used extensively throughout the U.S. to close down or winterize pools. The fabric of the swimming pool cover is a unique blend of polypropylene and is impervious to chlorine and mildew. Most swimming pool covers provide an adequate level of safety if properly cared for. However, care should be taken to choose a pool cover that is high in quality and one in which the mesh pool cover straps go completely across the cover on both the top and bottom of the cover. Also, the spacing of the straps on the mesh pool covers greatly affects the overall strength.

Discuss - Don’t clean your pool! A dirty pool is an expensive pool (expensive for you, profitable for your local pool business). The more you let your pool go, the more it will cost to get things back together again.

Pool Covers provides detailed information on Pool Covers, Swimming Pool Covers, Inground Pool Covers, Pool Safety Covers and more. Pool Covers is affiliated with Discount Pool Supplies.

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Discuss - Don’t clean your pool! A dirty pool is an expensive pool (expensive for you, profitable for your local pool business). The more you let your pool go, the more it will cost to get things back together again.

This summer my wife finally talked me into buying a small above ground pool for my youngest daughter. (Ok the truth is she got tired of waiting for me and went out and bought one herself) I admit I was reluctant to buy one, mainly because I was too lazy to level the ground.

I have to say it was easier and faster than I thought it would be and my daughter who is 9 has been it everyday now for 2 weeks. She is at the least very happy and has had her friends come over everyday. We where kind of worried on what we were going to do with her during the summer holidays, because we are not going anywhere this summer. To my surprise my older daughter who is 15 has also been goofing around in it with her friends, they all seem to enjoy it on hot days. The older girls don’t try to swim in it, they mostly just sit around on floating chairs and talk. Fun for them I guess, and it is cooling and a great sun tan area.

Discuss - Make sure the swimming pool cover comes with enough parts to securely anchor the cover without worry of slippage. Most larger swimming pool covers come with a strap or anchor for every four feet of cover.

I purchased the 36″ X 12 foot intex easy set above ground pool. It doesn’t sound very big but you would be surprised. I have 28 inches of water in it and can float anything that a large pool can. 4 kids fit very comfortably playing around and I have seen 6 teenagers sitting in it like a hot tub.

The most important part of installation is leveling of the ground. This has to be as near as perfect as possible. Do not place on sand or soft dirt it has to been on grass or hardpan. The reason for no slope is because the sides are soft so it could roll over on it self with the water pressure leaning to one side. The installation instructions say to make an area of about 12 feet across. I found that you need 14 feet because the sides bulge out.

The intex pool took 6 hours to fill up with the garden hose. The pump that came with took 5 minutes to install. The chemicals mainly chlorine and shockit took 5 minutes but they couldn’t swim in it until the next day. You do need to buy a testing kit for ph and chlorine levels of the water to keep it clean all summer. The test kit only cost me 6 dollars. I found the walls to be stronger than I originally thought. The inflated top ring filled up in minutes with a bicycle pump. I did place a tarp underneath it just incase I missed a twig or other sharp object in the grass.

Discuss - Have Fun!! Be sure and supervise your children carefully and to keep the chemicals out of reach. Also remember that pool covers are meant to keep debris out of the pool and are not meant as a safety device to keep children safe.

One draw back that I have found is you still need to buy a small net to clean it every day. Small pieces of grass and leaves seem to find there way into the water. Yesterday my daughter came running into the house and said there was a small animal swimming in it. It was a grey squirrel; I guess he was looking for a drink of water because it was so dry here. I scooped him out with the net and off he ran.

I would recommend the Intex above ground pool for anyone that has kids and needs entertainment on hot days. If you think they are not deep enough to have fun in you are wrong. I have friends that have in-ground pools and they have said they will never have another pool deeper than four feet. They considered it a waste of money because most people only play around in water and do not dive. Besides the beauty of these soft-sided pools is at the end of summer I can simply drain it and store it away for the winter.

Discuss - Salt water pool systems and Copper ionization systems both use a chamber in their process. The difference is that a salt water pool system’s cell may need to be replaced in 3-5 years at a cost of over $400.

Next year I am going to buy the 18 foot model that is 4 feet deep so the older kids can goof around in it more. Price of these pools is very low as far as I am concerned around 500 dollars for the larger ones. I paid 84 dollars for mine and that included the pump. You can get framed intex pools in larger sizes but it’s too much work for me.

Carry Stalz writes information articles for http://www.decorativewaterfountains.com mostly about water fountains, gardening and choosing water features for your yard. This review was written in hopes that other people that are on a tight budget could still provide loads of summer fun for their kids this summer.

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