Discuss - Make sure the pool cover has a good overlap length. You should buy a size that is a little larger than your pool.

Many people are choosing swimming pool heaters in order to extend the swimming season after summer. A heater is fantastic to own, particularly with colder days.

With a swimming pool heater, you can adjust the temperature of the water to almost any level that you are happy with. The suggested temperature for pool water is 78 degrees, even though the majority of people prefer to have their water just a bit warmer, approximately 80 degrees.

When summer ends and weather begins to cool off, a pool heater can make swimming last longer. If you live in the north, you can double your swimming season. If you live in warmer climates (Arizona and California) you can triple the amount of swimming by using a pool heater.

If you are using a swimming pool heater or plan to use, you should also buy a swimming pool cover. A cover will protect against loss of heat from the pool. A good cover that has plenty of insulation can greatly reduce the amount of heat loss.

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.

There are several types of heaters available. The most common is gas fired heaters running off LP gas. These heaters are the least expensive to buy and also the cheapest to run over time.

You can also use oil to heat your pool. This is common in regions where you cannot buy gas fired heaters. Other pools select to use electricity which is a great way to heat your pool. However, it can be the most expensive way to run and take the most amount of time to properly maintain.

There is the solar pool heater. It uses the sun to heat your pool water. This method has several disadvantages when you compare it to other types of heaters. First, they cost nearly half the amount of your swimming pool!

Discuss - Every other day test the pool water. Use test strips or a DPD kit and measure free chlorine, pH and total alkalinity.

Next, you must have large electric pump, which can cost you lots of money. The pump delivers the water from your pool to the solar panels, which will in turn heat up the water.

In conclusion, when it comes to swimming pool heaters, gas fired heaters are the best and most cost efficient ways to heat your pool. They are cheap and very user friendly.

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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.

All pool owners must deal with chemicals. When considering which chemicals to use, there are several things that pool owners must know.

Regardless of how many chemicals you have, you should never mix them together. Next, do not add water to dry chemicals. Finally, do not handle chemicals with your bare hands.

There are three chemicals that you need to have for your pool. These chemicals are extremely important, since you will be using them quite often.

1. Chlorine tablets come in dimensions of either one inch or three inch. You put chlorine tablets in your skimmer, usually 3 - 4 tablets at a time. During the summer months, when you use your pool every day, you should change your tablets every week.

If you intend to use two skimmers, you will need eight tablets every week. You can purchase chlorine tablets by the bucket, containing 30 - 50 tablets. They are not cheap, approximately $80 a bucket.

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.

2. Alkaline powder. Although chlorine in your pool will kill off germs, it will also raise the level of acid in your water. If you do not use enough alkaline, metal parts will start to corrode, turning your water a misty green color.

Then again, if you use too much alkaline powder, the water will get awfully cloudy, raising the level of germs in the water. This can cause serious health issues. So as to get the right alkaline powder in your pool, you should use brand name alkaline powders in the amount suggested by the package.

Discuss - Make sure the pool cover has a good overlap length. You should buy a size that is a little larger than your pool.

3. Chlorine powder is important in killing germs such as algae and bacteria that live in your pool and multiply at extremely fast speeds. To eliminate these germs, you should use a large amount of chlorine powder in your pool.

Chlorine powder is expensive, so you should check how much you will need before you buy. This is a must have chemical, because it is impossible to keep your pool free of germs without it.

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ZEN POOL … Awaken the Master Within Top Professional Pool Player and Instructor Max Eberle shares with you many of the hard earned pool/billiards knowledge known only by the champions.

Closing your pool for the winter is one of the most important steps in maintaining a pool properly. Do it right and spring opening is no sweat. Do it wrong and you could meet the creature from the black lagoon, up close and personal. Your choice of a winter cover is key to a successful pool closing. There are four types of generally available pool covers on the market today, each with its strengths and shortcomings. The main types are solid, mesh, mesh safety covers and solid safety covers.

Solid covers
Solid covers represent the largest number of pool covers sold in any given year. They are constructed of woven polyethylene “tapes” in what is called the scrim. Think of this as a flat piece of woven textile. This scrim then receives a coating of plastic on each side for waterproofing. While made by Canadian mills for many years most of these covers today come from Asia.

Discuss - Metallic parts in your pool will dissolve (walls, floor, handrails, ladders, light fixtures, and equipment). This could even lead to discolored water and stains on the pool walls and floor.

Advantages-Solid covers are relatively inexpensive and easy to install. When properly installed they do a reasonable job of keeping your pool clean and ready for the next season.
Disadvantages-The fabric is subject to wind damage due to flapping of the material, they collect water and debris and the methods to hold the cover in place can cause problems during the winter.

Mesh Covers
Mesh covers are made just like the solid covers but omit the plastic coating as they are designed to let water pass through.
Advantages-Mesh covers are lighter and less subject to wind damage. Water drains through so spring removal is easier and not as messy.
Disadvantages-By allowing water to penetrate mesh covers also allow fine dirt and sediment to penetrate and end up in the pool. Mesh covers also allow a small amount of light to reach the water, which can allow algae to grow as the weather warms toward pool opening time.

Discuss - Chlorine powder is important in killing germs such as algae and bacteria that live in your pool and multiply at extremely fast speeds. To eliminate these germs, you should use a large amount of chlorine powder in your pool.

Safety Covers
A relatively new entrant, safety covers have gained a solid place in pool covers. They are called safety covers because they are recognized by the ASTM as preventing accidental access to a swimming pool when properly installed. To meet this standard the cover must support up to 4000 lbs.! They are constructed of a heavy-duty mesh reinforced with woven, heavy straps that cross the pool’s width and breadth. They are anchored with heavy-duty springs hooked to anchors that are drilled and set into the pool deck.
Advantages
Safety covers give invaluable peace of mind knowing the pool is secure from any unauthorized access. As they are built to a minimum standard safety covers offer reliable quality and very long service life; up to ten years and more. If you have a custom pool with a unique shape this is probably the cover for you as a large percentage of these covers sold every year are custom made.

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.

Disadvantages
All this peace of mind and performance comes at a price. Safety covers generally cost several times the price of a solid cover. Only pools with a deck can use a safety cover as the anchors for the covers must be in concrete or wood. This limits the safety cover option to in ground pools or above ground pools with decks all the way ‘round and a minimum of 2 feet in width. Safety cover mesh also lets fine dirt and sediment pass through which some owners find objectionable.

Discuss - Make sure the pool cover has a good overlap length. You should buy a size that is a little larger than your pool.

Solid safety covers
Made exactly like mesh safety covers except the solid vinyl is substituted for the mesh fabric. Only incorporating a small, sealable mesh panel for drainage the solid safety covers lets virtually nothing through when installed.
Advantages
In addition to the advantages of a mesh safety cover the solid covers allow no light to penetrate or debris to enter virtually guaranteeing a clean pool in the spring.
Disadvantages
These suckers are HEAVY! A solid safety cover for an average in ground pool tips the scales at nearly twice the weight of a mesh safety cover. This has recently somewhat minimized with new, lighter fabrics from some manufacturers. Solid safety covers also command a premium of roughly 15% above the price of a mesh safety cover.

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