New to owning a pool, have some questions

[nwin234]

Hello everyone. We just rented our first house with an in-ground pool, and we have a few questions. Here's some background on the pool:

It's definitely old. The house was built in 1961 and who knows when the pool was built...though I'm guessing around the same time frame. It's concrete lined, no vinyl or anything, and it has a sand filter. The pvc piping for the sand filter was recently replaced (including the selection switch that you can move from filter, backwash, etc.). There are some spots of degradation on the concrete where it looks worn, but the filter seems to function normally. No idea on the gallons, but it's about 20'x10' pool, give or take...I can get measurements later.

I used to take care of the pool my parents owned as a kid, so I'm vaguely familiar with vacuuming the pool and skimming the leaves and all that stuff, but I'll have to google backwashing the filter and whatnot, though I think I only do that after I'm done vacuuming or when the pump starts getting a bit laggy.

Upon moving in, the landlord was insisting that we have professional cleaners come by weekly and pay them to take care of it. I agreed to this for the first month, as we were too busy with everything else to really think about maintaining the pool as well as the rest of the house. However, from what I've seen, this 'professional' is hardly that. Here's what I seem to get for $130/month:

He's here with a coworker for *maybe* 20 minutes. I've seen him test the water and 2 out of the 4 times he's been here, he's thrown some chlorine tabs in the pool filter and in one of those float things. They skim the leaves out with a net, and very quickly vacuum around the pool, definitely not picking all of the dirt up. They never bring a sweeper attachment, so they are never seen brushing the sides, and that's it. In fact, this week I'm not sure if he even did come by, as we were out running errands during his normal time and when we came back, there were a few less leaves in the pool, but that was it. I don't think that's worth $130/month, do you? Are they just doing so little because it's winter time and no one is in the pool, thus it doesn't require much upkeep?

Also, how long should the filter be running each day? Right now I have it set for 4 hours per day, since it is winter and we just have some leaves that blow in daily. We are checking the skimmer basket every other day to ensure it stays clear.

Anyways, I bought the test kit recommended here and am waiting to get that in the mail. I also went and bought the attachments for the pole, like a skimmer, net, and brush (the skimmer the owner left here didn't have the net in it, just the plastic ring surrounding it, so obviously that had to go!)

I'm absolutely confident my wife and I can handle the upkeep of the pool for far less than the $130/month we were willing to pay the guy. So far, I've spent about 40 on equipment and another 50 on that test kit, so if that stuff gets me through the year and I can keep chemicals to a reasonable amount, I'll be good.

I fully intend on posting my results of the test kit once I get it in and seeing what advice I have from there. Sorry for the thesis-like post, I just wanted to be sure I wasn't leaving anything out. If I did, please ask and I'll find out ASAP for you.

Thanks again!

[PoolDoc]

You can do it yourself . . . if you can be consistent. Pools aren't hard (at least with the BBB method), but they aren't forgiving, either. You must be consistent, and your pump and filter must be functioning properly.

The main thing you need to make sure of, before showing your service guy the door, is that you can operate the pump and filter. He may not appreciate it if you ask him to show you how, so watch (and maybe video) him instead.

Regarding pump run time, it depends on season and your filter type. Winter and DE filters need less time; summer and sand filters require more.

As far as service goes, it DEFINITELY takes less to operate a pool in winter, with no swimmers and water temps below 70, than in summer with lots of sweating greasy (from lotion) bodies and water temps over 85.

Welcome to the PoolForum, and the BBB method!

[nwin234]

Just took a look at the pool filter again, and it turns out it's actually a DE filter...

[PoolDoc]

Slightly higher maintenance at cleaning time; lower pool and water maintenance.

Pools with DE filters are less likely to get algae, because DE filters algae. But if you DO get algae it's much, much more difficult to clean up, because live algae stops up DE filters, and dead algae will load them up pretty fast.

[nwin234]

Good to know, thanks for the heads up.

The pool guy came by today (normally comes on Wednesday or Friday...maybe he didn't come last week is all I can think of, I didn't get an answer out of him). Anyways, his English isn't the best, but he told me something is wrong with the filter itself today. He brought his own and him and his coworker were working more on the pool than usual, so that was good to see. He said that he'll have to come by next week because he thinks something is in the DE tank itself? I couldn't make out much of what he was saying, but he said that sand was coming out of the filter if that makes any sense? When I thought it was a sand filter, it made sense...but now that I know it's a DE filter, I'm at a loss. I'm thinking I'll keep him around a bit longer to get all this sorted out!

[PoolDoc]

Both sand and DE filters use media (sand, or DE - diatomaceous earth, which is literally algae skeletons => Wiki) to filter the pool water.

In sand filters, the sand is kept in the pool by strainers, now usually plastic, often called "laterals". These are usually arranged at the bottom of the filter like spokes of a wagon wheel. If these get cracked, sand can leak back into the pool.

In DE filters, the DE powder is retained on fabric very much like Dacron sail cloth, which is supported on thick plastic grids. Again, if the fabric membranes get punctures, tears or failed seams, DE powder can leak back into the pool.

In your case, he may be saying "sand" but is meaning "DE".