Skimmer Editorial Team
Skimmer's guides are written and maintained by the team that builds the Skimmer app. We are pool owners and software builders, not a chemical manufacturer or a pool-service franchise, so the guidance here has no product to sell you beyond the app itself.
Every dosing number, target range, and safety recommendation on this site is compiled from published, checkable sources: public-health guidance (CDC's Model Aquatic Health Code and Healthy Swimming program), the recognized industry standards (ANSI/APSP/ICC), and manufacturer dosing references. Where a figure comes from a specific source, we cite it on the page so you can verify it yourself rather than take our word for it.
Pool chemistry is health-adjacent, so we treat it that way: we describe how a number is derived, flag where local water or a specific product changes the answer, and tell you when something is a job for a professional rather than an app. Read how we work in our editorial policy and methodology.
Recent guides
In a freeze climate, pool care splits into distinct seasons with a hard stop and a careful restart, and freeze protection matters as much during a surprise shoulder-season cold snap as it does deep in winter.
A simple monthly rhythm for a winterized pool: what your cover, your water level, and a five-minute walk-around are actually telling you before spring opening rolls around.
A practical freeze-protection checklist for your pump, filter, heater, and plumbing, plus how to tell whether your climate calls for a full winterization or just a freeze sensor.
A step-by-step winterizing checklist for freeze-climate pools: balancing the water, clearing the lines, and protecting equipment before the first hard freeze.
The Northeast is real freeze country, so winterizing is not optional. A complete step-by-step closing guide for New England and the Mid-Atlantic: timing, chemistry, blowing out lines, antifreeze, and covering for a long, hard winter.
California runs from coastal pools that never close to mountain pools that freeze solid. Here's how to match your winter routine to your region: SoCal and coastal, the Central Valley, and the Sierra.
Most Arizona pools run all winter, but the desert's cold nights and high-elevation towns change the plan. Here's the cool-season routine for Phoenix and Tucson, freeze protection for desert nights, and closing for cold-country Arizona.
Florida pools almost never close. Here's the honest answer on winterizing in a subtropical climate: the cool-season routine, the rare freeze plan for North Florida, and why draining lines is the wrong move.
Texas pools rarely close the way northern pools do. Here's how to prep for the state's short but sharp freezes: partial winterization, freeze protection, and what to do when a hard freeze is in the forecast.
A stretch of 95-plus days changes how fast your pool water moves out of balance. Here's how to adjust your testing schedule and refill routine so a heatwave doesn't turn into a green pool.
Cloudy water almost always traces back to filtration, sanitizer, or water balance, in that order. Here's how to figure out which one is yours and fix it without overdosing.
Five active Facebook groups where pool owners actually get answers, what each one is good for, how to post a question that gets a useful reply, and when a group is the wrong place to ask.
pH, chlorine, and alkalinity all being 'in range' doesn't guarantee balanced water. Here's what the Langelier Saturation Index actually measures and when it's worth checking.
A calm, practical checklist for getting a pool ready before a hurricane or major storm: what to shut down, what to leave alone, and what to do the moment it's safe to go back outside.
Every pool chemistry number in one chart: ideal range, acceptable range, and what actually happens when each one drifts outside it.
Cyanuric acid (CYA) is the stabilizer that keeps chlorine from burning off in sunlight, but too much of it can quietly weaken your sanitizer instead of helping it.
Heat and humidity don't just make swimming more appealing, they also speed up chlorine loss and algae growth. Here's what's actually happening and how to adjust your routine.
Raising total alkalinity in a pool takes baking soda, not soda ash. How much to add per 10,000 gallons, and why TA gets fixed before pH.
A saltwater pool and a chlorine pool sanitize the water the same way, the cost difference comes down to buying chlorine by the jug versus amortizing a salt cell. Here's how to actually compare them.
Total alkalinity above 120 ppm makes pH stubborn and cloudy water more likely, but a rushed acid dose can send pH into a nosedive. Here's the muriatic-acid-and-aerate method that lowers one without wrecking the other.
How much soda ash to raise pool pH, with a free dose calculator and the measured way to add it so pH doesn't swing past target.
What a monthly pool service actually charges for, how prices shift by region and service tier, and the extras that typically show up as separate line items.
A short, repeatable weekly routine that keeps a pool balanced and equipment healthy, plus the daily and monthly tasks that support it.
A starter shopping list for new pool owners: the five chemical categories every pool needs, what's optional, and what to skip until you actually have a problem.