Pool Care Blog
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Why Do My Eyes Sting After Swimming in My Pool?
Stinging eyes almost never mean too much chlorine. Here's how to tell whether pH or combined chlorine (chloramines) is the real cause, and what to do about each.
Why Is My Pool Cloudy After Rain?
Rain dilutes your chemistry, washes in debris, and can shift your pH all at once. Here's why that clouds the water and the order to rebalance it in.
Why Is My Pool Cloudy After Shocking It?
Cloudy water after a shock treatment is usually a normal, short-lived side effect, but it can also point to a filtration problem. Here's how to tell the difference.
What Is Chlorine Lock and How Do You Fix It?
Your chlorine reads fine but the pool still turns cloudy or green: here's what "chlorine lock" actually means, why it's almost always a cyanuric acid problem, and the two real ways to fix it.
Black Algae vs. Green Algae: How to Tell the Difference and Treat Each
Black algae and green algae look nothing alike under the surface and need different brushing and dosing approaches. Here's how to identify which one you have and treat it correctly the first time.
How to Lower Pool pH Safely
High pH scales your equipment and eats up your chlorine's effectiveness. Here's how to bring it back down with muriatic acid or dry acid, without overcorrecting.
How Often Should You Test Pool Water?
A simple testing rhythm for every season: how often to test at baseline, when to bump it up in summer, and why a hard rain changes the schedule.
How Much Chlorine to Shock a Pool
The breakpoint chlorination formula behind pool shock, in plain numbers: how the dose is calculated from your combined chlorine reading and what that means in actual gallons or pounds of product.
Green Pool to Clear: A Step-by-Step Recovery Timeline
A realistic day-by-day plan for clearing a green pool with the shock, filter, brush cycle, plus how to know when it's actually safe to swim again.
Free Chlorine vs. Combined Chlorine: What's the Difference?
Free chlorine is what's actually sanitizing your pool; combined chlorine is used-up chlorine that needs to be shocked away. Here's how to test for both and what the difference means for your water.
Calcium Hardness Too Low: Why It Matters and How to Fix It
Low calcium hardness doesn't turn water green or cloudy, but it can slowly etch a plaster pool's surface. Here's how to spot it and correct it with calcium chloride.
Calcium Hardness Too High: Scaling Signs and Fixes
High calcium hardness shows up as scale on tile and rough, cloudy water long before a test confirms it. Here's how to read the number correctly and the two real ways to bring it back down.
Best Time of Day to Test Pool Water
Sunlight and swimmers can shift a reading within hours. Here's the testing window that gives you the most trustworthy, comparable results.
How to Test Pool Water Without a Smart Monitor
You don't need a floating sensor to know what's in your water. Here's how test strips and liquid kits, paired with a consistent logging habit, cover the same ground.
A Brief History of Smart Pool Monitors (and Why So Many Have Shut Down)
Automated pool sensors keep promising to test your water for you, and several have already shut down. Here's the business pattern behind those closures, and what to check before you buy one.
The Best Pool Water Test Kits: Strips vs. Liquid
A cost-and-accuracy comparison of test strips, liquid drop kits, and digital photometers for pool owners testing water by hand, including what each method typically costs over a season and when upgrading is actually worth it.
Essential Tools Every Pool Owner Needs
A short, honest checklist of the pool tools that actually earn their place in your garage, what each one costs, and what you can safely skip until later.
The Best Pool Maintenance Apps, Compared
An honest look at the pool apps people actually use in 2026, what each one is really built for, where the free ones make their money, and how to pick the right one for your pool.
Understanding Your Pool Equipment Pad: What Everything Does
A labeled walkthrough of what's actually on your pool equipment pad, so you can look at the pump, filter, heater, and valves and know what each one is doing.
How Much Does It Cost to Maintain a Pool Per Month?
Realistic monthly and annual cost ranges for pool maintenance by pool type, DIY versus professional service, and the factors that push your number up or down.
A Glossary of Pool Terms Every New Owner Should Know
A plain-English rundown of the pool vocabulary that shows up on test strips, equipment tags, and pool-tech conversations, grouped by chemistry, equipment, and troubleshooting so you can find the term you actually need.
Your First 30 Days as a Pool Owner
A week-by-week checklist for your first month owning a pool: what to check immediately, when to test the water, and how to build a maintenance routine that actually sticks.
Do You Need a Pool Service, or Can You Maintain It Yourself?
A time-and-cost breakdown of DIY pool care versus a weekly service, plus the honest signals that actually tip the decision one way or the other.
Pool Chemistry for Beginners: The 5 Numbers That Matter
The five numbers on every pool test strip, explained in plain language: what each one actually does, why it's on the strip at all, and which ones you actually need to check every week.