Love your vids man, I work in the pool industry and where my owners fail to inform or train me, you help make up the knowledge gap, thanks alot for what you do.
Another tip i learned after replacing my liner was the water bill. A special situation. Calling you utility provider to let them know what dates and how many gallons pool is reduced my fill up cost from my hose if you go that route. Water rates and usage is charged by disposal aka drainage. Simply filling a pool is not going back into local drainage pipes. Also insurance (minimal) but home owners insurance is slightly reduced for fire department usage to use incase of a fire. :). Thanks for the vids learning alot.
I live near Toronto, Ontario, Canada and have always run my pool 8 hours/day with the solar blanket on at night and daytime until swim time. Thanks for your tip.
Add enzymes to the pool to break down the oil. Then clean your filter with a phosphate free degreaser spray (Purple Power). Bathers showering before entering pool is best prevention
Thanks for the information. So an evaporative cover helps to keep more water and chemicals in the pool. Should I cover during summer when not in use and also in the winter.
Hey I have a question recently i shocked my pool to kill the algae and when I started vacuuming up the algae I noticed that the return jet in my pool started pumping out greenish water. Is there a reason for this ?
Yeah algae particles are too small for your filter! Vac to waste then add water or add a little extra water before vacuuming to waste so you don't vacuum below your skimmers and can still run your pool pump and filter immediately afterward.
Hey swim university, I have a quick question. My pool keeps leaking and stops below the skimmer. I checked all my pipes and couldn't find any leaks and I also checked the pump and filter and there were no leaks. Can you please help?
@@ameensnipez you need a rubber blow though plug (uses the same valve as your car tire) and a air compressor with regulator (+ a plug to cap the other threaded end)... air it up to 10- 15lb (BE CAREFUL OF THE PLUG GET IT IN GOOD AND STAY BACK) at some point air should stop flowing from the tank to the pipe... take off your air chuck... wait 5 min... 10 min... press down on that valve... you should get alot of air... 0 air = leak somewhere in that pipe(s) your testing or your plugs (look for bubbles under water or use soapy water on anything above water to confirm it is not a plug leaking)... NEVER REMOVE THE PLUG WITH OUT DEPRESSING OR REMOVING THE VALVE TO RELEASE THE AIR PRESSURE IN THE PIPE Some air... = refill to 15 make sureeeeeeeee its totally full wait the same amount of time.. try to add air if it takes none or almost none... odds are pipe is fine. Try to test one pipe at a time, depending on your plumbing setup this could be hard... if you have a main drain the ideal way to test is capping it off however it should hold air pressure (once you see bubbles) but will not hold 10-15lb. if you find a leak do not assume valves are sealing perfectly... If you find a pipe you believe is leaking see if you can isolate it via valve / plug and see if the pool still loses water... This is just for checking pipes you could be leaking in many other places... EX if you have a de / sand filter make sure the multiport is not bypassing to waste... This is a rough idea of how to pressure test, you should have an experienced person do it, it is risky as you are working with pipes under pressure and plugs that can blow out. (disclaimer) If you are losing water to the skimmer level focus on pressure testing the skimmer pipes (should be the most easy) you can also PLUG one skimmer (assuming more than one skimmer and a main drain so you do not starve the pump for water) see if you lose water, if so swap skimmers... if you do not leak found if you do... could be both pipes leaking... run off the main if you can or pressure test (ideal)...
You have a skimmer leak. Very very common. Don’t waste your time looking elsewhere. Call a guy who resurfaces pools - he’ll have a guy that fixes these. I had 4 leak detection companies fail and the resurfacing crew fixed it pronto
@@tobin669 Water expands when it freezes and can blow out your underground pipes. Expensive price to pay for not properly closing the pool. Depends upon your climate
OK, so I have a question about chlorination. We all know that there is an apparent shortage of chlorine in the retail market. What's worse, I can't seem to find the older CalHyPo tablets - you remember them right? The ones *without* the stabilizer added. I am battling insanely high CYA levels, and being on an older well, I really don't want to drain 1/2 my pool volume and then pump in 6K gallons. Even after doing that, if I continue to use TriChlor tabs, I will be back in the same spoy within a year or two. I have found 68% Calcium Hypochlorite tablets, but they are cleverly marketed for use only in aerobic septic systems. When queried, the manufacturer states that they are certainly not suitable for pool use do to their inherent oxidizing ability, and should they be inadvertently mixed with the TriChlor, ignition or explosion could result. OK, I can segregate my pool chlorine. In fact, once the nasty TriChlor is gone, I don't ever expect to buy any more of it. I have had a pool at every one of our houses for the last 28 years, so I remember the old days when the Pace/HTH CalHyPo tablets were all that you could buy at Walmart, KMart, or Gibson's. Is it really just marketing, or am I missing something here? I can see how they'd like to keep their dirty little secret so that the demand from pool owners doesn't push up the price for septic system treatment chlorine, buy hey - why not just give a warning about not mixing chlorine types?
Or you can just keep the pump running on filter while its raining to get rid of new contaminants and backwash is only for cleaning the filter if you want to empty out a pool then set it to waste if you set it on backwash all the debris that enter the filter is going to come back into the pool since the water reverses flow through the filter
Baking soda is definitely cheaper. For example, Walmart’s Great Value baking soda 4 lb box is $2.54. So 4 of those boxes (which would equal the 16 pounds in your HD example) would cost just $10.16, versus the $25 you stated. So much cheaper.
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The Pool Care Cheat Sheet (Free): swimu.com/cheatsheet
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I would love to learn about different filter media like glass etc, not just sand. :)
Awesome video Matt . As a pool owner I look foward to your videos when you drop them
Love your vids man, I work in the pool industry and where my owners fail to inform or train me, you help make up the knowledge gap, thanks alot for what you do.
So glad we can help!
Another tip i learned after replacing my liner was the water bill. A special situation. Calling you utility provider to let them know what dates and how many gallons pool is reduced my fill up cost from my hose if you go that route. Water rates and usage is charged by disposal aka drainage. Simply filling a pool is not going back into local drainage pipes. Also insurance (minimal) but home owners insurance is slightly reduced for fire department usage to use incase of a fire. :). Thanks for the vids learning alot.
Thank God 🙏 your course taught me a lot!
Thank you for the help!
I live near Toronto, Ontario, Canada and have always run my pool 8 hours/day with the solar blanket on at night and daytime until swim time. Thanks for your tip.
Awesome. You're doing it right!
Awesome help
Very helpful! Thank you!
Glad it's helpful!
Can you do a video on how to get and keep oil out the pool and thanks for the amazing content it’s really helpful
Add enzymes to the pool to break down the oil. Then clean your filter with a phosphate free degreaser spray (Purple Power). Bathers showering before entering pool is best prevention
Thank you for the information
Thanks for the information. So an evaporative cover helps to keep more water and chemicals in the pool. Should I cover during summer when not in use and also in the winter.
Great advice
Hey I have a question recently i shocked my pool to kill the algae and when I started vacuuming up the algae I noticed that the return jet in my pool started pumping out greenish water. Is there a reason for this ?
Yeah algae particles are too small for your filter! Vac to waste then add water or add a little extra water before vacuuming to waste so you don't vacuum below your skimmers and can still run your pool pump and filter immediately afterward.
Yes get the water sucked OUT, it will go through even the ultra ultra fine mesh nets so yeah pump it OUT of your water and refill whatever you lost.
Hey swim university, I have a quick question. My pool keeps leaking and stops below the skimmer. I checked all my pipes and couldn't find any leaks and I also checked the pump and filter and there were no leaks. Can you please help?
So you pressure tested your pipes...
@@mattlane2282 no how do I do that?
@@ameensnipez you need a rubber blow though plug (uses the same valve as your car tire) and a air compressor with regulator (+ a plug to cap the other threaded end)... air it up to 10- 15lb (BE CAREFUL OF THE PLUG GET IT IN GOOD AND STAY BACK) at some point air should stop flowing from the tank to the pipe... take off your air chuck... wait 5 min... 10 min... press down on that valve... you should get alot of air... 0 air = leak somewhere in that pipe(s) your testing or your plugs (look for bubbles under water or use soapy water on anything above water to confirm it is not a plug leaking)...
NEVER REMOVE THE PLUG WITH OUT DEPRESSING OR REMOVING THE VALVE TO RELEASE THE AIR PRESSURE IN THE PIPE
Some air... = refill to 15 make sureeeeeeeee its totally full wait the same amount of time.. try to add air if it takes none or almost none... odds are pipe is fine.
Try to test one pipe at a time, depending on your plumbing setup this could be hard... if you have a main drain the ideal way to test is capping it off however it should hold air pressure (once you see bubbles) but will not hold 10-15lb.
if you find a leak do not assume valves are sealing perfectly...
If you find a pipe you believe is leaking see if you can isolate it via valve / plug and see if the pool still loses water...
This is just for checking pipes you could be leaking in many other places...
EX if you have a de / sand filter make sure the multiport is not bypassing to waste...
This is a rough idea of how to pressure test, you should have an experienced person do it, it is risky as you are working with pipes under pressure and plugs that can blow out. (disclaimer)
If you are losing water to the skimmer level focus on pressure testing the skimmer pipes (should be the most easy) you can also PLUG one skimmer (assuming more than one skimmer and a main drain so you do not starve the pump for water) see if you lose water, if so swap skimmers... if you do not leak found if you do... could be both pipes leaking... run off the main if you can or pressure test (ideal)...
You have a skimmer leak. Very very common. Don’t waste your time looking elsewhere. Call a guy who resurfaces pools - he’ll have a guy that fixes these. I had 4 leak detection companies fail and the resurfacing crew fixed it pronto
In one of your videos you say, when using solar pool cover, don’t run the pump. So basically either run the pump or use the pool cover?
It is perfectly fine to run the pump while the solar cover is on the pool. I'll have to go back and clarify that in the old video!
Is it best to run the pump when pool is in use or not In use?
Run pool during the day. That’s when algae is trying to grow and water temp is highest
Do I need to close my pool if I live in Las Vegas? I didn't when I live in California
If you're not using it in the colder months or it's at risk of freezing, you need to close it.
@@SwimUniversity Just curious, why do you ''Need to close it''? It only costs a few dollars a month in chemicals and power here in Oregon.....
@@tobin669 Water expands when it freezes and can blow out your underground pipes. Expensive price to pay for not properly closing the pool. Depends upon your climate
@@drdrew3 Of coarse it does that's why it goes into freeze protection below 36 deg
Some good points
But different countries have different temperatures .
As for stabilise if u add to much it's as bad as not enough .
CYA is no different than all other chemicals - they are most effective within an ideal range. CYA is just harder to fix when high
@@drdrew3 agreed
i normally drain some water and put in some new
Does liquor help keep pool clean ?
No. Liquor makes people pee in the pool. I speak from experience
Baking Soda!
OK, so I have a question about chlorination. We all know that there is an apparent shortage of chlorine in the retail market. What's worse, I can't seem to find the older CalHyPo tablets - you remember them right? The ones *without* the stabilizer added. I am battling insanely high CYA levels, and being on an older well, I really don't want to drain 1/2 my pool volume and then pump in 6K gallons. Even after doing that, if I continue to use TriChlor tabs, I will be back in the same spoy within a year or two.
I have found 68% Calcium Hypochlorite tablets, but they are cleverly marketed for use only in aerobic septic systems. When queried, the manufacturer states that they are certainly not suitable for pool use do to their inherent oxidizing ability, and should they be inadvertently mixed with the TriChlor, ignition or explosion could result. OK, I can segregate my pool chlorine. In fact, once the nasty TriChlor is gone, I don't ever expect to buy any more of it. I have had a pool at every one of our houses for the last 28 years, so I remember the old days when the Pace/HTH CalHyPo tablets were all that you could buy at Walmart, KMart, or Gibson's.
Is it really just marketing, or am I missing something here? I can see how they'd like to keep their dirty little secret so that the demand from pool owners doesn't push up the price for septic system treatment chlorine, buy hey - why not just give a warning about not mixing chlorine types?
Liquid chlorine isn’t perfect but it solves all the problems that you are complaining about
Everytime I turn around it's something. Pollen or alage...I'm so over it.
Solar cover I mean.
Backwash your pool wen it rains to keep the level of water and also you won’t waist money on filling up the pool
Or you can just keep the pump running on filter while its raining to get rid of new contaminants and backwash is only for cleaning the filter if you want to empty out a pool then set it to waste if you set it on backwash all the debris that enter the filter is going to come back into the pool since the water reverses flow through the filter
Nobody in Southern California uses pool covers. They seem like such a hassle and nightmare to deal with. Very ugly too
Canada just entered the chat room
Save money and pool dont go in the same sentance
Spending less = saving money
@@drdrew3 owning a pool= optional financial liability
@@stanmondzelewski9253You sound broke. Pools are awesome luxury items
Home Depot sells 16 pounds of alkalinity increaser for around $25.00. I doubt baking soda can be found cheaper than that.
Baking soda is definitely cheaper. For example, Walmart’s Great Value baking soda 4 lb box is $2.54. So 4 of those boxes (which would equal the 16 pounds in your HD example) would cost just $10.16, versus the $25 you stated. So much cheaper.
Sam’s Club sells a 15 pound resealable bag of Arm & Hammer baking soda for $8.92. Boom!!!