“My Pool Is Green, What I Do Now?”
In April of 2003 we received an email that asked this question. At first we thought it was someone making a joke. Further investigation proved it to be a serious question from a real customer. As much as the wording is a sad commentary on the state of the English language in the information age, sadder still is the fact that so many people have a major investment in the backyard and so few know how to care for it in a reasonable and cost effective manner. This is not a failing on the part of the pool owner but on the part of the pool builder and service contractor. Almost anything you buy; a car, TV, garden tractor, cake mixer comes with an owner’s manual. A pool can cost from twenty to a hundred thousand dollars or more and comes with no more than an hour of verbal instruction and no written manual.
That hole full of water in your backyard needs proper maintenance involving season start up, winterization, chemical balance, proper filtration, heating and more. Even if you hire a service contractor to do the work for you it would be nice to know what’s going on just to make sure you’re getting your money’s worth. Although our winter climate can be rough on the structure of our pools, our summer is not as demanding on our water quality as what we find the farther south we go. Here in Connecticut there is no reason the pool should ever be green. What follows are some of the things you should know to be a happy and cost effective pool owner.