Via Phone call: 'How long will an auto cover last?' Asked a customer this week. 'I have read that they can fail in a few years. Is that true?'

Why do people purchase salt chlorinators? I honestly think that most are sold because of hype. Misinformation by both pool "guys" and pool owners alike flood the internet and make these systems out to be the "magic bullet" to pool maintenance. There are people that have been told and or read that a salt pool takes care of itself and they don't have to test it!!! That simply is not the case. These systems are handy and convenient in that you don't have to purchase chlorine.

I am often told by future clients that they have several estimates for their new pool and they know they are comparing apples to apples. They typically believe they have a firm grasp on the features and the scope of work they are comparing. Unless they have some experience in the construction industry, the truth is they're usually lost. It is only after I review the quotes with them do they understand not only what is included, but more importantly they understand what is not

Getting their start in Australia, Salt Water Chlorine Generators (SWCG) have been around since the 1960's. Somewhere in the mid-1980's they found there way to the US market. However, the earlier units where big, messy, created caustic by-products that you had to dispose of, and had to be continuously replenished with new salt (about 50lbs per month). Luckily for us, the units that are made today fix all of the problems that plagued the "brine units" of the past.

One of the more common questions I get is: Do you do salt pools? The short answer is yes I do. What I have come to realize however is that there is an abundance of misinformation and lack of knowledge out there when it comes to what a salt pools is.

As many of you know the last couple of years have been rough for the owners of Rule pumps. After being the undisputed leader in small pumps from boats to pools the decision was made by Rules parent company to move the operation to Mexico. Thought this was done in a discrete fashion with almost no one in the industry knowing, the fallout was anything but quite.

Cleaning a cartridge filter can be a pretty straight forward process so long as you have an idea of what materials you are removing and how. There are three different types of materials we are cleaning from the filter with just a few basic steps. The first is the solid materials like dirt, leaves, or puppy fur balls. The second is oils from your skin, makeup, deodorants, and sunscreen. Last but not least are minerals. Not everyone will have minerals.

As many of you may know this season (2012) PCS has had some difficulty obtaining and providing us wireless remotes used to control the Infinity 4000. As of this week we have finally received a suitable remotes and have installed them to most of those waiting. We have left you the remote, along with screws to permanently mount the remote pad outside. You will notice once the back of the mount is attached to the house the remote portion of the unit will pop off allowing you to

When testing your pool water for "available" or "free" chlorine (CL) you are measuring the amount of chlorine that is in the pool and is ready to attack a waste. If your test indicates 0.0 CL there may be chlorine in the pool working to sanitize the pool BUT there is no extra, "Free", or "Available" chlorine to attack new or additional waste. In this state it is possible to have a perfectly clear and clean pool as well as SMELL chlorine (really chloramines) but not have any C

The easy and short answer is...'Sometimes' and or 'It depends' particularly when a safety cover is the proposed barrier. The complication stems from the multitude of building departments, zoning departments, and different guidelines at each. For some homeowners a lack of any governing department at all may actually work in this case to their benefit.