Pool Chemistry and Maintenance From a Backyard Pool Owner
Nadia Caldwell · June 26, 2026
Tuesday morning, I was in the equipment room of a neighbour’s pool. The salt chlorinator’s display panel was flashing “Inspect Cell,” the water was turning cloudy despite readings that showed adequate salinity, and the owner standing next to me was convinced the entire generator had failed. Wrong diagnosis. The cell itself just needed a thorough … Read more
Nadia Caldwell · June 25, 2026
Walk up to a three-year-old above-ground pool in a Scottsdale backyard, and the setup tells you everything. The water itself reads 7.4 pH and 2.0 ppm free chlorine — chemistry locked in tight. The filter’s humming along without complaint. But then you notice the entry: a metal ladder bolted to the pool wall, moving slightly … Read more
Nadia Caldwell · June 25, 2026
You’ll encounter two conflicting statements poolside and online with striking regularity. The first claims “Chemistry is everything—get your chlorine and pH dialed in, and clarity follows.” The second insists “A filter does the real work; chemistry is just support.” Here’s the truth neither camp fully grasps: one of these statements is incomplete, and chasing it … Read more
Nadia Caldwell · June 25, 2026
Sunrise routine across three different Scottsdale-area pools I was looking after: step onto the deck, assess the debris situation, and immediately calculate the overnight temperature loss. At one sprawling HOA complex, I routinely collected an entire skimmer basket’s worth of oak debris, insect matter, and airborne seed pods before sunrise — without fail, day after … Read more
Nadia Caldwell · June 24, 2026
Across years of chasing water chemistry on my own pool and half the neighborhood’s, one pattern showed up without fail: the instant someone pulls out a test strip and squints at its color chart is precisely when the chemistry management process starts deteriorating. The scenario unfolds predictably. You submerge the strip, observe the blue-green shift, … Read more
Nadia Caldwell · June 24, 2026
Most of the “solar covers don’t work” complaints I get aren’t actually about the cover. They’re about how it’s being used. I’ve walked onto properties where the cover was on bubble-side-up, left off all night, or balled up in the shallow end for two days after a storm — and then the owner tells me … Read more
Nadia Caldwell · June 24, 2026
Late April arrives, you pull the winter cover back, and what greets you resembles pond water thick enough to stand a brush in. The pool you winterized in November with flawless water balance has transformed into a brackish, opaque mess, and now you’re calculating whether to surrender $800 to a professional crew. Hold that thought. … Read more
Nadia Caldwell · June 23, 2026
Combined chlorine in your pool isn’t just an unpleasant chemical reading—it’s a sign your water is no longer protecting the people in it. During the summer months, a property owner reached out requesting an urgent visit. “The water reeks,” she explained. “It’s absolutely overpowering—like a gymnasium locker room. My children are complaining their eyes hurt. … Read more
Nadia Caldwell · June 23, 2026
Across fifteen years of chasing pool chemistry around Arizona—one refrain surfaces with remarkable consistency from owners who maintain regular water chemistry testing. They tell me: “Nadia, my pool pH won’t stop climbing. I dose pH down, let it sit for a full day, run another test, and it’s back at 8.0. Feels like I’m flushing … Read more
Nadia Caldwell · June 22, 2026
The waterline sits where it always has — except it doesn’t. You notice it while testing pH near the skimmer, or maybe you catch it when you’re adjusting the chlorinator. The mark on the tile, the one you’d swear was higher last week, keeps creeping downward. In all my years chasing water chemistry around Arizona … Read more