Pool Chemistry and Maintenance From a Backyard Pool Owner
Nadia Caldwell · June 22, 2026
Pitch a question my way about pool covers, and odds are high it’ll sound something like this: “The cover I inherited with the property—a blue solar blanket—should handle the safety side of things, correct?” The frustration kicks in every single time, because the answer demands some patient unpacking. That floating solar cover isn’t a safety … Read more
Nadia Caldwell · June 21, 2026
You’ve just finished the pool. The water chemistry is dialed in, the decking is pristine, and then someone raises it: the fence question. Your insurance adjuster mentions it. Your local building code requires it. Your spouse points out the liability. Suddenly you’re staring at three completely different fence systems, each priced wildly differently, and the … Read more
Nadia Caldwell · June 21, 2026
Last month, a pool store clerk told a customer standing next to me that “rough plaster is just cosmetic — it’s not actually affecting anything underwater.” That comment stuck with me because it’s exactly backward. The homeowner in question had water chemistry that tested perfect on paper: balanced pH, proper alkalinity, chlorine right where it … Read more
Nadia Caldwell · June 20, 2026
A call comes through my phone roughly once every season from someone who looks after a shared pool, voice tight with concern: “Nadia, there’s this cracked stone border around the pool and water’s somehow getting behind it — what is that thing supposed to be?” Fifteen years of chasing pool chemistry across Arizona and the … Read more
Nadia Caldwell · June 20, 2026
The folklore says concrete pool decks are maintenance-free, and that’s wrong. Walk around enough aging pools, and you’ll see why: that poured slab that looked pristine on move-in day starts cracking within three to five years, graying under sunscreen and algaecide residue, then develops lifted edges that become tripping hazards. I’ve chased water chemistry on … Read more
Nadia Caldwell · June 19, 2026
A pool I was helping with had shallow lounging zones that sparked territorial battles before breakfast — guests would blanket those ledges with towels and hardcover novels faster than I could finish my morning test strips. The appeal was obvious: six inches of sun-warmed water, your body horizontal, zero responsibilities. Years later, homeowners and contractors … Read more
Nadia Caldwell · June 19, 2026
Talk to two different pool owners online or at your local pool store and you’ll hear contradictory advice: one insists manual vacuuming is the backbone of proper pool maintenance, while the other claims it’s an outdated chore. The first statement contains truth; the second one is incomplete. Manual vacuuming isn’t wrong — it’s just unnecessarily … Read more