Pool Chemistry and Maintenance From a Backyard Pool Owner
Nadia Caldwell 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advice: one insists manual vacuuming is the backbone of proper pool maintenance, while the other claims it’s an outdated chore.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