JAMMIE DODGER

We have reciently bought a house in Joondalup, Perth which has a pool.
Never having owned a pool before i am a bit lost to know what to do about the upkeep,

we did have a pool shop in to "sort it out" and $470 ($210 of stuff i found out later i did not need!!) and i'm still non the wiser.

every pool shop i seem to go in has a differing opinion of what is needed and each bill would be $800 - $1000.

As soon as i say i dont know much about pools with an English accent I can see the dollar signs in their eyes!!!

Can anyone reccoment a good pool shop / mobile company in Joondalup who will give honest advise?

I dont mind spending money if i need too, I just cant afford to keep getting ripped off.

Also is there a book or website that can answer pool related problems?

Last but not least......my Zodiac brand "creepy-crawley" only moves backwards and ends up sitting under the inlet flap all day, so i have to drag it to the other end of the pool an let it work its way back slowly!!

.........Please Help ....Ash

northernbird

I go to the pool shop opposite Bunnings down at Edgewater. I think it is Pools and Spas r Us. An English guy runs it and they have been fantastic in the 2 years we have been using them.

walaj

for a bit of DIY readinghttp://www.energy.com.au/energy/ea.n...tain+Your+Pool

http://www.poolshop.com.au/category12_1.htm

have a look around you area and take note of pool company vehicles you see parked up- or ask a neighbor will a pool (have a sticky beak on google earth to spot those with a pool) and ask them who they recommend - you never know, one might come around and give you a hand

JAMMIE DODGER

Thanks...would Bunnings be cheaper to buy salt and stuff from?

JAMMIE DODGER

Ha Ha I like your style!!!

have you seen the Google maps street views?........how cool is that? ...I can see the front of the house i need to knock on,.. he he...

Dorothy

You should only need to buy salt rarely. Do as Northernbird or Walaj have said before you go buying anything else.

slipshot

In Perth are they salt water or freshwater pools?

I have experience of the former but not the latter - and went through the same thing with a neighbour who looked after the pool in our holiday place, who then ripped us off with loads of stuff we did not need...

Happy to help if saltwater...

JAMMIE DODGER

It has a "saltwater chlorinator" so i guess that makes it a saltwater pool

i have since found out that a creepy crawley is suppost to run backwards

slipshot

Easy enough to try - taste it. You'll soon know if it's mild saltwater or freshwater.

We had all sorts of things advised to us but the main thing that did seem to work was, depending on the size of the pool, a half or full cup of hydrochloric acid once a week when we were not using it would sort out most of the issues. I'm sure people will say differently but this was in Port Douglas and what most people seemed to do and it worked.

The other main thing was to ensure the 'thing' in the pool house that has the two electrodes connected to it was taken out and stuck in acid for a few hours to burn all the stuff of it.

That, and a regular backwash which given water rates in PD meant you were not on a meter, thus did not cost anything, soon sorted out most issues.

I played around with the timer as well as I was advised 2-3 times a day the pump should be running and other than that it was fine.

This was given that we used the apartment about 2-3 times a year and no more than that, so up keeping the pool when we were not there was better than leaving it and then spending a a lot to make it safe.

You will learn more from your neighbours with pools than anyone else, IMO, simply because they know the tricks. Having a pool man who you trust is also good for key times throughout the year, but I do not think it is necessary for a weekly visit from them once you know what you are doing...

JAMMIE DODGER

thanks for the advice.....
The guy next door was looking after the pool when the previous owners moved out and the house was vacant for a while, he did say on the day we moved in that i could go to him for any advice ...but i have hardly seen him since we moved in in march (as his house is around the corner) and feel a bit cheeky just knocking on the door.....

I guess i'll have to work up the courage and take him a few crownies!!

The Brooks

our rental has a pool in kinross, we got the jims mowing guy round to give us a lesson and it cost around $50, he explained everything and we took notes so we didnt forget anything, i get the water tested at clarks rubber on winton rd and they r fab.

sam

EvannTel

What excactly is the problem with your pool?
If you can give some more detail perhaps we can help more.

The Kreepy Ctawly probably needs a new rubber foot or its not balanced properly. If it came with the pool more likely to be th former.

Loch Lomond

[QUOTE=slipshot;6889550]Easy enough to try - taste it. You'll soon know if it's mild saltwater or freshwater.QUOTE]

That doesn't work. A salt water pool works on a chlorinator turning the salt into chlorine, so more than likely if everything is working properly the water will taste of chlorine.

slipshot

[QUOTE=Loch Lomond;6889793] I got that wrong - still, it may not work have worked for you, but did for me. I know from owning our pool in Port Douglas, QLD, there was an obvious taste of mild saltwater, so it was pretty obvious what the pool was. Maybe it's different in different areas of depends on the type of pool and filtration system used. I seem to recall this was the same for other pools we used in the area as well so maybe the tropical climate 'oop north' was enough to have to make it stronger.

Still, it was an idea.

James516

That's not the case in my 15 years experience with two different saltwater pools. The water should taste a bit salty - not as salty as seawater, but almost as salty as sweat (ewwww!) or maybe serrano ham (much nicer analogy!).

If the water tastes/smells of chlorine, ironically enough it is not because you have too much chlorine in there, but generally is a pH problem.

If the water has no taste of chlorine or salt then it has probably rained a lot recently, and you may need more salt.

Finally, all the way back to the OP, our local pool shop do a 'handover' for new owners - costs around $90, and they spend about 90 mins with you showing how everything works and what needs to be done. But that's Qld, without all the sandgroper ripoff merchants