Swimming Pool Tips and Reviews

The Zodiac MX8 Elite has been on the market for about 3 years now. It is basically an upgraded version of the MX8 cleaner with the main upgrade being the scrubbing ability of the cleaner. On each turbine are two brushes and as they spin these brushes will scrub the pool floor and walls up to the waterline. This is still one of my Top three Suction Side cleaners and here is why. Based on the Zodiac MX8 design which uses rotating turbines, but on this version the turbines did not actually touch the pool surface until this Elite version added brushes to the bottom of the turbines. So now as the turbines spin, the brushes lift off caked on dirt and algae. You can hear them scrubbing the surface with a microphone in the water (I used my waterproof camera mic to pick up the sounds). The scrubbing action will put this cleaner the top of the list in choices for your pool. It picks up large debris, leaves and dirt very well. This is almost a flawless cleaner in every respect. It...

One of the biggest problems that you can run into with your swimming pool is that it stops holding chlorine. We refer to this in the industry is as the chlorine zeroing out. There are a number of reasons for this and it is more noticeable in the Spring and Summer when the weather starts heating up and the Sun’s UV Rays become stronger. I will touch on the most common reasons why your pool is not holding chlorine week to week. One of the first things to look at is the pool’s filtration system in run time. This is often overlooked and is crucial to the pool holding chlorine. If the skimmer basket is clogged with debris or the pump basket is clogged the pool will not circulate well. The filter is just as crucial so if it is dirty or the cartridges or grids have tears in them, chances are the pool will have a zero-chlorine reading due to the organic contaminates not being filtered out properly. First, check your pool filtration and your skimmer and pump baskets and make sure th...

Meet the MX8 Elite’s little Brother. The MX6 has been on the market for quite some time now and Zodiac upgraded the MX8 cleaner a couple of years ago to the MX8 Elite. It was time to do the same for the MX6 and now we finally have the MX6 Elite. The major upgrade to both the MX8 and MX6 to make them Elite are the Scrubbing Brushes on the Cyclonic Scrubbing Turbine Assembly. Here is more about the MX6 Elite from Zodiac: “The MX6 Elite brings superior scrubbing action and best-in-class vacuum power to a compact suction cleaner. Combining Cyclonic Scrubbing Brushes that spin and scrub fine and stuck-on debris with the impressive wall-climbing ability and programmed navigation, the MX6 Elite provides comprehensive cleaning of your pool floor, walls, and waterline. An innovative low-flow design consumes less energy, making the MX6 Elite the ideal cleaner for smaller pools with 2-speed or variable speed pumps.” Features: Cyclonic Suction  - Powerful suction and ...

The Aqaubot Rapids 4WD is a great mid-range robotic pool cleaner that features a great 2-year full warranty. It is one of Aquabot’s retail pool store only cleaners and is only available at your local brick and mortar pool store or from your pool service provider and is not sold online. With that said the price point is mid-range so depending on your region anywhere from $700 to $800.   What you get for that is a great cleaner with a strange shape but don’t let that fool you. Here are some product features on the cleaner: For In-Ground Pools Shape: Rectangle, Lap, Kidney, L-Shape, Round, Oval Surfaces: All Including Tile PVA Wheels Available for pods Pool to Wall Transition: 90 Degree Angle Aquabot® No Tangle Swivel  prevents cable from tangling Non-Marring Wheels Cable Length: 60' Rotating Scrubbing Brush Cleans: Pool Floors and Walls 3 Hour Timer Compatible with External Timer Pumps 70 Gallons per Minute Filter Type: Top Loadin...

If the only thing that you focus on when purchasing items for your pool is the price point, this could be detrimental to your budget in the future. Every aspect of the pool product should be examined and factored in along with the price point. This is what I term Future Proofing your pool. Buying a product that will last versus buying a cheap product that will need to be replaced in a year or two. I will give you a current example of this that I recently came across. I really like the Pentair Rebel Cleaner and think it is a top 3 cleaner for your pool. Recently I went to order some parts to rebuild one and found out that Pentair does not have a kit for this cleaner. That means if you purchase 2 wheels, a couple of important gears and a drive shaft you are out over $200. That is 5 parts in total and does not include the turbine, the cam or any of the internal gears nor the lower body shell. So technically after 4 years, the Pentair Rebel is a throwaway cleaner. Meaning it is cheaper...

The Smart Company makes a variety of pool poles, leaf rakes, and brushes but I wanted to highlight to pool poles that are great for Commercial Pool Service use. Unlike the homeowner who will use their pool pole once or twice a week, the pool service professional will use a pole all day long at 14-20 pools each day. Times that by 5 days and 50 weeks and that is a tremendous amount of use. Add a powerful and heavy vacuum system on top of that and pools with heavy debris and you can see that a pool pole for professional use needs to be strong long lasting and durable. The Piranha Power Pole Lever Lock PP-LV and the Piranha Eliminator are by far the best and strongest 2-piece pole on the market today. They extend from 8 ft to 16 ft and the unique level-lock of the PP-LV keeps the 2nd piece firmly in place. The PP-LV pole is also "Micro-Extruded" reinforced to make it extremely durable. Something that is really cool is that the PP-LV pole has a flap inside it that allo...

Here are some more common mistakes that you can make with your pool care. It is very easy to make mistakes with your pool care and don’t feel bad if you do. There are just so many aspects of pool care and no one expects you to know everything. That is the reason I write these articles so that you will at least not make the mistakes that I have made. One of the strangest things to grasp is when the pool equipment sits below the pool water level. E call that having the pool equipment below sea level. Gravity is a powerful force and effects how the water reacts in equipment below sea level. Here is a common mistake. You notice the pump basket has a lot of debris in it. So, you turn off the pump and take the lid off. Suddenly all the water comes gushing out and there is no way to stop it. You try to put the lid back on but can’t. What happened? Since the equipment is below the pool water line when you take the lid off you are breaking the water seal. Kind of like a sinking ...

The new Water Tech ™   Volt ®  Leaf Vac is battery powered  and  hose-less. Since you don’t need to use a garden hose the Volt Leaf Vac is a fast and convenient way to vacuum up leaf debris from the pool bottom. The Volt Leaf Vac features an “onboard motor, transmission, and safety clutch, in combination lifting leaves, seeds, and twigs right off the pool floor, depositing them into its high capacity debris bag. The unit comes with a two-year limited warranty, two reusable filter bags, and powered by eight AA batteries included. Clean with ease with up to three hours of runtime.” The Volt Leaf Vac is not sold online is only available at your local pool store or from your pool service provider. To find a location near you that carries it, go here: https://secure.gotwww.com/gotlocations.com/watertechcds/ If your pool gets a lot of leaves the Battery Powered Leaf Vac would be a solid investment. This is a quick and effective way to remove lots of debris...

The Cartridge Filter Assembly for the Bottom Feeder Portable Battery Powered Vacuum System is a real game changer for Vacuum System market. Not only is it an ingenious idea that is the long sought-after Holy Grail of Vacuum Systems, but it actually really works!  The cartridge will filter down to 20 microns just like the cartridge filter connected to a pool and pick up fine dirt and dust on a pool bottom. The Cartridge Filter Assembly now takes the place of needing to manually vacuum a pool! The idea and concept have been in the works for a few years by the creator of the Bottom Feeder. Since a 60-micron bag was as low as you could go and still allow for water flowing through the bag, any smaller micron would be impossible to achieve with a bag. The cartridge is a great solution and can filter dirt down to 20 microns. It allows the water to flow through and still trap the dirt and debris. The cartridge fits right on top of the Bottom Feeder and is held on by a strap. The...