Pool School

The Trouble-Free Pool method of pool care is the only, widely-distributed, available information on chemical treatments and maintenance that provides the right way, or one could say "logical" or "proper" way to care for pools using chlorine as a sanitizer. The reason I give Pool School 4 out of 5 is that, even though they have improved the presentation and logical progression through their course over the years; the writers still fail to point out in the beginning of their lesson WHY their system of pool care is developed for success and why no one should be following the traditionally-taught methods of pool care. It's very simple. The traditional methods do not prescribe to the relationship between free chlorine (FC) levels and cyanuric acid (CYA) levels. This is a huge difference between the two methods and is the main reason why everyone should be following their prescription and staying away from the traditional methods of pool care that are dangerous and reckless. Lets take a hypothetical: An owner has a non saltwater pool and has a current CYA level of 50. Using traditional method taught by all pool stores and the labels on chemicals, an owner will be told to keep or maintain FC levels between .5-4, and then once per week, bring the FC level to shock level, which is in their system of care, between 5-10. TFP is totally different. With TFP, an owner will use their CYA=50 level to determine the minimum FC that must be maintained at all times, and guess what? It is much higher than that .5-4 level prescribed in traditional methods. The minimum FC level that must be maintained using TFP with a CYA of 50 is 3.75, rounded to 4. So notice the difference here: Traditional methods prescribe the highest level one should maintain that is equal to TFPs lowest level allowed during a 24 hour period. The difference here is huge. It's the difference between a pool designed to fail and a pool that could be dangerous to swim in and requires a weekly shock just to make up for its inadequacies, versus a pool that is always maintained between the minimum and target levels at all times and is always safe and never requires going to shock level unless there becomes a problem. TFP fails to communicate the importance of using their method and they fail to inform pool owners/operators the importance of using the only system of sanitation that is based on science.

This is a great tutorial for the new or experienced pool owner. Especially good to know about pool store chemical testing. Every time we had our pool water tested, we always needed to buy their recommended wonder product for $$$. Getting the right test kit helps the average person understand what they need to buy at perhaps half the price. Understanding chemical names too goes a long way in getting a product you really need not a fancy brand name. Easy to read on line but I could not print it out with Adobe. I printed pages I wanted to keep for reference.

Awesome resource. Takes scary pool chemistry and makes it where the everyday person can feel comfortable taking of their own pool. The most economical way too!