Talk of The Villages Florida - View Single Post - Use of your pool while you are away
View Single Post
 
Old 07-30-2022, 08:35 AM
PoolBrews PoolBrews is offline
Veteran member
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: The Villages, FL
Posts: 706
Thanks: 5
Thanked 595 Times in 288 Posts
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by tophcfa View Post
In addition to liability I would be concerned about the pool water. Specifically, I worry about TDS (total dissolved solids) building up in the pool water. We are very careful to not introduce stuff into the pool that builds up TDS and wouldn’t trust others to do the same. TDS come from things like soap residue, sun tan lotion, deodorant, make-up, perfume, and other man made products. Natural stuff like dirt, hair, and sweat are taken care of by the pool chemicals and filter, but TDS can not be removed from the water. When the TDS count gets high it becomes very difficult to properly balance the pool water and the water must be drained and replaced, which is both a pain in the a$$ and expensive.

If you have internet active when not there I would put a camera in your birdcage to watch your pool, otherwise I would put up a battery operated trail camera. We don’t lock the doors to our birdcage because if someone wants to get in it would be better to let them use the door than cut your screen. Good luck.
I agree that I would not let my neighbor have access to my pool when I'm gone - the liability issue would be my primary reason.

The information concerning TDS is inaccurate and a relic of the way pools were cared for years ago (reference TDS - Further Reading | Trouble Free Pool). When properly checked and maintained, TDS never comes close to being an issue, and is irrelevant.

The only time a pool owner should ever have to drain a pool is if CYA (cyanuric acid) levels or pool hardness reach levels that compromise the ability to maintain the pool. Even then, it's not costly. Simply drain the amount of water required to bring the levels down to the recommended levels (there are calculators to determine how much to drain) using a standard sump pump attached to a hose. Then bring the level back up using your water supply. When I filled my entire pool, the cost was less than $30, so If I had to remove 1/3 of my water to correct one of the above issues we're only looking at $10.