My s/o wanted a small inground pool, and I convinced her to compromise on a swim spa. Even in Va a pool is only a 4 month proposition-the swim spa can be used year round-we keep it at 93 or so in the summer and 99 in the winter. They're expensive, but available low hours used.
Wouldn't buy one with jets at the swim end though, get one with a hydraulic drive-Phelps or Endless.

We keep the pool open year round in Florida. I run solar heat panels set up on a pergola on the south side of my house, I did not want them screwed into my roof.

Check the chemicals every weekend. Once a month go to pool store with sample and get a free analysis. Then buy what we need for it.

The weekly A-B-C

Algaecide
Brush
Chlorine

Clean the filter once a month, and we vacuum it ourselves, although we are in a screened enclosure so it is typically dirt from when it rains.

I was running a DE filter that could go months without cleaning, it wore out. I work for pool contractors and talked to a couple, both said go with a cartridge filter, and get a spare, change it out once a month and clean at your leisure. Filter cleaning with the DE took me a bit to do and was a PITA, the new cartridge setup takes 2 minutes to swap out then about 10 minutes with a hose cleaning it off.

I have no experience with a pool up north opening and closing and have no idea what your problems are up there. I know this past 2 weeks I have been back washing 20" of rain out of mine so my chemicals are going to be wacked this weekend.

And they have to break through the ice to get to the water? :D

I worked for Buster Crabbe pools while in college. That cured me off any such desire.

I'm dealing with this right now. Second season in this house, and the pool sits underneath a very mature, very productive 70-foot pecan tree that dumps billions of catkins into the water for about 2 weeks. My hobby right now is scooping and skimming about 50% of my day. Just when you get it momentarily clean, a breeze kicks up and another 1000 fall into the pool. After last year I vowed to wait until that damn tree was done dumping before opening the pool, but between the cold spring delaying blooming and my wife wanting the pool open I am right back there again :mad:

Once that tree is done and I can get the chemicals stabilized it's not TOO bad. But until then I want to do what my buddy advised -- raise and sell Tilapia in it.

:d:d

We live in SoCal where pools are big fun and done right the maintenance required is about 10 min per week, all in. Personally I would much rather have a pool than equivalent lawn area. I would probably feel differently in Ohio though.

Protip: If there are any trees within 20' of your pool you are doing it wrong. Move the pool or take down/massively trim the trees.

To get hardware off the bottom, tape a strong magnet to your pool pole and go fishing. The sooner you get it, the fewer rust spots will form.

put a bounty on the screw and send in the neighborhood kids.

as a kid i could find anything in a pool. now? maybe. i found my mom's wedding ring in the bottom of the pool at a Howard Johnsons. i was like a frog man.

now, 5000 cheeseburgers later..i'm more toad :)

Are you a cat?
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/support/smileys/cat.gif http://forums.pelicanparts.com/suppo...leys/kitty.gif http://forums.pelicanparts.com/suppo...leys/kao14.gif

During the winter we had a small metal hook caught on the pool drain 8 feet under water.
Water was too cold to dive in so managed to get it but it was like a carnival game trying to remove it with a 12 foot pole.
A screw in the pool is a little lower on my list of pool headaches.
With a lawn near the pool made the mistake once of throwing Ironite pellets on the lawn.
Those will leave rust marks in the plaster, so now we use only liquid fertilizers on the lawn.
Turtles, dolphins, starfish and tropical fish mosaics in our pool.http://forums.pelicanparts.com/suppo...sun_smiley.gifhttp://forums.pelicanparts.com/suppo...sun_smiley.gifhttp://forums.pelicanparts.com/suppo...sun_smiley.gifhttp://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1591373426.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1591373498.jpg

Mrs. Beard made me change the water...24,500 gallons

Stainless steel. Magnet will not work. But chlorine does rust stainless...

Actually, as long as you can see it, most nets will scoop it. Mine has a little blade on the front. You push the net at the bottom and it funnels the water and leaves and other junk in. I can clean the pool in about 10 minutes. Leaves less for the pool cleaner to clean.

The problem with this:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1591374012.jpg

Is these show up...

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1591374012.jpg

I think the enjoyment of a pool depends a lot on what your wife/girlfriend looks like.

Stepping on a screw shouldn't pierce the liner. Being above ground there is dirt underneath so it's forgiving. Now when the liner gets old and brittle all bets are off.

When I sold my house after 17 years that had an inground pool the RA told me I should disclose any issues with the pool. I'm like "it's a pool!" "There is always something going wring with it."

Nothing lasts forever.

The creepy crawler pool cleaner was a must have.

Mine needs acid and chlorine after a big rain.
But the pool level always stays constant with an auto fill and drain system.
https://www.poolsupplyunlimited.com/pool/poolmiser-water-leveler-with-white-lid-and-ring-pm-101/63845p1
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1591374383.jpg

In the pool and on the track. ;)
:cool:
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i imagine a sharp pointy thing in a in-ground pool and a above-ground pool to be vastly different potential crisis.

i had a contractor spill a bunch of sheet metal screws on top of my welded seam flat roof and he screamed, "nobody move!". he had a helper bring a bar magnet with wheels to pick up all the fasteners while we stood there like statues.

Fixed it for you.

Neighbor had a gust of wind blow and break a glass top table in his pool.
Bad news on your roof or in a plaster or plastic pool.