Our week has been consumed by the nightmare that is our pool …
Let me be clear that the whole thing is our fault. During the winter, our pool cover kept blowing off. Eventually we gave up and that left parts of the pool exposed. So it should come as no surprise that when spring hit and we officially pulled the cover off, the water was puke green! Gross!
We tried everything to bring it back. But there was NO coming back. We figured that out after a couple hundred dollars in chemicals. No matter what we tried, there was too much crud at the bottom. And it was impossible to vacuum it because the water was too dark to see through. So …. we emptied it and are starting over. I hate you pool.
Blog News:
Do things look a little different? I’m very excited to announce that I have created a new section to the blog – a tab labeled “Start Here”. The goal of this new page is to take some of my most helpful blog posts and organize them in a meaningful and creative way.
I’ve wanted to do put together something like this for a while. With over +100 posts, I have a ton of information packed in here. But I bet you’d never know unless you really knew what you were looking for. Sure you could search or browse the categrories. But I wanted to have a place where my readers could find the “greatest hits” if you will. I hope you enjoy! Please take a look and let me know what you think. Did I miss anything? Should it be orgainzed any differently?
Blogs to Read This Weekend!
The following is a brief list of posts I enjoyed this week:
- Help the Economy and Start Tipping More – On Target Coaching
- Are You Wealthy? – Street Smart Finance
- Bye Bye Penny, Now What Do I Do With All of Them? – Mo Money Mo Houses
- Room for Improvement – Tackling Our Debt
- How Breaking Up Is The Best Kick In The Ass Money Can Buy – Modest Money
Thanks again to all my new and returning visitors. I really appreciate your support and hope you continue to enjoy my site!
Posts This Week:
1) Seeking Compensation When Injured – Guest Contribution
2) Be Careful With The 4% Rule for Retirement Withdrawals
3) Dos and Don’ts in Mortgage – Guest Contribution
4) Life Lessons I Learned from Super Mario
Photo Credit: Wet Head Media
Once I have more posts in my repertoire I’ll have to institute a start here page myself. I think it is a great idea and very cool, especially for your new readers. Best of luck with your pool. That is exactly why I’ll never own one myself.
Thanks Lance! I hope visitors find it helpful.
Yes, you’re much better off without a pool. It’s just a giant money pit. 🙂
I’ve had similar problems with my hotel swimming pool in the past. Best solution, indeed, is to drain and start all over instead of wasting money on chemicals. Thanks for the mention.
Thanks Shilpan. The drain and refill is complete! Now we’re off to buy more ($) chemicals!
You didn’t try the concentrated version of chlorine? It melts residue… I’ve been through your problem before and the best solution is just to empty and refill it. Glad you did not report frogs living in the pool 🙂
No frogs yet! Oh no, was that next?? We put in the concentrated chlorine. But neglected the TONS of decomposing leaves at the bottom. In our defense, we didn’t discover these until we drained them and saw just how many there were! All gone now though …
I’ve always wanted a private pool of my own but yeah, I’ve heard it can be quite a hassle to maintain. Like your new section on the blog. It’s very focused 🙂
Thanks! I hope people get some good value out of that section!
I like the start here page. I am working on getting a redesign for my blog. If only I could make up my mind on how I want it to look 🙂
That’s what my pool looked like last year after I forgot to chlorinate for a week. (oops) I ended up taking it down and putting in the garage. Pools are too much work!
It’s funny how hard it is to decide how you want your blog to look. I do the same thing with mine all the time still. I guess you’re never really completely satisfied.
That’s funny about missing the chlorine. I feel like I’m playing science lab in my backyard.
We live in a neighborhood that has a nice pool just a 2-minute walk down the way. We love it! This way, I get to “have” a pool, but never have to deal with the maintenance! When we were house-hunting, my husband and I butted heads on this (he wanted a pool; I wanted to not have to clean it a million times a year) so this was a great compromise. 🙂 I think you were right in how you dealt with the scummy mess. I think bombing it with chemicals would have made you sick to swim in it, right? Yuck!
I really like your “start here” section, MMD!!! That’s brilliant. We have right about 100 posts as well, and we do have a “most popular posts” section, but I’m not even sure how that’s determined honestly! Enjoy the rest of your Sunday.
Thanks Michelle! I think you guys have the right idea. A place with a pool but no responsibility to clean it? Sounds perfect to me!
Thanks for mentioning my post. That mess with your pool sounds like a big hassle to deal with. I guess now you’ll have to find some better way to keep the pool cover on next winter. Hopefully you are able to clean it up after it is drained though.
Ohhhh yes. We will be taking the Winter pool cover VERY seriously this year. I’m going to weld it to the ground if I need to …. 🙂
haha yeah that’s one lesson you’ve learned for next time. I’m sure something like some velcro or other straps should do the trick.
Thanks for the mention! I need to revamp my menus too.
No problem. I’ve still got much more to do as well.
Your Start Here is a great way to index your blog for first time visitors.
Pool maintenance can be tough. I always thought I wanted a pool but at the time I never considered the work involved. At our last home we had a hot tub. My husband added the chemicals every Sunday and every 3 months we drained the entire thing and scrubbed it down and then refilled it. That was fine to do in the summer, but when it was 30 below out in December, it wasn’t so much fun.
P.S. Thanks very much for the mention this week 🙂
Thanks for the mention and the compliment! I would not want to be outside in the cold dealing with a hot-tub!