Frequently Asked Questions
Below are questions we at Year Round Pool are frequently asked concerning construction, cleaning and our products. If you don't find the answer to your question here, please visit the "contact us" page and submit your questions. We will make every attempt to respond quickly top your request.
Q. Do you drain the pools in the winter down here?
A. Not generally. It is no more expensive to maintain through the winter vs. closing in the fall and opening
in the spring as pools in our area can be used for (8) eight months of the year.
Q. What type of pools do you build?
A. We construct custom concrete pools and water features using the "shotcrete"/gunite method.
Q. How often do I have to drain a pool?
A. Normally, only when we are resurfacing a pool - which usally occures when the pool is 10-15 years old.
Q. When can you build the pools in our area?
A. We can build pools all year round.
Q. My eyes burn when I go into the pool... what causes this? Too much Chlorine?
A. Typically, high chlorine levels do not cause your eyes to burn. The "ph" that is out of range will cause
this problem.
Q. Do chemical prices stay the same?
A. Not necessarily. we are always on the lookout for better pricing from our suppliers for chemicals.
Once a year we offer and "early buy" on chemicals as we will purchase in volume and offer large
discounts due to this type of quantity purchase. We advertise our "early buy" sale on our website
and in our newsletter.
Q. Can I change my pool cleaning day?
A. To maintain the most efficiency possible, we program our computers to assess the area and
workload of our customer base. The computer assigns the date for your pool to be cleaned.
Q. Why do I have to pay for cleaning when it rains and no one comes to clean my pool?
A. Under normal circumstances we clean the pool whether it is raining or not. Our only reson not
clean the pool is for the safety of our employees. If an unsafe weather condition exists, we will
make up the missed day over the course of the week and resuming the normal schedule the
following week.
Q. I live in Savannah and clean my own pool. What is the best way for me to get repair parts
and supplies for my pool?
A. You can call and place orders at our retail stores. we will deliver the parts and/or supplies to
your home.
Q. Where do stains on my pool surface and on the plastic fittings come from?
A. The discoloration in your pool surface is a result of minerals precipitating out of the pool water.
The minerals get into the pool water through the source water, rain, people, fertilizer and the pool
chemicals themselves. The stains typically show up when the balance is affected through
normal pool operation.
Q. Where does Algae come from?
A. The algae comes from the environment around your pool. Rain, people, plants and the critters that
fly and run around the pool on a daily basis all carry minute traces of algae spores. If the proper
conditions are met, the algae can grow.
Q. Why did my pool turn green?
A. There are several reasons, but the most likely is that the free chlorine in the water has been used
up and there isn't sufficient amounts remaining to kill contaminants.
Q. Can allowing the pool to overflow cause damage to my pool equipment?
A. Unless the pool is overflowing to the point where the pumps and other electronic devices are
becoming submerged, there will be no damage on an immediate basis. If the pool is allowed
to be overfilled from day to day, stretching into week to week, stretching into month to month - the
water will slowly wash the soil away under the pool deck, potentially causing settling in the pool deck
and around the pool.
Q. What can I do to help keep my pool pristine between cleanings?
A. Empty skimmer baskets, test your chemical balance and add chemicals, if necessary, vacuum
and/or brush your pool, check your filter pressure and backwash, if needed.
Q. My HotSpring spa has a five year warranty, why am I being invoiced for the repair?
A. The warranty that the manufacturer has with you covers very specific items. Some items in
the spa have different levels of warranty coverage. Additionally the spa manufacturer warranty
does not cover the Service Call Fee.
Q. How long should I run my pool to keep it clean?
A. This is a difficult question to answer as every pool will have different needs based on the environment,
sanitation system, bather load and filtration method. A good rull of thumb however is a minimum of
12 hours per day in the summer and 6 to 8 hours per day in the winter months.
Q. I am worried about the cold weather in the winter damaging my pool... what can I do to prepare? Do
you winterize pools?
A. The best thing to do with a pool during freezing weather is to keep it running. If your pool does not
have a freeze protection device, we recommend running the system at night as opposed to during
the day. We do not typically winterize pools in our region.
Q. My system is spraying water everywhere, what do I do?
A. As safely as you can, turn off the power to your pool system. If the water continues to spray even
after the pumps are off, close any isolation valves that would prevent water from reaching the leak.
Q. Do you sell parts? Can I come to your warehouse to pick them up?
A. We sell parts through our retail locations on Hilton Head Island, in Bluffton, and in Beaufort. Our
warehouse is not equipped with an ordering counter to handle customer traffic.
Q. I want to clean the pool myself, can you come out and teach me what I need to know?
A. We would be happy to teach you how your pool functions and what would be required of you
to clean the pool yourself. There is a lot of information that we can give you so you will probably
want to take notes while we are there. Additionally, if you are caring for the pool yourself, you can
bring a water sample to one of our showrooms for testing and evaluation any time.
Q. Why do ask for authorization to fix the pool without creating and estimate for the repair?
A. We have found over the years that creating estimates and calling for authorization slows the repair
to your pool down dramatically. By not estimating we are saving you an average of $40.
Q. How long do I have to wait for the parts to fix my pool to come in?
A. We attempt to keep our warehouse in Bluffton stocked with all of the common pool repair materials
to prevent the need to order parts. Unfortunately, despite our warehouse having more inventory
than many wholesalers, we do occasionally have to special order parts. When that happens we
order the parts from the most overall efficient source. Occasionally there is only one source for a
given part and we must wait on that source to ship the parts to us. We make every effort to get
the parts to you as quickly as possible, however, sometimes the time it takes for the part to
arrive is out of our control.
Q. My pool water smells like chlorine, why?
A. The common misconception is that the pool water smells like chlorine because there is too
much chlorine in the water. The truth is that you are smelling chloramines, a chlorine based
compound, but one that does not nothing to sanitize your pool water. To remove the chloramines,
you need to super-chlorinate, or shock, the pool. So in truth, if you smell chlorine in your pool water,
you need to add chlorine to the pool.
Q. My pool light is floating around in the pool, can it hurt me?
A. Your pool light is what is known as a "wet niche" light. Although you can't see it, what is floating in
the water, is always in the water. From an electrocution standpoint, no, the light floating in the
water will not hurt you. If you are planning on using the pool, remove the light from the water very
carefully and set it askide so nobody will either trip over it, or run into it while swimming. If you
remove the light from the pool, be sure to turn off the circuit breaker. The light uses the pool water
to keep cool, and if it is turned on outside of the water, the glass lens will shatter.
Q. My brand new heater does not work. Your technician tells me it is the gas company's problem,
and the gas company tells me it is a pool heater problem and has plenty of pressure. What is
going on?
A. There is a difference between pressure and volume. It is likely that the root cause with your
heater is one of volume, not pressure. Please refer to the manual that came with your heater
for line size specifications. We would be happy to meet with the gas company on site to resolve
your issue if it is required.