Pool care, answered.

A salt pool is a chlorine pool. The salt system makes chlorine on site: the water flows through a cell where electrolysis turns the salt into chlorine, the chlorine cleans the water, and then it turns back into salt. So if someone tells you they are allergic to chlorine and have a salt pool, they still swim in chlorine.

It wasn't the chlorine. Green hair comes from minerals in the water. Chlorine also won't bleach a swimsuit until it gets up around 30 to 40 ppm, and a home pool should sit between 1.0 and 4.0 ppm.

Usually it is the opposite. That smell is combined chlorine, which forms when there is not enough free chlorine to deal with what swimmers bring in. The fix is to shock the pool past the breakpoint.

No. The right sanitizer level kills most germs within minutes, but some, like Cryptosporidium, take much longer. Shower before you swim, and anyone who has had diarrhea should stay out for two weeks.

Get everyone out. Scoop it out with a net or bucket, then put that net or bucket in the pool so it gets sanitized too. Then superchlorinate following CDC guidelines.

Wait until the chemicals have mixed through, which takes one full turnover of the water. For a home pool that is usually 8 to 12 hours.

"Shock" is both the product and the job. The product is a sanitizer, usually calcium hypochlorite from the pool store. Shocking the pool means raising the sanitizer to about 10 ppm. Wear gloves, goggles and a mask, and follow the label.

Up to half an inch a day of evaporation is normal. Look for soggy patches of lawn, several waterline stains or bubbles from the returns. For a quick test, put a bucket on the second step, fill it to the pool's level and leave both for two or three days without backwashing. If the pool drops more than the bucket, call us about leak detection.

No. Clear water can still be badly out of balance, and that is the most common reason pool equipment and liners wear out early. Test pH, total alkalinity, calcium hardness and sanitizer with a reliable kit.

We suggest 6 to 8 hours a day. Once the water climbs above 80 degrees, which happens a lot here in summer, run it 8 to 12 hours.

Algae needs nutrients, sunlight and something to cling to. Keeping the sanitizer level right and brushing regularly are the best ways to stop it. Green algae tends to show up after a few hot days. Black algae hides in corners and behind ladders where the water does not move much.

We don't recommend it. Pool chemicals lose strength over time, and storing them for a year is a safety risk. Never put them in the trash or down a drain. A pool professional can take leftovers away and dispose of them properly.