Straight answers about pools, hot tubs and keeping them running
Pools Shop Editorial Team 
A solar cover is a lightweight plastic sheet, usually covered in small air-filled bubbles, that floats directly on a pool’s surface. It works by trapping heat from sunlight and slowing evaporation, which is the main way a pool loses both warmth and water. It is a heat-retention tool, not a safety barrier. What exactly is … Read more
A gas heater burns propane or natural gas to heat pool water quickly, in almost any weather, but costs more to run per hour. A heat pump uses electricity to move existing warmth from the outside air into the water, which is cheaper to run but slower and less effective in cold air. Neither is … Read more
A pool heater adds cost mainly through the energy it burns or draws to replace heat that constantly escapes the water. The size of that add-on depends on fuel type, target temperature, how exposed the pool is, and how many hours the heater actually runs — not on the heater itself. How much does a … Read more
A failing pool pump usually announces itself before it quits outright: louder or grinding noise, weaker return flow, water pooling under the housing, a burning smell, or a breaker that keeps tripping. Catching these early prevents a bigger repair and keeps the pool circulating properly in the meantime. What does a pool pump actually do, … Read more
Pump head — more precisely “total dynamic head” — is the amount of resistance a pool pump has to overcome to push water through the plumbing, filter, heater and back into the pool. It’s measured as a height of water rather than a pressure number, and it matters because a pump has to be matched … Read more
Why Is a Pool Pump the Biggest Energy User in Most Pools? A pool pump usually runs for hours every single day, moving the entire volume of the pool through the filter, while most other pool equipment switches on briefly or only in season. That combination of long runtime and constant motor load is what … Read more
A variable speed pump is a pool pump with a motor that can run at different speeds instead of just one fixed speed. It lets an owner run slow, quiet, low-flow cycles for everyday circulation and only speed up when more flow is actually needed. That flexibility is why it replaced single-speed pumps as the … Read more
Most pools never need a full drain and refill. Water itself doesn’t “wear out” the way a filter or a liner does — what changes is what’s dissolved in it. A full replacement is usually only needed every several years, driven by rising calcium, cyanuric acid or total dissolved solids that chemical adjustment can no … Read more
Scale is the hard, chalky or crusty mineral deposit that forms when pool water is carrying more dissolved calcium (and sometimes other minerals) than it can keep dissolved. As conditions push that calcium out of solution, it crystallizes onto the nearest surface — tile, plaster, metal, or the inside of equipment. What actually is scale? … Read more
Stains on pool surfaces are almost always caused by one of three things: dissolved metals like iron or copper that oxidize on the surface, organic debris such as leaves and algae that leave behind pigment, or water chemistry that’s out of balance and letting minerals settle out. Identifying which one is at work is the … Read more
About what you read here. Everything on Pools Shop is general information and our own editorial opinion. We research carefully and we say when the evidence is unclear, but we can be wrong, things change, and no article can know your particular situation. Please do your own research and make your own judgement rather than treating anything here as the final word. Prices, products and specifications around pools, hot tubs and their upkeep change constantly, and what suits one person will not suit another. Check current details yourself, and where a decision involves real money, safety or something you cannot undo, it is worth confirming with a qualified pool or electrical professional before you act.