Test first, chemicals last. The order of a weekly visit matters, and this is the one our technicians follow.

Cloudy is a symptom, not a diagnosis. Filter, chlorine, pH, calcium or early algae: a quick way to find which one it is.

Your visit report lists six or seven numbers. This is what each one does, the target range for Houston, and what we do when it drifts.

Check the equipment first, then debris, then chemistry. A neglected pool is usually a week and a few hundred dollars from swimmable, not a drain-and-refill.

The salt cell makes the chlorine; you still manage everything else, and pH more than ever. The Houston-specific routine.

The pressure gauge tells you: 8–10 psi above the clean baseline means it is time. In Houston that arrives every three to four months.

Chemicals, a real equipment check and a photo every visit. Here is the checklist behind the price, and the four questions to ask any cheaper quote.

Chemistry, brushing, baskets and equipment are in both plans. Whether you should pay $20 more for netting and vacuuming depends on what is above your pool.

That yellow film is pollen, not algae, but it feeds algae if it stays. A short routine for the six weeks it lasts.

Do not drain the pool, do shock it, and cut the breaker before the storm. The checklist we give every customer from June to November.