Now In: Frequently Asked Questions

Why the name?  Fire the Pool Man respects performance of all pool maintenance professionals. We chose the name to highlight the opportunity for many pool owners to take over the majority of their pool care needs.  By getting the right tools, a pool owner can save themselves thousand of dollars a year.

How do I know how many gallons of water my pool holds?  This is a simple rule that will get you pretty close to the total size.  Take the width X  the length X (deepest depth/2) X 8. This will give you the approximate total gallons in your pool.


How do I choose a filter?  There are many factors including the distance that the filter,  the size of the pool and the size of your pipe.  It is probably something you want to have a professional look at before you choose a filter. Once you have, it is best to pick a filter that will cycle all your pool water in 6 to 8 hours. The more powerful the filter and pump, the shorter time you will need to run it.  This can save you money on your electric bill.

What is the best filter for my pool?  There are 3 kinds of filters -- cartridge filters, DE filters and sand filters. Cartridge and DE filters do the most complete filtering of your water.

What is the best pool cleaner for my pool?  There are 3 kinds of cleaners.  Suction cleaners that run off the skimmer on your pool -- pressure cleaners that require an booster assist pump to operate and robotic cleaners that run off electrical hookup.  They all do a good job. The suction cleaners generally will not clean steps -- they just travel around the bottom of the pool and climb up the walls to to the waterline to clean your pool.  Pressure cleaners generally do climb up on stairs and cover the other areas.  Robotic Cleaners do more of a scrubbing job and generally cover all pool areas.

Is it time to get a salt chlorinator?   It might be. Generally the water is easier on your skin and your eyes. It will make your water more consistently in balance and you will save the cost of most chemicals that are used in the pool.  There are two kinds of units --- one that handles the chlorine balance and upgraded units that handle both the chlorine and PH side of keeping your pool in proper balance.

How difficult is it to set up the automatic pool cleaner? Each automatic pool cleaner comes complete with hose to set it up and a video that shows you exactly what you need to do. You will not need any tools to get the job done and typically it will only require 5 to 10 minutes to setup.

What do I have to do to make my automatic pool cleaner work?  Just run your swimming pool filter 3 to 4 hours a day along with the automatic pool cleaner and the majority of your swimming pool maintenance is done. Check the swimming pool chemicals once a week with one of our testing kits and in most cases the only other pool maintenance you will need is once a year pool filter cleanings. This is not a difficult job but it is a little messy, so most swimming pool owners call in a pool maintenance professional to get it done.

What else can I do to keep my swimming pool clean? For most swimming pools just sweeping down your pool steps, cleaning your swimming pool straining filter (basket filters), checking and correcting your swimming pool chemicals once a week will keep your swimming pool in good condition and your pool maintenance to a minimum.

How do I know if my swimming pool filter needs cleaning?  If your filter gets noisy check it. and do check the filter pressure once a week   Most pool filters have a gauge and keeping the pressure low is key.  If the pressure gets above the red line  or if you just see that it is shooting up, then the pool filter is getting dirty. This means the pool filter either needs a cleaning or a back flush. When you see the pool filter needs cleaning it is time to maintain (clean or back flush) the filter, or you may call a pool maintenance professional to do the job.

How do I check my pool chemicals? It is very simple. The swimming pool testing kit has gauges that tell you exactly how much water to scoop up from your swimming pool. You just add the recommended drops of the testing liquids included in the kit and it tells you what you need to add to the pool. It is about a 2 minute job once a week. You also might want to look into electronic testers for you pool chemistry.