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Question:
A pool that I look after is 2 years old and has developed many wrinkles in the liner.
They are in the shallow half of the pool and go all the way across the pool. The liner
does not have a hole in it. They are tight thin folds. 

The owner asked the pool company who installed it to look at it and they wanted a
sample of water.  They claim the cyanuric acid level is so high that it caused the wrinkles.  

1. Is that possible? If so how?

2. If we lower the level of water and refill the pool to correct the acid will the
wrinkles go away?

Response:
To be honest, I've never heard of high CYA causing liner wrinkling.  There are lots of
new studies going on regarding the effects of high CYA.  They should be interesting.

The more probable cause of the wrinkling involves water imbalance (pH, total alkalinity
& calcium hardness).  Keeping those 3 parameters in line is very important. 
Specifically pH 7.4 - 7.6, TA 125 -150 ppm, CH 200 - 250 ppm.  Left unchecked, vinyl
can wrinkle and/or discolor.  Investing & Using a good quality test kit will give you
much better results than almost any OTC test strip.

It's also possible that there may be some ground water issues.  This might be especially
true if there has been a lot of local rain.
 

Question:
Please could you advise as to the suggested height between the water level and the
decking / surround of the pool?

Response:
Typically the height is about 8 to 10 inches, or about the height of a normal step. 
 

Question:
My pool company drained my pool for an acid wash and used a sealer on the mini cracks
in the floor of the pool.  The excess sealer formed globs of sealer residue in the bottom
of the pool this was pumped out by a special pump and then the pool floor was
vacuumed the water is clear now. I am worried about my grandkids swimming in the
pool if the sealer residue is still in the water?  I have a sand filter and pop up heads. 

I am running the filter ten hours a day.  I am planning to heat the pool for the grandkids
when they come in for the holidays. Naturally I will swim in it to make sure I don’t have
any adverse reaction.  My pool company says I don’t need to worry, but safety is important.

Response: 

I wouldn't worry about the sealer.  Like almost all sealants, it's going to be an inert 
product like silicone.

I would be more concerned about the water balance (pH, total alkalinity & calcium 
hardness) as well as the chlorine level.  Those levels can more affect the grandkids 
than sealer residue.

Question:

Someone told my husband that letting our dog play in the pool will make it a cleaning 
problem.  We have one large dog with very short hair and a very large in-ground pool.  
Will it really be a problem?

Response:
Not to be facetious, but how fussy are you?  Yes, you will more than likely need
to clean the skimmer & pump basket more often.  Aside from that...  We are
looking at a new Jack's Magic product that helps keep "stuff" off of the surface
of the water.

Now if you have a vinyl liner pool, I would be more concerned about the claws
cutting the liner.  Next year we'll be carrying a product called the Skamper Ramp,
to help dogs & other animals get in & out of the pool.

Question:
My in wall skimmer weir does not stay vertical it keeps falling back into skimmer.
It seems when it does my pump runs under stress & builds pressure causing my
pump to leak along with my in line chlorinator @ cover. I have an above ground
15 by 25 pool.  The water level was at midway to skimmer it seams to have
gotten a little better when I filled it more but how much higher can I go & is
that the problem or is it something else? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Response:
The skimmer weir is designed to "float" as the water buoys it up or "pulls" it
back.  That way it will do its job which is to skim the top of the water.  Now
if the water level is getting a bit low, as in your case, the weir will get the
blame for the pump drawing air, rather than the low water level...  You saw
that once the water level was raised to its normal level (I personally would
rather see it a little higher, like up to the top side screw), the pump worked
properly without drawing air.
 

Question:
My uncle has a pool and I vacuumed it out for him yesterday.  I think I got all
of it out, but he isn't for sure on what to use to clean it with.  A gentleman
told him that he could use borax and bleach to clean it. Could you tell me if
this is true or not, because they are having me look all over the Internet to
see if I can find the web site and I cannot. 

Response:
DON'T USE HOUSEHOLD CLEANERS to clean the pool surface, especially if it's
a vinyl liner.  Household cleaners aren't formulated to be gentle on vinyl liners
& will "suck out" the plasticizers that keep the vinyl pliable.  Household
cleaners also can dramatically affect the pH & general water balance.  A good
vinyl cleaner to use is BioGuard Off the Wall.  It does a great job & is easy
on all pool surfaces & a little goes a long way (it's concentrated). 
 

Question:
I just came across your website (it's great)   I am 65 and not as nimble as
I'd like to be anymore and I have a problem with my pool. It Leaks! No ifs
ands or buts. My water level was way down when I opened it (June 2) and
of course the liner in the deep end has  a few wrinkles. Before I call the
folks who installed the liner (10 years ago) I would like some idea where
the problem may be.

The pool is crystal clear right now and I see neither visible signs of a
separation of a seam nor any cuts. I personally am of the opinion the problem
is at the bottom of the pool at the main drain. It goes down about 1 inch per
day (a lot of water) whether the pump is on or off. 

The pool itself is about 1975 Pioneer installation. I don't have a schematic
so have no factual idea of where to look.

Response:
It does sound like the leak could be in the main drain.  That would be "easy"
to take care of.  But if the leak is in the line leading to the main drain, that's
another story.  At that point, I would recommend just blocking it off when you
change the liner.  Either way, have a local service company pressure test ALL of
the lines to find out where the problem is.  The problem could also be lots of
little pinholes in the liner itself.