DIY pool care works fine — until it doesn't.
Seasonal pool care in North Texas is its own science. The advice below is calibrated to DFW pollen counts, freeze risk, hardness levels, and heat. Generic national pool advice gets you most of the way; the local nuance closes the rest.
The big 10
- Pouring acid directly into the skimmer (eats your heater)
- Adding chlorine + acid together (creates toxic gas)
- Brushing AFTER vacuuming (re-stirs everything)
- Backwashing a freshly cleaned cartridge
- Running the pump only 4 hours/day in summer
- Ignoring rising cyanuric acid for 2+ years
- Storing chemicals together (incompatibles)
- DIY plaster acid wash (one wrong move = $8k repair)
- Skipping winter chemistry (freeze damage)
- Forgetting to grease o-rings annually