the pool as it should be
First the good. The magical Elio has transformed our pool from murky to clear just as he said he would. The in between stages of scum on surface and moonscape below are gone and it is the beautiful color of a cenote.
The bad was actually kind of interesting and funny. At some point this morning we realized that water was dripping into the hallway again. About that time, Gaby called Mimi upstairs to show her water spraying from the water filters onto the roof.
We called Henry. Poor man, he has heard from us about these things a lot this week. We were kidding him this afternoon that we are breaking stuff just so we can see him again. I have to say though, his response has been terrific, shit happens but it isn’t often that someone steps up and takes care of it for you.
Mimi gets sprayed
So, Henry came over and the plumber came over and Mimi had a really good time with ladders and tools and figuring out how things worked. I ignored most of it, I’m not all that interested in water filter functions to tell you the truth.
It seems that at some point, “someone” moved one of the filter tanks and it wasn’t lined up correctly with the outlet pipe and thus water spraying out onto the roof.
Once the problem was identified, the solution was simple and fast. Move the filter back where it was supposed to be and re-attach the connector.
Water dripping into the hall from the skylight
A separate problem is that the replaced glass tile skylight still leaks. Henry has a solution, although I can’t tell you what it is. Remember? I wasn’t really paying attention? I’m sure it will work and the albañiles come tomorrow to do it again.
This delays our departure but not really. I’ve had a hard time working out the insurance and registration and other *stuff* that I need to get straight while I still have an internet connection.
Let me just say that there are times when the internet just fools you into thinking it is making things easier when in actual fact just calling someone up or *shock* *horror* going to their office would probably be a whole lot faster and easier. I think I figured that out today but too late to do anything about it. After navigating many pages of ‘fill in the blanks with ridiculous amounts of private information’ I got to the page where you choose which state your license plates are from. Did I mention this is all in Spanish? Anyway, it had all of the states in the USA except Alaska, Hawaii and… California! Bingo! I had to quit the whole thing and contemplate it a bit. I think I’ll start again tomorrow and just leave it on the default, which happens to be Alabama. That should be interesting.
So, who knows when we will actually leave. I need to pick a day though since I need to also pick not only a date but a god damn TIME that I will be crossing the border. Who the hell knows what time they are going to be at the border when they are 1500 miles away, not to mention what day? I’m not good at this.
Ah, the joys of pool ownership. However, the magic is in the chemical process. Clarifiers work wonders taking all the gook in the water to the bottom and then vacuuming it out. Voilà!
Here we say a pool is like a child, it justs keeps asking for more (money that is)
Guessing the border crossing time stumped me, as well. I simply decied to create a two-week window with double insurance. It was easier than trying to build a NASA flight plan.
Yikes. I hate plumbing and water systems and all that but neither Paul or I are very good at it all so we both have to pay attention every time. Your pool looks lovely, the color is so cool and serene it would cool me off just to look at it!
Good luck getting out of town, I agree with you about the internet sometimes. Oh well, ni modo!
Glad Henry is being so responsive for you!!
Have a good and safe trip up north!!
Ron and Kathy
The pool looks great. I could hang in the hammock and just pretend I was looking at the cenote below me.
Awww, it is all a matter of how you look at it.
It isnt a leaking filter, it is a self-cleaning skylight!
Todd
awww… pool….
Good luck with your travels!!!
Todd, you cracked me up with the self cleaning skylight. Too true. I think/hope it is fixed now, we have black clouds moving in this afternoon so perhaps it will get a further test.
I ditched the internet when it dawned on me that Henry’s father and brother are in the insurance biz. I should have thought of that sooner, Mimi’s health insurance is with them. Anyway, I will pick up the policy tomorrow at their office. Much easier.
The delay has been good though since I’m having some health problems and this gives me a chance to see my doctor tomorrow and not be somewhere on the road.
Don’t know how you can tear yourself away from that beautiful private cenote….are you SURE you want to do this
Take Care
No, I don’t really want to do this Mic. I am not thrilled by a week on the road, the money spent, and the rest of it. I will be happy to see friends and family in LA but there is a lot of work to do there too. I’d rather stay here truthfully.
OMG Jonna!!! I thought that was a cenote. Simply stunning!!!!
We are slowly figuring out the pool chemical mix too. Having two large Ramon trees nearby doesn’t help at all – pollen, little balls and lots of leaves.
Good luck on your road trip. And, have fun. The work here will still be here when you return!
Pete and Lynn
Hi Jonna,
My husband and I own a pool business in arizona. If you have furhter problems, let me know and maybe Keith can give you some helpful advice. Most scum issues have to do with poor circulation. You can only expect limited results with chemicals alone. The pump and filtering sytem actually has more to do with the overall health and stability of a pool. We have a HUGE diving pool and it needs very little chemicals because Keith has the equipment tweeked to maintain the best conditions. Safe travels.
The pool really is looking great, I’m pleased. Chrissy, the scum was a result of a chemical that Elio put in, a floculant I think. Then, the next day, he put in something that also glommed the gunk together (technical term) but this one dropped it all to the bottom where it looked much like a powdery moonscape. Then he came and vacuumed it all up and Voila! it is clear as a cenote and you could read the paper on the bottom. Much better. We have a pretty good sized pump, they brought a bigger one a while back so that the skimmer sucked better when the water was diverted up to the roof to the solar heater. I think it has enough circulation, whether we had the pump on long enough or not may be a question.
The pool is magnifico. You couldn’t get me to leave that for anything, ever! Enjoy.
I just got back from 7 weeks in the States – airfares are ridiculously low……..check em out if you HAVE to go North.