When you walk into a local pool store or when you are browsing pool e-commerce web sites online, you will see pages and pages of pool supplies, chemcials, equipment, accessories, and other pool-related products. You will see too many pool supplies being offered...way too many.
Only buy the pool supplies that you need.
Every pool owners at least needs:
- a suitable chemical tester (preferably a full test kit but test strips will work just fine)
- a chosen sanitizer, such as chlorine, bromine, or salt
- a supply of shock
- water balancing chemicals for the Alkalinity, pH, and Hardness levels
- maintenance chemicals to help prevent algae, cloudy water, discolored water, stains, scale, and build-up at the surface (waterline) of the pool
- a teleople
- a brush
- a skimmer net
- a deep leaf net
- a manual vacuum assembly to include the vacuum and vacuum hose
- general repair products
- various parts and pieces
- the Pool Manual
If it's in the budget, an automatic pool cleaner is "must-have" pool equipment that will make pool maintenance so much easier.
Only buy and stock the pool supplies that you truly need; anything else can be purchased on an as-needed basis.
You can read the Pool Manual for additional information about the pool supplies that you should stock.