Handy Mac, aka Don MacAlister, is our expert on household DIY issues

Please may we have contact details for a pool specialist able to help with getting swimming pool water back to sparkling blue and looking healthy. With sincere thanks. Penny

I am not sure if there is such a person as a pool specialist who can turn your water into wine. I have great faith in my pool shop, but even they could not find a solution to my problem because although the pool looked bad, the tests were showing the water, from a chemical point of view, was perfect.

There are so many variants that it becomes a hit-and-miss exercise. For weeks I scratched my head. I was convinced it was my well-point water but was not prepared to use municipal water, and hopefully will never do so again. I believe that because we’ve all tried to save water, we have not back-washed our pools properly for months, if not years.

I bit the bullet and was using water out of my filter tanks, (which clean up our well-point water) to keep the pool topped up, and backwashed regularly. I could not believe what was being washed out of the filter on backwash. No wonder the pool was not sparkling. We have now returned to a crystal-clear pool, albeit at a cost of manufacturing crystal-clear water.

A pool needs chlorine in the correct dosage and the PH must be right. Pools will always cost you money and everybody has a different option. My friend Muneeb from Radiant Pools was here the other day because we have a leak. The first thing he told me was that my pump was too small for the pool size. I changed to an eco system years ago, which required a smaller pump, and my water is clear, so it was not the pump size. Everybody also says you must have a top-of-the range pool cleaner. Because of the smaller pump I invested in an electric cleaner, which is fine, but it needs a service, so I bought the cheapest suction cleaner I could find. Lo and behold, with its one moving part, it is doing an amazing job. So who really knows what?

You must now ensure that all building contractors are compliant and registered, or you

Getting your swimming pool water sparkling blue can be a challenge.