This is not exactly a blog post about real estate or the real estate market, but it is one for homeowners with an inground swimming pools.

For the first time I'm living in a home with an inground pool. We've been in this home for more than three years now and I always maintained the pool myself. How hard can it be? Well, it's really not very hard but it is time consuming with weekly attention absolutely required for that crystal clear, water glistening, totally refreshing, jump-into-me, inviting look!

I've watched and observed automatic pool cleaners at many, many homes and I was always skeptical, and there are so many. Which one to choose?

The hands-down recommendation from two different pool product suppliers is the Great White from Pentair pool products. It is also the choice of some of my neighbors. So, I "took the plunge" and bought one.

When I first put it in the pool, my skepticism remained. It just didn't seem like it would meet my satisfaction but the engineer in me was determined. Over the next several weeks of tweaking the length of the tubing and the suction pressure...bingo! This is the best thing since sliced bread. The adjustments will be different for every pool/filter/pump combination so, just stick with it. After successful adjustment the Great White will cover 90%+ of the pool including the walls. It routinely climbs up the wall to the water line. At the water line, the buoyancy bar exits the water, loses its effect, and it eventually turns and heads back down or across the wall. It really is amazing. However, too much suction will have it climbing above the water line and drawing in air. I have had this unit in operation for some six to eight months so I feel quite comfortable with my conclusions.

My weekly maintenance chore is now reduced to 1) dumping in a small bag of shock and 2) cleaning the filter element. Yes, clean the filter weekly! The Great White is so efficient at vacuuming that silt and other material will significantly reduce the water flow through the system. Reduced water flow slows down the Great White and also reduces the number of times the water in the pool cycles through the filter.

I should also mention that the pool is very typical for Florida and is within a screened lanai so there are no leaves or other larger items to pick up. However, the Great White has an "auto-lift" that periodically raise the unit about 3/4 of an inch to allow leaves to easily be vacuumed up.

Go get one!