Leveraging AI For Your New Pool: A Personal Journey
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This blog was provided by our accounts man, Phill, who has just become a pool owner for the first time.
I recently had the privelidge of having my own concrete pool installed. It’s been a great experience and my young family have had a blast over the past couple of months splashing and swimming, but when it came to how best to look after our new asset, I found myself in unfamiliar territory. While I knew the technical aspects of our Rainbow Quartz plaster products, the practical day-to-day care of a pool surface and water chemistry was all new to me. I’m the type who likes to learn though and, as I began my research, I discovered an unexpected ally in my pool maintenance journey – artificial intelligence or ‘AI’. It’s been a big lift in helping me feel confident in managing our new Rainbow Quartz pool and I wanted to share the experience so others could benefit by doing similar.
I use ChatGPT in my numbers role quite a bit.. so I’ve got a head start in terms of familiarity with the product. Basically though, I’ve been using ChatGPT as my personal pool maintenance diary and pseudo advisor. While it doesn’t replace professional advice (I still have someone come by each month), it’s become an invaluable tool for learning, tracking, and maintaining my new pool. Here’s how I set things up and now use it day to day:
Initial Pool Profile: I created a single ongoing conversation and loaded it with all my pool’s specific details – installation date, water source, capacity, colour choice, equipment specifications. The current iterations of ChatGPT allow you to look up links so I also pointed it to online manuals for all major equipment (pump, filter, pool cleaner etc). This gave the AI a baseline of context for all future interactions.
Regular Logging: I record all weekly water tests into the same conversations: chemical additions, maintenance activities, backwashing, and even when we swim. Having the ChatGPT app on my phone means I can easily log everything as it happens. I don’t enter absolutely everything, but I approach it with the mindset that the more info it has, the more history and information it can retrieve from.
Weather Integration: I occasionally ask it to check weather patterns, which helps understand environmental impacts on the pool.
Historical Analysis: The real power comes from being able to ask questions about historical readings or patterns. “What was the pH last month?” or “How much acid should I add based on similar readings in the past?” becomes instant knowledge at my fingertips. It also allows me to ask follow up or clarifying questions if I don’t feel confident with something which is great for building confidence.
As an example of the benefits of this approach, I recently noticed a slight green tinge in our pool the other week. It was the Thursday afternoon before Good Friday so I didn’t have time to get out to my local pool shop to seek any advice and wouldn’t for a few days. I asked the ChatGPT conversation to review all historical data and available chemicals I had on hand before recommending action. Its suggestion aligned perfectly with what my pool technician later confirmed would have been the right course of action – using granular pool shock and giving the walls a solid brush.
The AI has even helped identify potential conflicts between different sources of advice. When my local pool shop recommended readings that seemed to conflict with my sanitisation system’s guidelines, the AI flagged this. Upon following up with the pool shop, two were explained and one recommendation was found to be unnecessary in the end.
Important Note: This system works alongside, not instead of, professional maintenance. I Still:
1: Get weekly water tests at my local pool shop
2: Have monthly visits from my pool technician
3: Follow Rainbow Quartz’s guidelines for new pool care
The AI simply helps me learn faster, track better, and make more informed decisions between professional visits.
For new pool owners like myself, having this kind of detailed tracking and instant access to historical data has made the learning curve much less daunting. It’s become my first port of call for basic questions and maintenance tracking, while still relying on professionals for the important stuff.
Hope this helps give you some ideas for managing your own pool maintenance journey!
Phill
Rainbow Quartz
Your pool, Your colour, Your choice
The above content is of a general nature. Different pools offer different variables and Rainbow Quartz encourages you to seek the advice of your professional pool builder in relation to your specific circumstances. If you’re in the market for a new pool and would like Rainbow Quartz for the finish on your concrete pool, please reach out – we are happy to answer queries and can put you in contact with vetted pool builders in your area.