Although winter has not just left us, a few of you in warmer states are starting to think about the upcoming spring weather and getting back into the pool. But alas once you open up the pool again, the constant cycle of water testing, heating and sanitization begins. Priming pumps and heaters, running chlorinators and the dreaded pool cleaning.
Well I have done my fair share of elbow greased manual labor over the years, but now in my late 40s I like to take it easier and actually get to enjoy the fruits of my labor, without actually labouring too much in the process. So when it comes to scrubbing the decks I put my little Polaris 360 to work.
Automatic For The People
Its an automatic pool cleaner, which plods along its path scrubbing and vacuuming away dirt like nothing else mattered in the world. And boy is it efficient. I have done quite a bit of brush skimming and scrubbing and spent many a hot day sweating it out with mop and bucket in my hand. But now I simply dont have the time or the energy to clean the pool by hand.
Its too big anyway, 33,000 gallons when full, so I dont fancy the constant upkeep. I researched pool cleaners at Bath Pool and Spa a few years ago. I spent ages summing up the options and cross referenced everything against loads of other review sites. I got a round-about picture of what I needed for my pool and subsequently went with one of the top pics from Polaris, the 360.
Pressure
I wanted a pressure-side cleaner and this vac-sweep ticked just about all the boxes. It runs off just about any standard pool circulation jump. Its very tough and compactly designed and it will lift leaves, pebbles and dirt and store them safely inside a bag attached to the cleaner.
It works uniquely well on inground pools like mine and gets propelled around the pool via the return water line. This pushes it around corners and difficult places like my built in lounging ledges in the shallow end. I once tried to get it to go up the slide, but thats another story entirely.
One of these will set you back just over $440 but if you check around online you will find that it is a 5-star product, and that simply was the reason I bought it. It is well designed, has quite rugged and minimal parts. Will last for 10 years and more I suspect if you treat it right.
