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River Pools & Spas Blog

The most educational swimming pool blog in the country, providing fiberglass pool articles and videos, as well as information on inground concrete and liner pools.

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Pool Maintenance

What Type of Pool Needs the Least Maintenance?

When I'm doing the dishes, I love the dishwasher-safe ones. I just pop 'em in the dishwasher, run the wash cycle, and move along until they're clean. So easy! Hand-wash-only dishes feel ridiculously high-maintenance in comparison. As I scrub them, I hate them. Sorry, Abraham Lincoln mug. Cleaning dishes is nothing compared to cleaning a pool. How can you make sure your pool is "dishwasher safe"—as low maintenance as it can possibly be? The TYPE of pool you have can make or break your maintenance satisfaction. The interior finish, durability, and more can significantly increase or decrease your to-do list (and your costs).

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Fiberglass Pool Information  |  Pool Maintenance

How to Remove Stains from a Fiberglass Pool

In my house, we take turns doing chores, but I’m exclusively in charge of laundry. My favorite (?) part is collecting all the stained clothes so I can apply stain remover and then scrub them like an old-timey washerwoman. It feels as if I should later buy hardened brown sugar in paper bags tied with twine like I live in a Laura Ingalls Wilder book. But that’s just washing clothes. How do you feel about being an old-timey washer for your inground fiberglass pool stains?

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Comparing Fiberglass, Concrete, and Vinyl Liner Pools in the Modern Age Ebook.

Comparing Fiberglass, Concrete, and Vinyl Liner Pools in the Modern Age

Don't blindly wonder if a fiberglass, concrete, or vinyl liner pool is right for you. Our educational ebook does a deep-dive comparison of the 3 types, all while noting the advantages and disadvantages of each.

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Pool Design Guides

5 Reasons Why Diving Boards Have Gone the Way of the Dinosaur

If you look back just 10 or 15 years ago in the swimming pool industry, you'll find that roughly 90% of all inground swimming pools had a diving board. But today, the trend has done an almost 180-degree turn. Here at River Pools, we see 5 reasons why diving boards have now practically become extinct.

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Retaining Walls, Fence, and Landscaping  |  Swimming Pool Design

Pool Retaining Walls for Sloped Yards: Cost, Materials, and More

Few yards are perfectly flat. (Well, maybe in Ohio, which is so flat I can see Cincinnati from Toledo. But in normal places, no.) Some yards have only a teeny-tiny grade (2 ft. or less), so pool builders can grade the dirt off the patio to compensate for the difference. However, not every situation is so simple. When you have a big slope, you need a big solution. How will you keep the water from running onto the pool deck? How will you keep the pool in place? Enter retaining walls, stage left.

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Swimming Pool FAQs

What is the Best Season for Fiberglass Pool Installation?

Fiberglass pools have many benefits over concrete and vinyl liner pools. Fiberglass is low maintenance, quick to install, uses fewer chemicals, has a smooth finish, is extremely durable, and has an attractive and elegant look. Because of all of these benefits, you may want to have a fiberglass pool installed at your house. One of the questions that people often ask is when they should have their fiberglass pool installed. Another benefit to these pools is that they can be installed year-round, regardless of the climate or weather conditions where you live.

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Installation & Construction  |  Pool Design Guides  |  Pool Manufacturing Process  |  Swimming Pool Design

Small Inground Pools: Sizes, Shapes, Cost, Pros, & Cons

You know something I think is cute about humans in general? Our love for small things. Think about it! Even if we like the thing itself, we love the tiny version. A pig? Kinda gross. A tiny pig? Awww! A teacup? Classy. A tiny teacup? I need it right now! A house? Fine. A tiny house? Perfect! A cat or dog? Beautiful. A kitten or puppy? I want to die of happiness!

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Concrete Pool Information  |  Pool Maintenance

When Is It Time to Replaster Your Pool?

The following is a guest post from Diane Pierce at Authentic Plaster & Tile. Owning a pool can be a relaxing way to take a break after a long day, or enjoy the majority of your summer vacation. They’re the ideal location for any backyard barbecue where friends and family can gather together, connect with each other, eat good food, and splash around. They can also be a lot of work if not properly maintained in a timely manner.

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Fiberglass Pool Information  |  Installation & Construction  |  Pool Manufacturing Process  |  Swimming Pool FAQs

What is a Fiberglass Pool Mold?

When I first visited River Pools in person, the first things I noticed were the...red-orange lumps outside. What kinda yard decorations are those? The answer: Not decorations at all. (Whew!) Turns out, these are pool molds—we make them ourselves and then use them to manufacture our fiberglass pools. Fancy, right? But what does all that really mean? Let's talk about these weird-looking lumps: What a pool mold is, and what it is not How we make a mold for a fiberglass pool How we use a mold for a fiberglass pool How we maintain a mold for a fiberglass pool

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Fiberglass Pool Manufacturers

River Pools: Top 50 Pool Builder, & Top 3 in Customer Service

We have some exciting news today, so I'm going to take a brief break from pool costs and maintenance to share it with you!

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Retaining Walls, Fence, and Landscaping  |  Swimming Pool Design

The Best and Worst Plants to Use in Pool Landscaping

Some of us (like my friend Ed and my mother) have a green thumb. Some of us (like me) have a black thumb. I either over-water or under-water any houseplants I try to nurture; low-maintenance succulents are the best I can manage, and even that is hit or miss. When you're planning the plants to put around your pool, you'll of course want to pick the prettiest species. But hold your horses! Yes, beauty is important, but there are more strategic elements you need to consider too.

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