Starter kit
Pool Essentials: What Every Pool Owner Actually Needs
Pools get sold on the big purchase, but they get run on a small pile of cheap supplies. This is the kit — mostly $10 to $50 an item — that keeps water clear, equipment healthy, and swimmers safe. If you have just bought a pool, work down this page and you will not be caught out in week one.
Buying it all at once? Start with these five
Test strips, chlorine tablets, a skimmer net and pole, a wall brush, and pH adjusters. That is under about $120 in total and covers the weekly routine completely. Everything else on this page can wait until you need it.
Water care & chemicals
Testing and balancing come first. Get the chemistry right and most other pool problems never appear.
Pool test strips
Test 2–3× per week in season
Almost every pool problem — cloudy water, algae, itchy skin, corroded fittings — starts as a chemistry problem you could have seen days earlier. Strips take fifteen seconds.
What to look for
Get a 6-in-1 or 7-in-1 strip that reads free chlorine, pH, total alkalinity, and stabiliser (cyanuric acid). Check the expiry date — strips degrade, and old ones read low.
Our pick: EASYTEST 7-Way Pool & Spa Test Strips
Check price on Amazon ↗Drop-based test kit
Replace reagents yearly
Strips are fine for a quick read; a reagent kit is what you use when something is actually wrong and you need a number you can trust.
What to look for
Look for a kit that includes a FAS-DPD chlorine test — it measures high chlorine accurately, which matters when you are shocking the pool.
Saltwater test strips
Test monthly
Saltwater pools need one reading ordinary strips don't give you: salinity. Too low and the chlorine generator quietly stops producing; too high and it shuts down to protect itself.
What to look for
Aim for the salt level your generator's manual specifies — usually 2,700–3,400 ppm. Test monthly, and always after heavy rain or a big top-up, since both dilute the salt.
Our pick: EASYTEST Salt Water Pool Test Strips
Check price on Amazon ↗Chlorine tablets (3 inch)
Restock every 4–8 weeks
Slow-dissolving trichlor tablets are the simplest way to hold a steady sanitiser level between visits.
What to look for
Stabilised tablets contain cyanuric acid, which builds up over the season. If your CYA is already above 50 ppm, switch to unstabilised shock instead of adding more tablets.
Bromine tablets
Restock every 4–8 weeks
Bromine is the alternative to chlorine, and it holds up much better in warm water — which is why spas and heated pools use it. It's also far gentler on eyes and skin, and doesn't produce the chlorine smell.
What to look for
Bromine is not stabilised against sunlight, so it suits indoor pools, spas and covered pools far better than an exposed outdoor pool. Never mix bromine and chlorine tablets in the same dispenser.
Our pick: MAV AquaDoc Brominating Tablets
Check price on Amazon ↗Floating tablet dispenser
One-off, replace every 2–3 seasons
Dropping tablets loose into the skimmer sends highly concentrated, acidic water straight through your pump and heater whenever the pump is off. A floater releases them slowly into open water instead.
What to look for
Get one with an adjustable vent ring so you can dial the dissolve rate up or down. Keep it away from the steps and out of the shallow end if you have a vinyl liner — a floater parked in one spot can bleach the surface underneath it.
Our pick: Floating Chlorine & Bromine Tablet Dispenser
Check price on Amazon ↗Pool shock
Weekly to fortnightly in season
Shocking burns off the combined chloramines that make water smell strongly of chlorine and irritate eyes. Counter-intuitively, that smell means too little free chlorine, not too much.
What to look for
Cal-hypo is the cheapest per pound and works well for most pools. Dichlor dissolves faster but adds stabiliser. Shock after dark — sunlight destroys chlorine before it can work.
pH increaser & decreaser
Adjust weekly as needed
Chlorine barely works above pH 8.0. If your sanitiser seems useless, pH is usually the reason — not the chlorine.
What to look for
Soda ash raises pH; dry acid (sodium bisulfate) lowers it. Buy both — pH drifts in each direction depending on rain, bathers, and what else you add.
Alkalinity increaser
Top up monthly
Total alkalinity buffers pH. Get it into range first and pH stops swinging wildly after every rainstorm.
What to look for
This is sodium bicarbonate — the same compound as baking soda. Pool-branded tubs are convenient; bulk bicarbonate is the identical chemical for less money.
Algaecide
Weekly maintenance dose
Cheap insurance. A weekly maintenance dose is far easier than clearing a green pool, which costs a weekend and a lot of shock.
What to look for
Polyquat 60 does not foam and does not stain. Avoid cheap copper-based algaecides if you have light-coloured plaster or blonde swimmers — copper stains both.
Cleaning tools
The manual kit every pool needs, robot or not — nets, brushes, and filter care.
Skimmer net & telescopic pole
One-off, replace net every 2–3 years
Leaves that sink become stains and filter clogs. Two minutes of skimming stops the problem before it starts.
What to look for
A deep bag net holds far more than a flat one. Get an aluminium pole that extends past the middle of your pool, so you are not walking around the deck chasing a single leaf.
Our pick: Evob Pool Skimmer Net with 17–40″ Telescopic Pole
Check price on Amazon ↗Self-repairing skimmer net
One-off
Ordinary nets tear on the pool wall and then leak debris out of the hole for the rest of the season. A self-repairing mesh closes small punctures itself, so one net lasts years instead of one summer.
What to look for
Check the collar fits a standard threaded pole before buying — most do, but budget poles occasionally use a proprietary clip.
Our pick: TidyMister Original Self-Repair Skimmer Net
Check price on Amazon ↗Pool wall brush
One-off, replace every 2–3 years
Robots and vacuums miss corners, steps, and the waterline. Algae takes hold in exactly those spots.
What to look for
Nylon bristles for vinyl and fibreglass; stainless is fine for concrete and plaster but will shred a vinyl liner. Match the brush to your pool surface.
Manual vacuum head & hose
One-off
Even with a robot, a manual vacuum is what you reach for after a storm or an algae bloom, when there is more debris than a robot can handle.
What to look for
Get a weighted head for better floor contact, and a hose at least as long as your pool is wide plus the distance to the skimmer.
Filter cartridge cleaner
Clean monthly, replace yearly
A clogged cartridge kills flow, and poor flow means poor sanitation. Rinsing alone leaves oils and scale behind.
What to look for
Soak overnight rather than spraying if the cartridge is properly dirty. Buying a second cartridge to swap in while one soaks is the upgrade most owners wish they had made sooner.
Comfort & season extenders
Cheap ways to make the water warmer and the pool more pleasant.
Floating pool thermometer
One-off
Water temperature tells you when to start heating, when to close, and settles the perennial argument about whether it is warm enough to swim.
What to look for
A digital floating model with a wireless indoor display is worth the extra few dollars if you have a heater — you can decide whether to fire it up without going outside.
Our pick: Sainlogic Floating Pool Thermometer
Check price on Amazon ↗Solar cover & reel
Replace every 2–4 seasons
The cheapest heating you will ever buy. A solar cover adds several degrees and dramatically cuts evaporation, which is where most heat and chemicals go.
What to look for
Thicker (12–16 mil) covers last longer and hold more heat. Buy slightly oversized and trim to shape. A reel is not optional if the pool is larger than about 15 feet — without one the cover never gets used.
Pool floats & loungers
Replace as needed
The reason people bought the pool in the first place.
What to look for
Fabric-covered floats last several seasons; thin vinyl ones usually last one. Check the weight rating before buying for adults.
Safety
Inexpensive, and the only category on this page where the downside of skipping it is serious.
Safety ring buoy & rope
One-off
Basic rescue equipment, and in many places a legal requirement for pools used by anyone outside the household.
What to look for
Mount it where it is visible and reachable from the deck, not in the shed. Check local code — some jurisdictions also require a shepherd's hook.
Pool gate or surface alarm
One-off, test monthly
If there are young children anywhere nearby, this is the highest-value item on the entire site.
What to look for
Gate and door alarms catch a child before they reach the water, which beats a surface alarm that only triggers once someone is already in. Ideally use both.
Repair & seasonal
The things you want already in the shed before you need them.
Vinyl patch kit
Keep one in stock
A pinhole leak in a liner drains water, chemicals, and money. Underwater patches let you fix it without lowering the pool.
What to look for
Wet-set patches bond underwater and hold for years. Keep one on hand before you need it — nobody enjoys shopping for this mid-leak.
Our pick: Titan Patch Waterproof Sealant Tape
Check price on Amazon ↗Winterising & closing kit
Once a year at closing
Closing properly is the difference between opening to clear water in spring and opening to a swamp.
What to look for
Kits are sized by pool volume — buy for your actual gallons, not the next size down. Add a winter cover and an air pillow if you are in a freezing climate.
Roughly what this costs per year
For a typical above-ground pool, budget along these lines. In-ground pools and anything over about 15,000 gallons will run higher.
| Category | First season | Each season after |
|---|---|---|
| Chemicals & testing | $150–300 | $120–250 |
| Cleaning tools | $80–150 | $20–40 |
| Comfort & covers | $70–200 | $30–70 |
| Safety & repair | $60–140 | $15–40 |
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Not sure how to use it all?
Our maintenance guide sets out the weekly routine, target chemistry ranges, and how to fix cloudy or green water.
Read the maintenance guide →