Cleaning Your Pool Floors, Coves, Walls and Waterlines

You'll notice as you shop around for robotic pool cleaners that product descriptions will say something like "Cleans pool floor, cove, walls and waterline." But what does that really mean?

The floor, cove, walls, and waterline are the cleaning area of your pool. While pretty standard for descriptions, some manufacturers differ in the definitions. Some may say the cleaner covers the floor, cove and wall assuming that the wall also means waterline. If you have doubts always ask your robotic pool cleaner dealer for clarification. Lets take a look at each of these cleaning areas:

The pool floor is the most important area for pool owners. It is also where most dirt, sand, and silt accumulates. This is where most pool cleaners excel at cleaning.

The pool cove is the area where the floor meets the wall. Depending on the angle of the cove, some cleaners might have trouble climbing the walls. A 60º gradual sloping incline should be no problem for most cleaners. If you have a more sharp 90º cove, then a track based unit is probably your best bet.

Pool walls don't accumulate as much sand and silt but do collect algae. Unless indicated, most robotic pool cleaners will climb walls (see cove angle exceptions above) and clean the algae. What some cleaners is the ability clean the waterline. They may reach the waterline, but you'll have to do some extra brushing to keep the waterline clean.

What do I recommend? For efficient cleaning from floor to waterline these are my favorites:

Aquabot Turbo T2
Dolphin Oasis Z5
Ecojet Plus

Sizing up the Dolphin Nautilus Robotic Pool Cleaner

Designed to win back your leisure time with your pool, the Dolphin Nautilus is a great automatic pool cleaner for those who want an expert level clean, but might not have the budget for the more advanced cleaners.

Dolphin Nautilus Robotic Pool Cleaner

Priced under $700 the Nautilus robotic cleaner vacuums and scrubs in-ground pools up to 50 feet in length. It will clean any type of in-ground pool and scrub it free of dirt, algae and bacteria. The Nautilus maneuvers around ladders drains, stairs, and it will climb part of the way up your pool's wall. Once the pool is clean, the unit shuts itself off automatically.

The Dolphin Nautilus pool cleaner not only spotlessly cleans your pool but also filters your water at the same time. Since it has its own motor, it works independently of your filter system, and purifies your water as it helps distribute pool chemicals. The unit will clean an average size pool in only three hours, trapping all debris in its internal filter bag as it goes. The Large filter surface collects even the finest dust particles at a suction rate of 4,233 gallons per hour. When in use, the Nautilus does not clog up your filter system or cause additional back washing.

Weighing only 18.75 lbs., the unit is lightweight and easy to carry or remove from the pool. Driven by an internal computer-controlled scanning technology that directs the cleaner to all areas of your pool floor, insuring that it is spotless regardless of its shape.

The unit is completely safe and operates on 24 volts at a cost of only pennies per day. The Nautilus is easy to service and troubleshoot, with easy access to all components; eliminating costly specialized repair costs.

The Cons

1. No remote control. While plug-n-play self programming is a great feature for automated scanning, you cannot manually control the device for fast spot cleaning.
2. No caddy. While the device is lightweight you'll have to carry the cleaner. This is can be a nuisance for some people. A caddy can be purchased separately for an additional $100 +/- from your retailer. If you are going to spend extra cash for a caddy why not spend that same amount of cash and get a better cleaner that comes with a caddy (and a remote).
3. No grab-n-go handle. The two big conveniences here are for transporting your cleaner (see caddy above) and pulling the device from the water. While it might sound a tad lazy, I don't the addition of a handle makes things so much easier.

 The Pros

1.  The price. At just under $700 you get a good cleaner and if your budget is tight and you want a decent cleaner the Nautilus is a suitable choice.

Summary

Small, lightweight and affordable, the Dolphin Nautilus is an effective and efficient residential pool cleaner. If you have the budget I recommend spending a few more dollars and upgrading to the Dolphin Oasis Z5.