Sand N Sun Pool

Waterparks offer sweet relief

We survived a cold, snow-filled winter capped off by the Groundhog Day blizzard, only to be insulted with a chilly, rainy spring.

But that’s all behind us now. Finally, summer is here. It’s time to pull out the bikinis and beach towels, slip on a pair flip-flops, slather on the SPF 50 and head out the doors in search of water fun.

Here’s a handy guide to some area pools and water parks. Before you go, check the web sites for rain-out policies and other rules, including regulations on flotation devices, lifejackets, swim masks, coolers and outside food and drinks.

Atcher Island: Schaumburg Park District’s Polynesian-themed water park has water slides, a circular drop slide, children’s sprayground and more. Must be 48” tall to ride the slides. Concessions are available on site. Cost: Non-resident $9/$7 kids. Resident $7/$5 kids. Kids under 2 free. Hours: 11 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Mon.-Fri. 12-8 p.m. Sat.-Sun. 730 S. Springinsguth Road, Schaumburg. (847) 985-2135. parkfun.com.

Centennial Beach: Naperville’s longtime summer hotspot received a $5 million makeover during the offseason. The former quarry now sports more rooms at the historic bathhouse, including more family changing rooms and deck-level rest rooms; a Centennial Grill eatery featuring hot and cold foods, more picnicking areas, and an improved drop-off/pick-up area. Water attractions include depths of zero to 15 feet, a large, sandy beach, shallow-end slide, diving complex and water buckets. Hours: 11 a.m.-8 p.m. through Aug. 14. Call or check website for hours Aug. 15-Sept. 5. Cost: $6 resident/$10 non-resident; $3 after 5 p.m. 500 W. Jackson Ave., Naperville. (630) 848-5092. centennialbeach.org.

Cypress Cove Family Aquatic Park: This park features a spray playground with geysers, water curtain and oversized dumping bucket; a zero depth pool, a 600-foot lazy river, three body slides, a tube slide, a kiddie slide, a tot flume slide, a sand play area and concession stands. Hours: 11:30 a.m.-8 p.m. daily through Aug. 21. Cost: Non-residents $13, $6.50 seniors, kids under 1 free. Residents: $8; $4 seniors. Discounted price after 5 p.m. 8301 S. James Ave., Woodridge. (630) 985-5620. woodridgeparks.org.

Dolphin Cove Family Aquatic Center: The new Discovery Fountain in the Sandcastle Beach area has bubblers, a flushing funnel, flow gates and paddle wheel. There is a zero-depth beach area with geysers and slides for small children. There is also Rip Tide body slide and the Typhoon tube slide and a diving well; as well as the Sand Bar Cafe and gift shop. Hours 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Mon.-Fri.; noon-6 p.m. Sat.-Sun. Cost: $7.50, $6.50 age 3-9 and seniors. Residents $5, $4 kids age 3-9 and seniors. Reduced rates in evening. 300 N. Kennedy Dr. (routes 25 and 68), Carpentersville. (847) 428-7131. dtpd.org.

Intex sand filter • Above Ground Pools • Trouble Free Pool

Lately, besides leaves, she is having problems with dust. The local farmers have clearcut all the trees from their land, so we pretty much have a dust storm any day the wind gusts above 10mph (which it, unusually, has been doing frequently here this year). I spent 6 1/2 hours cleaning out the pool for her last Saturday, and yesterday it filled up with dust again. I have no personal experience with sand filters. For those of you using the Intex sand filters, how well does vacuuming work with them? Would the sand filter be able to vacuum and filter the sand and dust from the pool in a more efficient manner? I don't mind putting in the time and investing the money if it will improve the situation; otherwise, if I can't find a solution, I'm about ready to pack it in, drain the pool, and give it away. Guess what I then preceeded to find out? The local pool supply company apparently has no clue about the filter sand they sell - they had assured me it was #20 silica sand that met the quoted Intex specs. Turns out it wasn't as the sand filter proceeded to pump at least 10lbs of sand into the bottom of the pool before I figured out what was going on. Which I then spent an hour cleaning out with my old Pool Buster vacuum (I was shocked it still worked as the batteries in it are 3 years old). And, you are correct - though the sand filter is new, there could be a problem with the 6 way valve. However, I examined it and everything matches the diagrams. I was very careful with the installation and triple-checked everything. I can't think of anything that would cause it to spray out as much sand as water into the pool. It seemed to backwash and rinse properly as far as I could tell. Yeah, the Home Depot sand is way too coarse to use in the Intex filter (up to four times the Intex quoted max size). The trip wasn't wasted, though, as I also went looking for some PVC parts to fix the run drain trap on my external A/C package unit and came across an interesting PVC part that might allow direct connection of the Intex threaded strainer connectors to 1 1/2" PVC (using a 1 1/2" slip/female threaded coupler, this part along with a rubber washer and the Intex split nuts from the plunge valve). Once I figure out what I have (some sort of p-trap adapter which Home Depot, of course, has the wrong UPC code on), I'll post the information to the thread on this issue.

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