Water test
Pool Water Testing at Barker's in Brownsburg
Bring a bottle of your pool or spa water to the counter on East Main. We test it, then tell you what the water needs and what it doesn't.
When the water stops looking right
Cloudy water, a green tint, eyes that sting after a swim, a white crust along the tile line. Each one points to something different, and the cure for one can make another worse.
The usual mistake is adding chemicals by guesswork. A scoop of this, a splash of that, and a week later the pool is further from clear than when you started. Testing first means you only buy what the water actually needs.
Corner of the Barker's storefront in Brownsburg with the blue and gold Swimming Pool Center sign
How a test at the counter goes
Bring a sample to Barker's at 1565 East Main in Brownsburg. We test it and explain what we found in plain language, then help you pick the chemicals and supplies to keep your pool and spa in great shape all year long.
Paul Zielinski wrote in a Google review: "Got my pool water tested." He added: "Barker's has best advice for maintaining pool water." The advice is the part we care about most, since a number on a strip means little without someone to explain it.
Keeping it right after the test
A clean sample is half the job, so the steps below are worth a minute. Test regularly while the pool is in use, and again after a heavy rain or a crowded weekend, since those are the times water tends to shift.
Stock up on testing strips at the same visit, and check the shelves for whatever the test calls for. Everything is covered on our page for pool and spa supplies, and if an item isn't in stock we'll order it and have it delivered quickly.
Barker's Swimming Pool Center, family owned since 1980. Call (317) 852-8979.
TAKING THE SAMPLE
Four small habits that make the test accurate
Bottle
Start with a clean bottle, rinsed well, with no soap or old chemical left in it.
Reach
Fill it about elbow deep, away from the return jets and the skimmer, so you capture the water and not the surface.
Same day
Bring it in the same day you take it, before the water has time to change in the bottle.
Spa apart
Spa water goes in its own bottle. Don't pour it in with the pool sample.
From March to October we're open Monday to Friday 9:00 am to 5:00 pm and Saturday 9:00 am to 2:00 pm, closed Sundays and public holidays. From November to February it's Monday to Friday 9:00 am to 4:30 pm, weekends closed. Pick up the phone at (317) 852-8979 if you want to check before you drive over. Barker's also handles pump, valve and filter repair when a test points to a failing piece of equipment.