Soil pH is a measure of the "potential Hydrogen" in the soil. In soils with low pH there are more free hydrogen ions while in soils with a high pH there are few. If you need to decrease the number of hydrogen ions Calcium Carbonate (CaCo3, lime) has been found to be the best way to do that while adding sulfur will increase the number of hydrogen ion. Rain water typically is acidic and has, over time, lowered the pH of some soils and some bodies of water. Most all municipal water systems add, in addition to Chloramine and Floride, something to make that water close to neutral since water very acidic or alkaline simply does not taste good. Adding Gypsum to soils that are not sodic is usually a waste of time.

I was really hoping for more input from a bunch of people on this subject but it appears it is time to wrap this one up. Since most people don't really want to bother with ever watering their plants, many people go into a garden store and a very rich potting soil that stays soggy all the time. As a result you may eventually kill your plant. Many plant species can literally drown in mucky soil! For some unexplained reason many growers believe the rich soil makes a plant grow better! Typical "potting soils" just don't work for the vast majority of tropical plant species since most grow in trees, not in soggy soil. The roots of many tropical plants are designed to*collect rain water during the wet season and suffer through the dry season. But even in the dry season a specimen can collect enough water from the humidity around their exposed roots to survive. * Although house plant growers commonly believe tropical plants do not need water in winter that belief is simply a myth. Tropical plants live in very humid conditions and are capable of gathering water directly from the air even during the drier portions of the year when it doesn't rain on a daily basis. Dew and fog are very important contributors to the water available to a tropical rain forest plant species and homes don't have dew or fog! If we deny the plant the water they crave they only suffer and will never be able to display their natural beauty. In the temperate rain forest the amount of water available from the dew alone is estimated to be between three to five percent of the total annual precipitation! As a result, your tropical plants need water year round but it is wise to reduce the amount offered during the winter. We water every week of the year averaging four days a week in summer and three days per week in winter. As can be seen in the photo the plants love water. Despite the belief of far too many growers, growing plants is not just about the water content of the soil! The advice to water only once a week and keep the top two inches of the soil dry is not always good advice! Many aroids and other plant species grow in very wet soil! Instead it is about the fast flow of water through the soil or the lack thereof which causes a lack of oxygen, anerobic fermentation and saprophytes which turn into pathogens. Saprophytes are organisms including fungus or bacteria that grow on and draw nourishment from dead or decaying organic matter which often includes soggy wet soil. The pathogens attack the roots and cause them to rot so all of the advice to "slow down on the water" is really about how to control the pathogens. Fermentation and saprophytes often occur in muddy soil that will not not allow the roots to breathe but they don't necessarily occur in water which is why we can cause a plant that is about to die to grow new roots in clean water. As a result, it is necessary to use soil mixes that allow the roots to breathe and will not remain soggy. I've attempted in many threads to explain the necessity of mixing proper soil for plants but the advice is often ignored since it requires some "work" on the part of the plant's keeper. The reason plants rot is not the amount of water given to the plant! These are rain forest plants and are literally drowned for months at a time! If you could visit a rain forest you would quickly learn the soil is composed of leaf litter, decaying wood, compost and the charcoal left behind when a part of the forest burns. If we'll just listen to Mother Nature we can all make our plants grow as they should in nature. That is precisely what I attempt to explain when I recommend mixing soil, not just buying a bag at the store. Over time we've developed a soil mixture for most of our aroid and tropical species. We use this mixture on the advice of the aroid keepers at the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis. The goal of this mix is to allow the roots to freely find places to extend and grow without constantly finding wet places where they will rot. This mix will remain damp but drain quickly. Rather than using a rich, soggy soil and watering only once a week (or less), use a soil that holds moisture well but drains quickly. With the help of botanical garden researchers we've developed a soil mixture*for most of our specimens that works great. People who visit our artificial rain forest are often amazed at the size of many of our specimens which grow much faster and larger than they often do in a home. The exact mixture is not critical but we use*roughly 40% potting mix combined with 20% high quality peat moss, 20% orchid potting media containing charcoal, hard wood and gravel), and the balance cypress mulch mixed, with 10% Perlite and finely shredded pieces of sphagnum moss. We often add extra charcoal such as aquarium charcoal or hardwood charcoal to help purify the soil and sometimes volcanic rock If you are concerned about your soil remaining wet just add more orchid mix, cypress mulch, Perlite and sphagnum moss. We grow many different species in this basic mixture and*some of our specimens have reached their adult or near adult size and regularly produce a spathe and spadix (inflorescence). *The goal of*our mixture is to cause the water to flow through the soil quickly, remain slightly damp, but never soggy. The roots of our plants attach to the bark just as they do in nature*on the side of a tree. Most growers call a mix similar to the one we use a "jungle mix". Again, I welcome your input. We also openly invite anyone living or visiting in MidAmerica to visit our private botanical garden. There is never a charge. You can see photos on the homepage of our website.

Lower the planting beds a few inches and put a layer of decorative stone on top to protect the soil and help keep it in place.. Is it possible the grids are shot? Yes. Is it likely? No What size is the filter and pump? Have you run it without D.E.? Have you ever hosed the grids off? Is DE blowing in the pool? Is the rest of the pool equipment Hayward also? You my have an extended warranty if it is. Scott

Your doorbell is probably just a low-voltage one, so there's a transformer somewhere on that circuit. On newer houses, the transformer tends to be on or near the electrical switchboard, but in older places can "piggy back" on the back of an outlet or switch box that's exposed, like in a furnace room or unfinished basement....so it should be a long way from the potential ingress of moisture, besides, the low-voltage side of the transformer getting shorted out by moisture is not going to trip a breaker, in fact unless it's a GFCI, breakers take a lot of moisture to trip since rainwater's not a great conductor. So the issue is probably not your doorbell. You have a serious problem that needs action, immediately, from a professional or professionals, if necessary. In fact, you have two problems - one, ingress of moisture, never a good thing, and in quantities sufficient to cause electrical problems. This is potentially very dangers, for another thing. I presume you mean you replaced the circuit breaker, which just shows the first one was doing its job, however, repeated tripping wears a breaker out (they all should be replaced after some period of service anyway) - you have already concluded there's a moisture problem which, as you've indicated, needs to dry out before things work again. When you say lights at top and bottom of steps, do you mean outdoor lights? If they are, first thing to do is check if the fixtures themselves are full of water, you'd be surprised how often this happens - when you say it happens when it's raining hard, that suggests either a driving rain or a situation where water builds up more in some places than others. So, if those lights are outdoors, inspect them and the seals and connections for leaks - six years is enough for seals and gaskets to fail, or the body of the light may be cracked. The other possibility is a roof leak where your pool table light is, with water entering the wiring round there. If you haven't observed water round it then you're probably ok but next time it rains heavily, you could go up into the ceiling space with a good flashlight and see if you can see any problems. If there are outdoor switches for those lights or a motion sensor or photo cell, these are all potential spots. If the lights are on poles or something or there's some underground wiring, these could flood too. Of course make sure the power's off when you're checking these things because, apart from the usual dangers, there's bound to be a lot of water inside whichever part the culprit is - when you find it, it'll probably be very obvious.