Hi Gena: As you can guess, I'm interested in finding successful solutions to those owners of pools that for reasons such as yours need a solution to all the problems associated with owning and maintaing pools. Presently, I have no good ideas for you but would like to find out what you end up doing in the end. If I locate a solution for your problem I'll pass it on to you.

deedee, The size, type, and complexity of the equipment required will be dependent on... 1. What is in the water that needs to be treated. 2. Number of people in your home. 3. SFR and plumbing requirements. Without knowing all three variables there is no way to even ball park what you'll need. Could be as little as $500 or a few thousand. How about this... Get a water test from an independent lab. An independent lab has no agenda and won't be trying to sell you water treatment equipment. Go to http://www.epa.gov/safewater/labs/index.html to locate a certified lab near you. This is a MUST DO because without it everything is a guess. A quickie water test from Sears or a water softener company won't be as accurate (and possibly not as competent) as from a certified independent lab. Hit the Yellow Pages and call at least three local water treatment pros. Make sure you call at least one of the big dogs like Kinetico or Culligan for comparison and at least a couple independent pros. DON'T TELL THEM YOU HAD YOUR WATER TESTED. Give each an opportunity to offer suggestions and provide you with a quote to meet your water treatment needs. IGNORE ANY THAT DON'T TEST YOUR WATER THEMSELVES as they can't speak intelligently to water treatment without knowing what needs to be treated. Ask lots of questions. Softening the entire house or just the water heater (bad idea)? Warranty, parts & labor or just parts, how long and on exactly what? Install, permits required, licensed plumber? Routine maintenance and costs? Do they stock parts? Response time for emergency (water leak) calls? If they don't explain things to your satisfaction that is a good indicator of how you'll be treated after the sale. After they've gone use your water test to compare with theirs. Are all your treatment needs being addressed? Ask your neighbors if they have any water treatment experience. They might tell you who's good or who to avoid. Come back here and post the specific recommendations and hardware components with the costs and we'll give you our opinions.

Is it possible that it's still turned off at the water heater. There is a valve on the cold water side right above the water heater.

You can't iron Sunbrella because it shrinks and that's what happened. The cording puckered when you sewed it because you didn't allow some ease and because the fabric feeds differently, top and bottom, if you're not using a walking foot machine. Then when you ironed it, it shrunk around the edge. Unfortunately, there's no fixing it. You'll have to start over. You can try taking the cording off by ripping stitches and see if the fabric reverts, but I don't think so.