I don't know where else to post or who else to ask....Can anyone with a backyard pool recommend a robot type pool cleaner...the kind you plug in to electricity...not the skimmer.The salespeople are no help, and I am hoping to find someone who has actually used a great one (for inground pools.)Thank you Fodorites.

We loved our Polaris but I don't know how you'd go about retrofitting one...

We always needed someone to take care of the pool if we were gone in the summer anyway as water would have evaporated below the level of the skimmers. Could you get a pool service just for the period you are gone, or would a neighbor do it in exchange for the fun of using it in your absence?

Thank you Malesherbes. Actually, I want one for all the time, not just when we go away...I have a service, but with trees around the pool, there is debris in the pool before the men even back out of my driveway! So we have been shopping for one, and of course the salespeople all claim theirs is the best. I am hoping someone who has one will tell me if they have had good luck with it, and what brand to avoid, etc. They are expensive.(Basically the price of 3 nights in the Caribbean LOL)

If you have a LOT of leaves and you are going to be gone more than a couple of days, maybe a pool cover would be a better idea.

I know what you mean, the good robots are expensive. I would worry about it getting clogged with debris if I were to be gone more than a couple of days. I am sure that they must have some sort of safety cut off switch if something like that would happen, but I'm the worry wart in the family.

We've had two pools and two different kinds of cleaners. I've forgotten now the name of the first one but it went around the surface, had one long (to the floor of the pool at the deep end) and one shorter hose and basically pushed everything to the main drain. That would not work for you...you don't want all those leaves getting back to your pump basket.

The Polaris runs around the bottom and up and down the sides. It too has hoses that sweep dirt toward the main drain, but it has a bag that collects leaves. The bag attaches with Velcro and is easy to empty. As many leave as you have, it'd get full and stop picking up more if you were away for very long, but for day to day operation, you'd love it! We had that house for 12 years and the Polaris was still running just fine when we sold it.

And now we have a new house and are debating putting in a pool again...but we have lots of trees, a rock subsurface that results in even the least expensive pools in this area costing a minimum of $50,000 and now remembering cleaning and keeping water level up and finding someone to babysit it when we left.. hmmmm....

I will not have the robot on if we are away, so that is not my concern, and there are no leaves now...just normal tree "thingies", and the men who service the pool will just do what they always do during our vacations. Right now I do not have a robot, but I want one. I was hoping some of you with inground pools could speak from experience about the pool equipment you own....specifically the plug-it-in robot types that do not work on the pool's skimmer. Sorry my topic heading was confusing. What I meant was getting an automatic pool robot would allow me to vacation in my own home....sorry for the confusion and my attempt at a little humor...very little! LOL

Having tried several I can heartily endorse Hayward's high performance vac with attached leaf bag. Only if you are gone longer than two weekes in the fall would there possibly be a problem. We could easily leave for a week and not worry--and we had an open pool in Florida in a beautiful community called "Autumn Woods" because of all the trees. It's fairly expensive, but in the long run it would save you from buying all those other, less efficient brands, first.

(We bought this and converted the pool to salt water in order to get rid of the "pool guys" who would drive up in the company truck---name right on the door!---and sit and finish their joint before stumbling out to our pool. There they would not test the water, put in too much of the wrong chemicals, not clean it very well, and say to me, "Dude, your pool just, like, drinks chlorine.)

Thankyou Kswl. I will check out the Hayword. Wasting good money on one that does not work is exactly what I want to avoid.
Enjoyed your story about your pool boys. My pool guys do check the water and keep it clear, but I need something more. Thanks again!

Hi toppy, we had a Polaris for our swimming pool that worked great. But the pool had to be skimmed every day with that long handle net thing due to leaves etc.

You might also check with your swimming pool maintenance company (assume you have confidence in them) and get their thinking as to what they suggest. The pool maintenance company we had was a wealth of information including referring us to a contractor when our pool had to have major repairs, they did a fantastic job. Best wishes.