# pool cleaners



## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

roughly how long would you expect a pool cleaner to spend on your pool per visit??

based on once a week in winter & twice a week in summer & an average-sized private pool

& what's the ballpark annual charge for that??


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## Cazzy (Nov 23, 2008)

We used to charge 20 euro for a weekly visit and worked for about 2 hours


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

2 hours max I would say. Of course it depends on the size of the pool but for an 8 x 4 metre pool then two hours is more than enough. If your pool is being properly maintained then all it should need is a 'hoover' and maybe a scrub with the brush and then restocking the skimmer baskets with chlorine tabs (we use x 10). Make sure your filter system and pump is on at least 6 hours every day throughout July and August.


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

Hmmm
Our pool is set for the pump for just 2 hours a day and thats perfectly fine
To vacuum the pool takes less than an hour and where we are that needs to be done a couple of times a month.

We used to pay €60 a month for it

I used to clean someones pool nearby and it used to take me less than an hour, once a week


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

certainly more than 20 minutes a visit though?

assuming it's in good condition initially?


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

We all did ours, my son would "hoover" it a few times a week, I threw "jollop" in it once or twice a week and my daughter would net it occasionally. OH used to back wash the pump occasionally and the pump was on for a couple of hours a day - we never saw the need for a pool man

Jo xxx


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

xabiachica said:


> certainly more than 20 minutes a visit though?
> 
> assuming it's in good condition initially?


Twenty minutes would allow me to change the chlorine, brush down the pool sides (they get stuck with leaves) and then net up any debris ... nothing more really. It takes the best part of an hour to vacuum a pool properly .. at the least 45 minutes.

I take it you are suffering from Spanish pool cleaners syndrome
The one down the road usually turns up only when the owners are about to come out, and then spends 2 hours trying to clean it up in time


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## Nugget_Hound (Jun 13, 2013)

You will probably think I am mad but I have a hot tub and was fed up of dumping chemicals in it , so I did some research and was pretty astonished to find out about germicidal lamps that can be used to destroy bacteria before it even gets started, so I bought a clear box which I made waterproof , then I bought two of these ( very similar but cost me £20 each ) 

Tropical fish tank light system | eBay

I then put them in a waterproof clear box with 2 of these lamps installed ( one for each )

GREEN CLEAR UV BULB LAMP UVC 6W 8W 15W 16W 25W 30W 55W FISH POND ULTRAVIOLET | eBay

and then I simply lay the lamps and the units in the box , clip the lid on and leave the box laying on top of the water in the hot tub ( it rests in the space between the top of the water and the cover ) , to my amazement , I left the hot tub switched off ( filter wasn't even on )for 2 weeks and when I came back off holiday the water was literally clean enough to drink , usually the hot tub will start getting green scum in it and the water will smell rank after a few days.

If I get to Spain I will def be knocking together a system for a swimming pool , it will prob cost approx £150 but I will never need to use chemicals and never need to pay anyone to have my pool cleaned 

If you do end up playing around with these lamps its not good for your health to look at the light apparently!!
Peace!!


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

I'm not sure how cold it is where you are Strav but when it is hot 2 hours a day is simply not enough, certainly not down here. If we ran our pump for just 2 hours a day we would very quickly find an algae bloom. Really, minimum of 6 hours per day in the summer. I might have only lived in Spain for just under three years but, boy (I hate to use man) I am learning quickly and now look after three pools...


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

thrax said:


> I'm not sure how cold it is where you are Strav but when it is hot 2 hours a day is simply not enough, certainly not down here. If we ran our pump for just 2 hours a day we would very quickly find an algae bloom. Really, minimum of 6 hours per day in the summer. I might have only lived in Spain for just under three years but, boy (I hate to use man) I am learning quickly and now look after three pools...


We didnt have our pump on much more than 2 or 3 hours a day Thrax and we werent far from you!!

Jo xxx


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

thrax said:


> I'm not sure how cold it is where you are Strav but when it is hot 2 hours a day is simply not enough, certainly not down here. If we ran our pump for just 2 hours a day we would very quickly find an algae bloom. Really, minimum of 6 hours per day in the summer. I might have only lived in Spain for just under three years but, boy (I hate to use man) I am learning quickly and now look after three pools...


It gets up to around 38 degrees in the summer ... that hot enough for you?
Its like getting into a bath when you get into the pool 
Two hours is fine. Been doing it for years. Also I dont put chlorine in the skimmer, it goes in a separate container in the pool


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

Stravinsky said:


> It gets up to around 38 degrees in the summer ... that hot enough for you?
> Its like getting into a bath when you get into the pool
> Two hours is fine. Been doing it for years. Also I dont put chlorine in the skimmer, it goes in a separate container in the pool


We only have the pump on for two hours per day and this works well.

If the pH and chemical levels are fine, then this should be enough.

However, it really depends how much use the pool is getting and whether they shower before getting in!


People around here charge about 60 euros per month - irrespective of how many visits that may take or how long they have to stay.

Someone I know pays 35 euros a week even through the winter. I must say, the pool always looks wonderful. No one has used it now for two years! The owners haven't been out and no one has stayed in the villa yet the pool is kept in pristine condition!


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## gus-lopez (Jan 4, 2010)

Stravinsky;1218994
I take it you are suffering from Spanish pool cleaners syndrome
The one down the road usually turns up only when the owners are about to come out said:


> 90% of them do that !
> 
> My pool pump is only on for around 3 hours/day. Even when the water temp occasionally goes above 30ºc in late july , I've never had a problem.
> Many pools installed at a knock-down price have had under sized pumps fitted & that will ensure that the pump requires running far more than should be necessary.
> ...


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

I work on the principle that if I can do something then anyone can. So after getting a short tutorial on pool maintenance from the people who put glass in our filter plus help from this Forum I now save 120 euros a month, the monthly price for a weekly visit, I look after our pool myself and I am extremely proud of its clear, clean, sparkling appearance.
I vacuum about once a week for ten minutes or so and chuck chlorine tablets in the pool each night plus algicide once a week. 
I must say that having glass instead of sand in the filter has made a huge improvement to water quality and more efficient filtration. Highly recommended.
I run the pump for three hours from 06. until 09.00.

Now I've saved myself 120 euros by looking after the pool I'm thinking of learning how to use the motor mower so I can save on gardening expenses.


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

mrypg9 said:


> I work on the principle that if I can do something then anyone can. So after getting a short tutorial on pool maintenance from the people who put glass in our filter plus help from this Forum I now save 120 euros a month, the monthly price for a weekly visit, I look after our pool myself and I am extremely proud of its clear, clean, sparkling appearance.
> I vacuum about once a week for ten minutes or so and chuck chlorine tablets in the pool each night plus algicide once a week.
> I must say that having glass instead of sand in the filter has made a huge improvement to water quality and more efficient filtration. Highly recommended.
> I run the pump for three hours from 06. until 09.00.
> ...


I cant really understand why anyone would employ a pool cleaner for a villa where they lived. The only reason we had one was that it was before we lived in Spain, and used it as a holiday home.

If you keep on top of it its a simple thing. I think we've had one issue once, a long time ago, and I managed to sort that out myself. It was actually algae, but referring back to a previous comment on the thread, it happened when we were leaving the pump on for 6 hours a day! It's never happened since we have it on for a couple of hours, and I always throw in the algae treatment twice a year.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Stravinsky said:


> I cant really understand why anyone would employ a pool cleaner for a villa where they lived. The only reason we had one was that it was before we lived in Spain, and used it as a holiday home.
> 
> If you keep on top of it its a simple thing. I think we've had one issue once, a long time ago, and I managed to sort that out myself. It was actually algae, but referring back to a previous comment on the thread, it happened when we were leaving the pump on for 6 hours a day! It's never happened since we have it on for a couple of hours, and I always throw in the algae treatment twice a year.


Do you run the pump in daylight hours, Strav?


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## gus-lopez (Jan 4, 2010)

Stravinsky said:


> I cant really understand why anyone would employ a pool cleaner for a villa where they lived. .


Same as people who have house cleaners in when they are home all day ?


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## Pazcat (Mar 24, 2010)

mrypg9 said:


> I work on the principle that if I can do something then anyone can. So after getting a short tutorial on pool maintenance from the people who put glass in our filter plus help from this Forum I now save 120 euros a month, the monthly price for a weekly visit, I look after our pool myself and I am extremely proud of its clear, clean, sparkling appearance.
> 
> Now I've saved myself 120 euros by looking after the pool I'm thinking of learning how to use the motor mower so I can save on gardening expenses.


I'm with you on this, why pay for someone to do something you can? 
Plus actually I feel a little better about the quoted price we were offered for pool/garden maintenance today after you mentioned what your saving. It was the landlords offer and going on the experience of Belgian LLs it's best to let someone who can keep the garden exactly how they are used to lest they charge you thousands after you leave.

That said I think we will have to negotiate, I can do the lawn no problem and I really don't want someone coming every week for the pool which seems easy enough.
It's hard because I don't want to put a person out of work but I don't really think we would need them other than pruning the fruit/olive trees.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Pazcat said:


> I'm with you on this, why pay for someone to do something you can?
> Plus actually I feel a little better about the quoted price we were offered for pool/garden maintenance today after you mentioned what your saving. It was the landlords offer and going on the experience of Belgian LLs it's best to let someone who can keep the garden exactly how they are used to lest they charge you thousands after you leave.
> 
> That said I think we will have to negotiate, I can do the lawn no problem and I really don't want someone coming every week for the pool which seems easy enough.
> It's hard because I don't want to put a person out of work but I don't really think we would need them other than pruning the fruit/olive trees.


When we moved in over four years ago the house came with an idle sod of a gardener, Manolo, for whose 'services' we paid 300 euros a month on top of the rent.
We discovered that this was actually used by the landlord to deduct from rent paid by said idle sod Manolo for a piso owned by the landlord and occupied by I.S. Manolo.
We saw I.S. Manolo for about 30 minutes a week if we were lucky and I began keeping records of his appearances. It soon became clear that his hourly rate equalled that of a Real Madrid player without the pleasure of being able to watch a skillful footballer at work so we told the landlord we weren't happy and as I/S. Manolo owed money to our landlord he got the push.
We now have a very conscientious gardener who is also happy to do odd maintenance jobs as well as look after our large garden -large but basically a field at the side of the house.
We were quoted 110 euros a month for gardening so add that to the 120 euros pool maintenance and 230 euros...
Our gardener gets a good hourly rate, 10 euros, a lot for round here plus weekly sacks of quality dog food, gas bottle when required and the odd _regalo_ of food or clothing. 
But I am thinking of learning to use the tractor to cut the grass.
When we moved into our house in Prague it was taken for granted that we would have a cleaner, same here. My mother spent her life cleaning other people's houses and I'm ******ed if I'm going to pay someone to do my housework or washing/ironing, not while I've got hands to do it myself. That's not about saving money, it's about pride.
.


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## extranjero (Nov 16, 2012)

mrypg9 said:


> I work on the principle that if I can do something then anyone can. So after getting a short tutorial on pool maintenance from the people who put glass in our filter plus help from this Forum I now save 120 euros a month, the monthly price for a weekly visit, I look after our pool myself and I am extremely proud of its clear, clean, sparkling appearance.
> I vacuum about once a week for ten minutes or so and chuck chlorine tablets in the pool each night plus algicide once a week.
> I must say that having glass instead of sand in the filter has made a huge improvement to water quality and more efficient filtration. Highly recommended.
> I run the pump for three hours from 06. until 09.00.
> ...


Bit excessive chlorine tablets EVERY night? not necessary(and expensive)-only need replacing when existing ones have dissolved


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

extranjero said:


> Bit excessive chlorine tablets EVERY night? not necessary(and expensive)-only need replacing when existing ones have dissolved


Are you sure? I only put them in every night because it says so on the tin. but I won't if I don't need to...


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

mrypg9 said:


> Are you sure? I only put them in every night because it says so on the tin. but I won't if I don't need to...


We put ours in one of those 'floatie things' - when it's empty, we fill it up again.


They will get used up as quickly as they are needed. Sometimes that might be a couple of days and other times they might last more than a week.


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

Chlorine tablets only need to be put in as and when, otherwise you will end up with an over chlorinated pool. Ours is normally two about every 10 days. We dont put them in the skimmer, for whenever the skimmer is going its flushing neater than "normal" chlorine through the filter system. Ours is in a small diffuser that you can buy from Murky Donna and is left in the pool .... to diffuse "normally"


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## Campesina (Dec 17, 2011)

Some answers to questions I have asked my very obliging Cuban poolman (boy)

Q) Why don't you put the chlorine in the skimmers like everyone else seems to?
A) Because the concentrated chlorine will, over time, make the plastic pipes brittle, particularly those in the bottom of the filter which are difficult to replace.

Q) Why do you not put in the same amount of chlorine each time you come?
A) Because you should dose the pool according to the test reading not because there is or is not chlorine still left in the doser.

Q) Why do you use this 'unstabilised' chlorine stuff?
A) Because your pool has a high cyanuric acid level caused by stabilised chlorine being used over a long period of time and if it gets too high it will prevent the chlorine from working effectively. 

He must know what he's doing because we have a lovely clean blue sparkling pool all year round even if we turn up when he doesn't know we are coming.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Thanks everyone for your advice. Much appreciated.


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## Pazcat (Mar 24, 2010)

I'm going to resurrect this thread because the mentioned pool/garden guy that is supposed to turn up has been once for about 2 minutes to hand water some plants and not been seen again, actually he wasn't seen the first time to be honest.

Anyhoo this has left us with a pool in poor shape, especially after the high winds the other night it is full of dirt.
We weren't left with any instructions on what to do with the pool, no net or pool scrubber and have only just found the chlorine tablets(I think) and a small amount of disinfectant granules.

Basically I want to check is should I put the chlorine tablets in a floatie thing that is lying next to the pool that looks like it's been rarely used?
You can still swim in the pool while the tablet is floating around?

We are going to get a net tomorrow but what sort of scrubber should I get to get rid of the dirt and stones?
The auto ones are a bit pricey.

Is it as simple as keeping a chlorine tablet in the float, cleaning the skim boxs and giving it a good scrub once a week?
It's all new to me but we can't be waiting for someone who never comes.


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## olivefarmer (Oct 16, 2012)

thrax said:


> 2 hours max I would say. Of course it depends on the size of the pool but for an 8 x 4 metre pool then two hours is more than enough. If your pool is being properly maintained then all it should need is a 'hoover' and maybe a scrub with the brush and then restocking the skimmer baskets with chlorine tabs (we use x 10). Make sure your filter system and pump is on at least 6 hours every day throughout July and August.


Wrong. Do NOT put chlorine tablets in skimmer baskets. The residue rots the pipework after the skimmers on the way to the pump. How do I know? I have just replaced my pipework which started leaking after putting tabs in for 8 years all year round. Use a Flotadore please.


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## olivefarmer (Oct 16, 2012)

Pazcat said:


> I'm going to resurrect this thread because the mentioned pool/garden guy that is supposed to turn up has been once for about 2 minutes to hand water some plants and not been seen again, actually he wasn't seen the first time to be honest.
> 
> Anyhoo this has left us with a pool in poor shape, especially after the high winds the other night it is full of dirt.
> We weren't left with any instructions on what to do with the pool, no net or pool scrubber and have only just found the chlorine tablets(I think) and a small amount of disinfectant granules.
> ...



I only read a little way into the thread before posting my first reply.

To get your pool back into good condition you need a pool testing kit. Don't waste your money on the bottles with drops. Get a similar kit with a tablets you drop out of a blister pack into the test water.

You need to get the PH right before wasting money on chlorine. Ours is also trying to be high so I add up to 500gm a day of reducer powder (some people use cheap acid from Mercadona). Put too much powder in and for some strange reason it doesn't work.

When your PH is in the right ball park (see the instructions with your kit) then you can start adding chlorine tabs. In the meantime you will be running your pump for hours (but give it a rest every so often) . When the gauge gets up to the orange do a good backwash and then a rinse. You will probably have to top up with water so that will no doubt upset your PH , adjust again. Brushing - If you haven't a brush buy a decent sturdy one. About 30 to 35 euros including brush head. Over the years I have snapped quite a few of the cheap DIY store rubbish. If it is any good the head will be held on with two brass wing nuts and not a prone to breaking rubbishy two pronged clip and two holes. 

If you have pool lights then they will no doubt have algae behind them. If it is a proper install you can(and should) undo them and lift them out onto the pool edge on their long length of coiled cable to clean them up. Don't be tempted to use fairy liquid........... 

There is obviously more to it than that but that will get you going.

If you get a load of windblown debris that is likely to sink to the bottom rather than stay on the surface (and be dealt with by the skimmers) then a net is a good idea on the end of a pole. That can be a cheap one!

If you are having trouble still in a few days do a fresh posting.


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## Pazcat (Mar 24, 2010)

Thanks for the response, yeah the PH kit is also on the list too of things to get today so you're probably right that I should wait and see what that says before adding chlorine.

The pump runs on auto for a few hours a day anyway and if I'm honest I don't exactly know how that works, I assume it's the big box of valves, etc near the pool. I don't imagine it'll be too hard to figure out but never having a pool before I don't know.
There is no brush or net so we'll look for a strong as one as we can find. Not sure how useful the net will be for the bottom as most of the mess is sand and stones, is there a cheap vacuum type thing that might be better?

No lights so that's not a worry.

Thanks again for the detailed reply. 

Also non related to cleaning but does anyone else have trouble with wasps around the pool steps and if so how did they deal with that?
I was thinking of making a trap up but not sure if the pool would still be more attractive than whatever was in the trap.


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## Pazcat (Mar 24, 2010)

OK, so the PH level was slightly low and don't think we have anything to raise it or know what to get to raise it. 
The chlorine level was non existent too.

I've started scrubbing the bottom which looks like it's helping at least cleaning it up a bit but I need to wait for weekend to give it a good scrub and run the pumps, it's a bit hard to do on my own with a couple of toddlers running about.


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## olivefarmer (Oct 16, 2012)

If your PH level is low then you need to increase it. USe PH increaser . I can't remember the name for it. Around here the water is very high PH so everyone uses PH reducer. 

Pool shop, DIY superstore or supermarkets(Mercadona for definite) stock it. 

I cannot stress too much that you will just be wasting effort and money putting the tablets in until you have got the PH level within limits.


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## extranjero (Nov 16, 2012)

Pazcat said:


> Thanks for the response, yeah the PH kit is also on the list too of things to get today so you're probably right that I should wait and see what that says before adding chlorine.
> 
> The pump runs on auto for a few hours a day anyway and if I'm honest I don't exactly know how that works, I assume it's the big box of valves, etc near the pool. I don't imagine it'll be too hard to figure out but never having a pool before I don't know.
> There is no brush or net so we'll look for a strong as one as we can find. Not sure how useful the net will be for the bottom as most of the mess is sand and stones, is there a cheap vacuum type thing that might be better?
> ...


I have read that washing up liquid sprayed onto the surface of the pool works very effectively to kill wasps, and no need to use chemicals! Not too much-don't want a giant bubble bath!
Also, it is better to use pure chlorine tablets than the 3 in 1 tablets, as the concentration of different chemicals in these tablets is not going to be very effective.
You then add algicide as needed. Floculante tablets in the skimmers are more effective than liquid floculante. 
A clarifying liquid used occasionally will help to keep the water bright and clear.


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## jimenato (Nov 21, 2009)

Pazcat said:


> Also non related to cleaning but does anyone else have trouble with wasps around the pool steps and if so how did they deal with that?
> I was thinking of making a trap up but not sure if the pool would still be more attractive than whatever was in the trap.


We have a horrendous problem with wasps- last year our pool was unusable for most of the summer. 

Once, in frustration, I sprayed a wasp that was swimming on the surface with some ordinary household fly spray - just a quick 2 second burst - and it flew away unharmed. When I came back a couple of hours later the surface of the pool was covered in literally hundreds of dead wasps. I netted them all out, turned on the pump for 10 minutes (skimmers only) and hey presto - no more wasps for a few days. When they started to come back I did it again - magic!

So, when you are not going to use the pool for a couple of hours during the day when it's hot and the wasps are about, spray the surface very briefly with ordinary fly spray. You will see a very fine slick on the surface. A couple of hours later net off the dead wasps, turn on the skimmers for a few minutes to get rid of the slick and there you go. 

Ours is only a small 3 X 3 metre plunge pool and a very brief burst is enough - much less than you would use in a room - so I'm not at all worried about ill effects - I'm not using enough to harm anything but wasps.


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## Pazcat (Mar 24, 2010)

Thanks for the replies, I had a response written yesterday but the PC crashed.

So things are coming together, the pool is clean which is a good start. The PH levels we are working on, just giving it some time to work through the system before taking another test and see if we need to add more product. The chlorine is on hold until the PH is normalized.
For now at least things seem on track, fingers crossed.

Re the wasps, thanks for the suggestions. We had tried fly spray as a deterrent and they left the area but it might be worth trying again, same with the detergent. They definitely aren't bothered by the floaty thing you can buy that is supposed to get rid of them.
It's just a pain as they hang around the steps and that the area the kids use.

I'm making up some home made traps and going to set them out and see what happens.


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