Visiting home, would like quick replies!

[Amarygma]

Visiting the folks, and I used to take care of the pool as a kid with my dad. Now my brother does it. When we did it, it was a baquacil pool with a powder filter, and honestly, really clean! Brother changed it to chlorine either this spring or last.

I come home to visit and the pool is a cloudy emerald. Brother says he recently shocked it to the point of having the backyard reek of bleach. The FC was low, but on the scale (test strips :/) so we add three gallons of shock and the skimmer is full of pucks. It's a 34k gal inground with a soft liner and a newer sand pump. I brushed it the next morning. It's been two days since.

People haven't been in it much this summer and the pump has been on solidly for a week.

Today it's moderately cloudy, but blue. I can see the bottom but it's really hazy. He said last time he added floc it cleared really well...

...but I leave today. I'd been looking forward to a swim.

Is it safe health-wise to take a dip? I can dip a strip to check levels. I'm pregnant and don't want to end up with infections, but it sounds more overchemicaled than under.

 

[JVTrain]

My first response to whether or not it's safe to swim would be no, mostly because you're pregnant. Most of the time, if you can see the bottom clearly and the chlorine level is less than shock level based on the CYA (see the CYA/Chlorine chart in my signature) then it's safe to swim. Strips are terrible for testing, but if you get some FC above 3 ppm, low CC and the CYA isn't astronomical you're likely OK to swim... but I'm a pool snob so I wouldn't want to myself.

Do your brother a favor and get him on here at TFP so he can take care of the pool properly. That way when you visit next time, it'll be sparkling and ready for swimming all summer!

 

[Amarygma]

My first response to whether or not it's safe to swim would be no, mostly because you're pregnant. Most of the time, if you can see the bottom clearly and the chlorine level is less than shock level based on the CYA (see the CYA/Chlorine chart in my signature) then it's safe to swim. Strips are terrible for testing, but if you get some FC above 3 ppm, low CC and the CYA isn't astronomical you're likely OK to swim... but I'm a pool snob so I wouldn't want to myself.

Do your brother a favor and get him on here at TFP so he can take care of the pool properly. That way when you visit next time, it'll be sparkling and ready for swimming all summer!

Yeah, I don't want to deal with any random infections right now- wouldnt pass to baby but the drugs I can take are limited. I'll pass.

Dipped a strip: total hardness about 100 caco3 ppm, total chlorine maybe 2-3 ppm, free CL .75 to 1 ppm ph 7.2 and total alkalinity 120 ppm. Pump is a jacuzzi dv assy 7-pos 1-1/2NPT (2003) at about 21 psi. It is probably due for a sand change, I think it's over the 5 years.


My spa at home is chlorine, so I've learned a bit.

I'll work on him for forums, but I'm the general researcher of the family. I put a second puck in the filter basket just now. I see he must have put some 3 month algrcide and 4 in 1 treatment not too long ago (empty bottles in trash).

 

[JVTrain]

Was the sand changed as part of the conversion from bacquacil to chlorine? We have a procedure here for the conversion process and changing filter media is advised when converting to chlorine. Pool School - Convert Your Baqua Pool to Chlorine It removes the left over "bacqua-goo" from the filter and fully purges the products from the system.

Normally sand doesn't not need to be changed hardly ever, a deep clean of the sand is usually sufficient if there was a heavy algae bloom or a neglected system over a period of time. Here is the procedure: Deep Cleaning a Sand Filter but if it has not been changed since the Bacq conversion, I would recommend it.

 

[Amarygma]

I just wanted to add my thanks. I've passed all the into here and links to some of the guides to my brother.