Moving into House, how can I make sure pool is good to go by day 2?

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R

Rocky Balboa

0
Jun 1, 2016
26
Phoenix, AZ
I'm moving into a house with a pool in about two weeks. I live in Phoenix, where it's going to be 114 this weekend, so I want to make sure my pool is good to go as soon as possible. I've never owned a pool before so I'm totally new to this and not sure where to begin. My ideal is to be able to move in and be able to use the pool the following day. The pool looks to be fairly clean - no algae growing, water is clear; but I don't know when the previous owner has had any treatment done for the pool.

The house is unoccupied so I'm thinking that I could sneak over a day before my close date and get some samples of the water. On closing day, shock the pool if needed, and then next day be able to use the pool? Does this sound like a reasonable plan? If so, where do I begin?

I know that I need to test the water, and it seems that the Taylor K-2006 is what is recommended here? But after testing, I'm not quite sure what I need to do? Could you guys help me get my pool up and going?

Here are my pool stats that I'm aware of.
1. Playpool, which I'm estimating to be around 10-13,000 gallons. (I don't have the exact size)
2. In-ground pool
3. Pool is painted plaster
4. Variable speed pool pump (Not sure of the brand/model)
5. Pool has Pop Up Cleaners
 
That thing can go green in a day in that heat unless it is having chlorine replenished daily of some type or other. I wouldn't exactly plan a party just yet! Welcome. Also compare the TF-100 to the Taylor kit in Pool School. We think it is a much better value.
 
Welcome to TFP and pool ownership. The Taylor kit is good (I have the same one). But most people here recommend the TF-100 kit (same thing but more testing supplies for the same money). Once you have the kit, get a sample of water and test it. Compare your results to the pool calculator. Make sure you spend some time reading Pool School and then ask any questions you have after that. Try to get all more details about your pool/equipment and list them in your signature. Find a good place to buy liquid bleach (or liquid chlorine or liquid pool shock). Depending on your test numbers you will need to add other stuff. Again, the pool calculator will help you out there.
 
I'd go over there right now. Call your Realtor and make an appointment to go to the house - I did this a few times with mine before closing.

Order a TF-100, and if you can swing it, add a speed-stir - they're a lifesaver. Meanwhile, and the forum may shoot me for this, grab some guess strips (test strips) from a pool store that have FC, Ph, and CYA.

Look for a chlorine floater, check the skimmer basket for pucks - essentially, check to see that there is active chlorination going on. If you don't see a chlorine floater (or there is one and it is empty), and the skimmer basket is empty, and you don't see evidence of an SWG (some images of them here - it'll be a cylinder that's inline in the pipe coming out of the pump area - salt water generator - Google Search) then I'd go grab some bleach and start dosing that sucker myself using PoolMath until I closed.

In short, being Phoenix, you can bet on high CH (calcium hardness), and if they don't have a SWG, you can bet on high CYA. The guess strip will at least let you know if you need to boost chlorine far higher than "normal" to prevent an algae breakout. Check the Chlorine to CYA chart here in Pool School.

You'll basically want to boost FC high enough to prevent algae and keep it there until closing. If that takes a daily visit (and the house is unoccupied), so be it!
 
woodyp said:
That thing can go green in a day in that heat unless it is having chlorine replenished daily of some type or other. I wouldn't exactly plan a party just yet! Welcome. Also compare the TF-100 to the Taylor kit in Pool School. We think it is a much better value.
Click to expand...

Davejavu said:
Welcome to TFP and pool ownership. The Taylor kit is good (I have the same one). But most people here recommend the TF-100 kit (same thing but more testing supplies for the same money). Once you have the kit, get a sample of water and test it. Compare your results to the pool calculator. Make sure you spend some time reading Pool School and then ask any questions you have after that. Try to get all more details about your pool/equipment and list them in your signature. Find a good place to buy liquid bleach (or liquid chlorine or liquid pool shock). Depending on your test numbers you will need to add other stuff. Again, the pool calculator will help you out there.
Click to expand...


Wow! Fast replies!

The TF-100 after seeing the comparison definitely looks like the better deal. I was browsing through the site, but I can't find a link to purchase. Maybe, I'm just blind...


triptyx said:
I'd go over there right now. Call your Realtor and make an appointment to go to the house - I did this a few times with mine before closing.

Order a TF-100, and if you can swing it, add a speed-stir - they're a lifesaver. Meanwhile, and the forum may shoot me for this, grab some guess strips (test strips) from a pool store that have FC, Ph, and CYA.

Look for a chlorine floater, check the skimmer basket for pucks - essentially, check to see that there is active chlorination going on. If you don't see a chlorine floater (or there is one and it is empty), and the skimmer basket is empty, and you don't see evidence of an SWG (some images of them here - it'll be a cylinder that's inline in the pipe coming out of the pump area - salt water generator - Google Search) then I'd go grab some bleach and start dosing that sucker myself using PoolMath until I closed.

In short, being Phoenix, you can bet on high CH (calcium hardness), and if they don't have a SWG, you can bet on high CYA. The guess strip will at least let you know if you need to boost chlorine far higher than "normal" to prevent an algae breakout. Check the Chlorine to CYA chart here in Pool School.

You'll basically want to boost FC high enough to prevent algae and keep it there until closing. If that takes a daily visit (and the house is unoccupied), so be it!
Click to expand...


There's no SWG (I plan on purchasing one in the next 1-2 months though). I don't recall noticing a chlorine floater in the pool, so I'm assuming that there must be pucks in the skimmer. I might be able to go over there on the weekend to check though.

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but when you say grab some bleach, do you mean like the liquid Clorox that I find at the grocery store?
 
TFTestkits.net
There is a button that says "add to cart" on the right side of the page, then click upper right where it says "shopping cart". That will bring up the page where "check out" is an option.

Yes, plain, unscented bleach from your local grocery store. Make sure it doesn't have any additives like "splashless", "outdoor", "scented", ect. These additives can cause foaming.
 
Geebot said:
This. There's no such thing as going in too early where a pool is concerned. Did you have the pool inspected?
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Yes, when I got the home inspection done. Everything is working. The cool deck is chipping in some spots, some valve handles need to be replaced. The most expensive issue is that the pool light doesn't work; and he's not sure whether it just needs a new bulb or if it's electrical.
 

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The light is really easy to try to fix yourself. Mine wasn't working at move-in either and a $12 bulb later I was back in business (well, plus the gasket which was $20, gack). :)

Worse comes to worse, you try a new bulb and it doesn't work and then you can decide if you want to spring for a full blown repair.
 
IMO stop by Wal-Mart, Lowe's, or Home Depot before Sunday and pick up a floater and a couple pucks and throw it in the pool if you don't see it getting chlorinated any other way. It will at least provide some level of chlorine until you close, but stop using it once you take possession. You can dump a gallon of bleach in there while you are at it. That is pretty much what I do when I have to travel for work and is the only time a puck touches my pool. I have not yet come home to a green pool, and it hasn't jacked my CYA with such minimal use. Just stay away from anything that has copper in it.

Flame Suit Enaged!
 
So I was able to do some testing yesterday. I didn't have time to run through the full battery of tests; especially since this was my first time doing it.

Chlorine: 5+
pH: 7.2 - 7.5
CYA: I tried doing the CYA test, but I filled the tube up too quickly; so I didn't get an accurate reading. I can tell you that when I had the tube completely filled the black dot was completely obscured. However, I think it could have been obscured at a lower level, I'll need to run the test again.

This is a plaster pool btw.
 
For future reference, you can pour back into the squirt bottle and do it a few times.

Sounds like you don't have a CYA nightmare on your hands either. Looking good so far!
 
Mr Bruce said:
For future reference, you can pour back into the squirt bottle and do it a few times.

Sounds like you don't have a CYA nightmare on your hands either. Looking good so far!
Click to expand...


Well that's good. The water is crystal clear which I think is a really good sign. The pool definitely needs to be vacuumed, and the filters definitely need to be cleaned out.

I came across something; that I'm not too sure about with my pool equipment that hopefully you guys could help me out with. I found out the brand model of my pool filter and pump. But it looks like my pool has a "purifier". I've never heard of that before. It's a "Claritec Natural Water Purifier" Model: RG, and says to use replacement cartridges CRG25, CRG35, and CRG45. Is this a component of my pool filter? Or a completely different component? If it's a different component; what is it supposed to do?
 
That is a Nature 2 system. You can search the forum for "Nature 2" and see how many times it's recommended (never). I believe you just remove the cartridge and pretend it's not there.
 
Mr Bruce said:
That is a Nature 2 system. You can search the forum for "Nature 2" and see how many times it's recommended (never). I believe you just remove the cartridge and pretend it's not there.
Click to expand...


Thanks, after reading the stories about it; I'll take your advice and just remove the cartridge. I'll have to look into my pool filter cartridges now; I had no idea that they were so expensive to replace! (I'm assuming that they will need to be replaced, I haven't actually been able to take a look at them.)
 
The other half of the PH test is an OTO Chlorine Test. It's ok to check and see if there is chlorine in the pool, but I don't rely on it for more than that. If you want to test FC and know actually what it is, it's best to use the FAS/DPD test. I have a hard time discerning the different colors in the OTO test.

With regards to the cartridge, they can be quite resilient. Don't assume you need to replace them unless they're no longer sealing at the top/bottom (evidenced by a lot of junk getting by the filter and getting blown back into the pool), or the filter part of the cartridge is worn or torn. Mine is likely a few years old and work just fine.
 
triptyx said:
The other half of the PH test is an OTO Chlorine Test. It's ok to check and see if there is chlorine in the pool, but I don't rely on it for more than that. If you want to test FC and know actually what it is, it's best to use the FAS/DPD test. I have a hard time discerning the different colors in the OTO test.

With regards to the cartridge, they can be quite resilient. Don't assume you need to replace them unless they're no longer sealing at the top/bottom (evidenced by a lot of junk getting by the filter and getting blown back into the pool), or the filter part of the cartridge is worn or torn. Mine is likely a few years old and work just fine.
Click to expand...



Thanks. I was going to perform the FAS/DPD test, but I think I needed some powder - but I didn't see any in the TF-100 kit. Is it something that I have to get separately?

That's good to know about the filter. After moving; I really didn't want the added expense.
 

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