New Pool Swim-Ready??

[Dave1080]

Hey now. After a week of balancing and adding chemical I finally have my nasty back alley water fairly clear. I have added various amounts of the following:
Bleach, Muriatic acid, Borax, Algaecide, Pool Magnet and a non chlorine shock treatment.
My question is this, how can I be sure that it is safe to take my toddler swimming in the pool after adding all of these chemicals to get the balanced, clear water?

 

[Texas Splash]

Hello! The only way for us to know now is with some water test results from a TF-100 or Taylor K-2006C test kit. Do you have either one of those? Proper test results are your best yardstick of measurement for clean/sanitized water. Do you happen to know how many gallons your pool is in size?

 

[Dave1080]

Pool is about 4000 gallons. I ordered the TF-100 but haven't received it in the mail yet, so I am just using 6 way test strips currently. Levels are:
FAC 3
TCI 4
ALK 240
PH 7.2
TH 450
CYA 30

 

[pooldv]

It is safe to swim when
FC is above minimum and up to shock level for your CYA, [FC/CYA][/FC/CYA]
PH is 7.2 to 7.8
Water is clear

 

[Texas Splash]

Well, you probably know we don't place a lot of value on test strips, but you're waiting on your kit to arrives. Here's the best I can say at this point "IF" those were accurate readings:
- A CYA of 30 is good
- An FC of 3 is on the verge of being low, I would increase to about 4-5
- A CC (combined chlorine) of 1 (TC-FC = CC) might indicate some excessive organics waiting to be oxidized. Watch the condition of the water.
- pH is okay, but ideally let it increase to about 7.5-7.6; aeration can help or just swimming/splashing

This is very difficult without your TF-100, but if those were from that test kit, that's something you might here. Hope that helps. Let us know as soon as your kit arrives.