Hello everyone at TFP. This is my first post but I have been reading the forum since last summer.
We got our first pool last year, a 24' round above ground. Before the pool was even put up, my brother in law told me about the bleach, borax, baking soda method. I have been taking care of my pool that way since day 1. Last season the water was perfect all summer long.
This year I thought everything was going well until the week of July 4th. I check at least my FC and Ph everyday using my Taylor K2006. I maintain my FC and Ph everyday, my wife actuall says I am a little obsessive with how I care for the pool. But over the week of July 4 I had a lot of kids in the pool. One morning my water was a little cloudy. Checked all my levels and Ph was a little high. Adjusted it and left it alone. Then had 10-12 kids swim for hours. By the end of the day the water was VERY cloudy! At that point my CYA was at 30ppm. So I started a SLAM. Started it that Wednesday evening. By that Sunday my water was crystal clear and not losing any FC overnight.
Once it cleared I worked to raise my CYA to 40 ppm. Since then, my water has looked better than it ever has. And I noticed a big difference in the amount of bleach/chlorine I need to add everyday.
I want to give a big THANK YOU to all the helpful people here at TFP, and tell everyone else that the method really does work if you follow it! Right now I know of at least 3 friends that go the pool store route and are having huge issues with their pools. Some don't test at all, and one told me that the pool store told him his pool isn't staying clear because of the mild winter we had. I don't know if that even could be true. I try to tell friends to test their water and even offer to test for them. They all just want to listen to the pool store. Besides CYA which I got at Home Depot, I've never added a single pool store chemical to my pool.
One question, I've heard that some people boost their FC if they know they are going to have a lot of people in the pool. Right now I maintain a FC of 5ppm. If people are swimming and get out for a while I will even test and adjust if I need too. My daughter is going to have a pool party next month and I'm expecting many kids to be here swimming. How high can I boost my FC if I know there will be a lot of people in the pool?
Thanks again everyone here at TFP!
We got our first pool last year, a 24' round above ground. Before the pool was even put up, my brother in law told me about the bleach, borax, baking soda method. I have been taking care of my pool that way since day 1. Last season the water was perfect all summer long.
This year I thought everything was going well until the week of July 4th. I check at least my FC and Ph everyday using my Taylor K2006. I maintain my FC and Ph everyday, my wife actuall says I am a little obsessive with how I care for the pool. But over the week of July 4 I had a lot of kids in the pool. One morning my water was a little cloudy. Checked all my levels and Ph was a little high. Adjusted it and left it alone. Then had 10-12 kids swim for hours. By the end of the day the water was VERY cloudy! At that point my CYA was at 30ppm. So I started a SLAM. Started it that Wednesday evening. By that Sunday my water was crystal clear and not losing any FC overnight.
Once it cleared I worked to raise my CYA to 40 ppm. Since then, my water has looked better than it ever has. And I noticed a big difference in the amount of bleach/chlorine I need to add everyday.
I want to give a big THANK YOU to all the helpful people here at TFP, and tell everyone else that the method really does work if you follow it! Right now I know of at least 3 friends that go the pool store route and are having huge issues with their pools. Some don't test at all, and one told me that the pool store told him his pool isn't staying clear because of the mild winter we had. I don't know if that even could be true. I try to tell friends to test their water and even offer to test for them. They all just want to listen to the pool store. Besides CYA which I got at Home Depot, I've never added a single pool store chemical to my pool.
One question, I've heard that some people boost their FC if they know they are going to have a lot of people in the pool. Right now I maintain a FC of 5ppm. If people are swimming and get out for a while I will even test and adjust if I need too. My daughter is going to have a pool party next month and I'm expecting many kids to be here swimming. How high can I boost my FC if I know there will be a lot of people in the pool?
Thanks again everyone here at TFP!
As for the party, you can increase FC maybe a couple ppm of FC about an hour before the party, but don't go too crazy. 
Of course make sure to test afterwards to replenish any extra usage and you should be fine. Have a great summer.
