JohnT said:
I've told many people too, but only one has bought into it. The rest will complain about how hard it is to take care of their pools and say they wish theirs looked like mine, but the just keep doing it the old way.
Dude! That's me!
The one who bought in went all the way. Bought a TF Test kit, learned how to use it, joined up here, learned how to use the Pool Calculator, and I haven't heard her complain about her pool since.
The one who didn't buy in was on Baquacil. Used to be with chlorine but she complained about not being a chemist and the testing made her crazy. It was my refusal to allow my dogs to swim in her Baqua pool (the dogs are a VERY big part of our lives!) which prompted her to go back to chlorine but her pool company did the conversion. Her pool company maintains the pool. Her pool company is now installing a new liner because the 4 year old one has mega wrinkles on the bottom.
She's complaining about the cost of the new liner installation. I told her that improperly balanced water caused her liner wrinkles and if only she would listen to me about bleach and etc. The pool company uses trichlor and weekly shock. Her dogs are itching, her liner is a mess, her eyes are red and her hair is turning green. And by August, her water is green as well.
We are now here:
ME: If only you would let me teach you about your pool . . .
SHE: Come on down!!!
Quite the treck, she lives in Virginia. I'm going to suggest once again that she get a test kit and I will do a road trip and show her how to use it (if she gets it) but I'm not holding my breath.
Me and CYA? I got lucky. Once our pool was up and running I went to the 'Net and searched on 'pool maintenance'. Found the Pool Forum and learned about trichlor and how CYA is "like a sun screen for your chlorine". I went cold turkey with Ben's BBB method. I still use trichlor though. My CYA crashes during the winter when my pool freezes solid and I learned in the intervening years how long I can use trichlor in the feeder at the beginning of the season before I go with straight liquid chlorine once the CYA is where I want it.
Middle America? If they don't have access to the Internet, or if they do but don't use it, will continue to buy into the 'more-is-better" pool store myth. Don't get me wrong: I need my pool store. I buy liquid chlorine there, test kit refills, trichlor pucks every other year or so, spider gaskets, a hose now and then. But I no longer rely on my pool store to fix my pool because it no longer needs fixing.
I used to agonize over CYA just as I wrung my hands over TA. No more. It's not magic and it's not mythical. As long as my pH holds I'm good. I know what the chemistry of my fill water is and I do a lot of refilling because of the dogs, who are VERY splashy. I start with a CYA near zero and end the season with CYA at 60. My TA wants to ride at 70 and that's fine because my pH stays between 7.4 and 7.6. That first season, when I used pucks and test strips, who knows what I had?
The best we can do is live by example. Let people see our pools, use our pools, watch us maintain our pools. They'll either go with it, or they don't. Their loss, if they don't.