Going to have to try the BBB method in the Spring

[DIYliner]

I work for a company that does household clean-outs - for people moving, elderly moving to assisted living, people whose kids have moved out & they are going to an Apt/smaller house
So we take everything they do not want & dispose of it, some trash, some we donate/give away
One house had over 10g of bleach...had I only known about the BBB method then, there are a few gallons at the house we are working on now
Today's clean out had boxes & boxes of baking soda - hopefully still there when we go back tomorrow

This will reduce my costs on running my pool
I still have some 3" chlorine tabs left & a whole bucket of chlorine granules - #50 I think
Hoping its OK to still use that up as I start using the BBB method

And is baking soda that the wife uses in the fridge still "good" after few months ?

Thanks

 

[Bjarni]

Hi DIY,
First I would suggest that you get a good test kit like the TF Test Kits TF100, or Taylor K-2006. Without the test kit there is really no way to answer your question on using up the Trichlor you have. I would assume that if you have been using Trichlor for a long time your CYA is probably very high which is going to make using bleach very difficult and will probably require you to partially drain your pool, but with out the test kit its just an assumption. If it was me, with the end of the swim season coming up, I would probably just wait until next year and start BBB then.

I believe that baking soda has a shelf life of around 2 years if it hasn't been opened. Unfortunately baking soda that's left in a fridge to absorb odors is going to "go bad" quickly. Baking soda eliminates odors in a fridge by absorbing acid and moisture and converting it to salts. Baking soda is so cheap and most people use so little of it, I would just buy some new.

 

[dmanb2b]

Just to echo Bjarni...BBB is mostly about knowing your water chemistry and how certain chemicals interact with such chemistry. The test kit is the first step and you utilize Bleach, Borax, aeration, baking soda, muratic acid, salt, and CYA to adjust. The irony is that Baking soda is rearely needed in a BBB pool unless you have an unusual acid demand. I've used maybe a small box in 3-4 seasons. Bleach on the other hand...get as much of it as you can

Trichlor use is certainly acceptable, but you have to monitor PH, TA and CYA levels as they are acidic and add CYA over time.

 

[DIYliner]

Test kit will be ordered, I just have a very simply kit which does not tell me a lot
My pool is empty right now, installing a new liner shortly - I think
I picked up about 6g of bleach today, LOTS of boxes of baking soda - which it seems I may not need

I've never thought much about the pool chemistry, water has always seemed "fine"
An occasional cloudy event or some algae, which I usually attribute to rainfall or not running the pump & filter enough
With a new liner I want to pay more attention to what I actually need to put into the pool

Thanks

 

[dmanb2b]

Yup...it's almost always chemistry...storms may alter the water a little, but lack of FC, respective of CYA levels, is what allows algae to grow.