Pool unused for 3 years - braved a peek today. Test results

lconnors

0
LifeTime Supporter
Apr 1, 2013
21
Davenport, IA
I posted last week that I had recently bought a home with a 23k gallon vinyl inground pool that had been professionally closed in Sept 2010 and untouched since. Today, I took back a corner of the safety cover long enough to take a peek and collect some water for testing.

As expected, the water is basically black. I can see the liner maybe the top 4 inches - deeper than that is completely algae covered and the water is pretty dark. The weather is supposed to get cold here again in Iowa this week, so it will be at least a couple weeks before we even think about getting started, but I'm guessing this will be quite a project. This in an investment property, and I have my own pool at home to open as well. I'm beginning to question my sanity in purchasing the house :roll:

This is my first experience with the test kit, so I apologize if I'm not presenting them correctly.
First test results:

Cl 0
Ph 7
CC 0
TA 10? The test used only 1 drop to turn - is that reasonable?
CH 50 I think - I may not have swirled the solution enough before that to get it to turn.
CYA - I'm baffled on this one. I could see the dot at the bottom of the tube even when it was full of the test water/solution

Obviously I expected the chlorine to be 0. I'm a little confused about the CYA test and if I performed it correctly. I have no way of knowing what the previous owner used for chlorine. There were no chemicals or containers left in the home or pool house. I did find a dolphin diagnostic advantage cleaner in the pool house. If that is in working order I guess it might be a little win for next year lol. My guess is this year is going to be full of chlorine and brushing :|

I plan to call the pool company to come and check out the mechanicals before we start anything up, but I will be using the BBB method and relying on Pool School and the vast knowledge here to get this pool back. I promise lots of pictures - the first of which are going to be pretty amazing, if the preview today is any indication!

Laura
 
Re: Pool unused for 3 years - braved a peek today. Test resu

Oh how I would like to get my hands on that one!! Going to be watching this one to see if my thoughts are right...You can do it Laura!!!
 
Re: Pool unused for 3 years - braved a peek today. Test resu

lconnors (Laura):

Welcome to TFP :wave:

You have come to the right place to help get your pool sparkling. May not happen overnight, but it will happen if you follow the practices we teach here.

While you are waiting for the pool co. to check out the mechanicals, I would get a leaf rake and skim the bottom to remove any larger or accumulated debris that might be present. Unless you have first-hand knowledge, there's no guarantee that the pool was covered the entire time since it was closed. It may very well have been, but I would operate under the assumption that it wasn't. Probably worth half an hour or so to skim the bottom with a leaf rake to rule out anything. Any debris that you do remove will make the chlorine's job of sanitizing easier and speed up the shock process.

Look forward to the before, in-progress, and after pictures!
 
Re: Pool unused for 3 years - braved a peek today. Test resu

CYA test - When you can still see the black dot with the view tube completely full (as you did), that means your CYA is zero....perfectly normal.
 
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