Draining and refilling hoping to get it right this time

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brickladyt

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Jun 30, 2013
104
MA
I have an intex 15x36 metal frame pool using a 1500gpm cartridge filter. Since day 2 of opening it I have been fighting cloudiness. Daily trip to the pool store while they sold me everything under the sun. And stupidly not knowing any better I bought thinking there the experts. Well I was wrong. I'm just out a lot of money and now draining the pool to start over. My last trip last night to a different pool strore to get a 2nd opiniomy had was water tested. My results were.
Free Chlorine .5
Water pH 7.8
Total Alkalinity 190
CYA 0 (I had just finally added sanitizer yesterday since I could never keep a chlorine reading for a whole day)
Calcium Hardness 210
Total Dissolved Solids 1100
They had recommended I add a cap full of Dry acid every 4 hours for a total of 15 times.
After finding this site I have decided to try it your way in hopes I can get this right. I have purchased the bleach, borax, and bacon soda. No I'm just on the hunt for that dichlor.
My question is do I have to drain the WHOLE pool or maybe just half? Should I scrub all walls and floor before refilling? Last year I had a bright green pool and again the pool store robbed me blind with chemicals but finally after 3 weeks it was clear but I'm not sure if maybe there was stuff still on the pool and that's why this happened to me. I mean this year it is just real cloudy not green.
 
What you didn't change is relying on the pool store to tell you how to take care of your pool and assuming they are giving you accurate test results and advice.

You are trying to blend pool store advice with our advice and you end up in the middle and confused. (and usually with a green/cloudy pool)
 
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To start I just need the advice if I should drain the whole pool or just half. Before refilling should I hop into the pool and scrub all the walls and floor or is that wasting my time. Once filled I will come back hoping to get advice on where to start from there. I have read so many forums and looked at so much my head is spinning. This is all new to me as far as not going to the pool store. I am on year 2 of them selling me anything and everything and not knowing any better I bought it. Well I'm done. I can't spend anymore money.
 
Take a deep breath! Good now you can get started on your way to a clear pool.

-look at my siggy-order one of the test kits NOW.
-look at the different places that sell chlorine/bleach. Find the best price (check if it is 6%, 8%, or 11% before you buy)
-Buy bleach-lots of it.
-put some bleach in the pool every day
-when test kit gets there test and post your results.

GO Swimming and have fun!

Kim
 
If those numbers are good, and the water isn't thick, murky, and green, there's no need to drain. Those numbers aren't too bad - it can be salvaged. If it's sludgy, you might as well drain, since the pool isn't that big and the water bill and the time to refill aren;t too bad.

2 one pound bags of dichlor powder - read the label, all "shock" powders are not alike! - will chlorinate the pool, help lower pH and TA, and raise CYA to about 36. One half of a bag will take you to 10 FC. Then you recheck every couple hours, plug the numbers into http://www.poolcalculator.com/ and add some more. Ah, but what numbers? That's why you need to order the test kit now. I mean, right now. Once that's ordered, you can go to the pool store and look for the dichlor and a cheap test kit - the 2 way kit is under ten bucks, chicken feed after what you've spent - and pick up a couple gallons of bleach on the way home.

So...you're home. Add half a pound of the dichlor. Check the FC in a couple hours. It will likely be low, if not zero. Let the http://www.poolcalculator.com/ crunch the numbers to see what it will take to get back to 10. Keep doing that until the dichlor is all used up, and then start using the bleach. At some point when you test, FC will be off the scale. That will be a good sign - it means the chlorine is holding! Post back and we can guide you from there.
 
Do I get the dichlor at a pool store? Sorry I just read your post again and it said at a pool store. I have Leslie's near me. At this moment I have hth 6-way test kit and Leslie's test strip (free chlorine, alk, pH, Cyanuric) I know I need to spend the money and get the better test kit. Got it. I only drained it because on another forum I was using regarding it being cloudy and all the Crud the pool store had me add in over a weeks period they thought it was best to drain in fully or at least half way. It is a little more than half now so I will stop. I want to jump in and scrub it down before addig more water. I just hope it's safe for my skin to be in there.
 
brickladyt said:
Do I get the dichlor at a pool store? Sorry I just read your post again and it said at a pool store. I have Leslie's near me. At this moment I have hth 6-way test kit and Leslie's test strip (free chlorine, alk, pH, Cyanuric) I know I need to spend the money and get the better test kit. Got it. I only drained it because on another forum I was using regarding it being cloudy and all the **** the pool store had me add in over a weeks period they thought it was best to drain in fully or at least half way. It is a little more than half now so I will stop. I want to jump in and scrub it down before addig more water. I just hope it's safe for my skin to be in there.
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Chlor Brite Granular Chlorine is Leslie's name for dichlor. Just two of those packages is all you need - don't buy the bucket or even the box of packages. Is the pool just cloudy, or is it green? Do the walls feel slimy?

It sounds like you're overthinking things and working too hard at this.
 
I always do and that's my problem. I'm just so frustrated with the amount of money I have dished out in 1 weeks time. I even bought a better filter. Went from 1000gmp that came iwth it to a 1500gpm hoping that was going to help. That's why I searched for a site to try and help me out. I'm just a needs step by step directions and I can get it.

The pool is cloudy. It started 2 days after putting it up. After the first people went in. Walls are not slimy.
 
brickladyt said:
I always do and that's my problem. I'm just so frustrated with the amount of money I have dished out in 1 weeks time. I even bought a better filter. Went from 1000gmp that came iwth it to a 1500gpm hoping that was going to help. That's why I searched for a site to try and help me out. I'm just a needs step by step directions and I can get it.

The pool is cloudy. It started 2 days after putting it up. After the first people went in. Walls are not slimy.
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Then this should be a piece of cake to fix. Leslies is open today, so start the hose refilling and head on out to pick up what you need.
 

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I jumped in and scrubbed the inside of the pool and came out to my shirt being destroyed with white spots. I'm assuming this from the bleach. Last time I put bleach in was Wednesday at 6am. Does this always happen? Confused on why we use bleach if our clothing is going to be destroyed.
 
brickladyt said:
I jumped in and scrubbed the inside of the pool and came out to my shirt being destroyed with white spots. I'm assuming this from the bleach. Last time I put bleach in was Wednesday at 6am. Does this always happen? Confused on why we use bleach if our clothing is going to be destroyed.
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When the water is stabilzed, the vicious attacking chlorine is largely bound up with the CYA and is actually less aggressive than tap water. But since you have no stabilizer, it's all free to attack your clothes.
 
Something else caused that, if you put in bleach yesterday morning there's no way it would spot your shirt, unless you splashed it on a surface somewhere and you rubbed on it. Circulated in the water, it doesn't cause spotting, maybe fade the entire shirt if the level was very high...but spotting?....

BTW, you don't need baking soda or borax - those raise PH and ALK and your's is already high.
 
Maybe it was from the dry acid the pool store had me put in last night? I had put in a cap full and then decided 2 hours later I would just drain the pool half way and start over but there is definately white spots all over my tshirt. I got in the pool. Scrubbed it with the scrubber. I noticed more around the edges white kinda like powder was coming up.
 
I have 3 shirts/shorts I wear when I "work" on the pool. NO matter how careful I am I do something to my good clothes.

Spots on shirt from getting IN the pool? Interesting.........It may be a good thing you scrubbed it down good.

You are on the right track. It can be done a LOT cheaper than you have spent so far. I bet you spent more last week than I spent ALL summer last year! Good news huh?

Now when you walk in to the pool store to get what TFP tells you to get you can put your fingers in your ears and go la,la,la,la.... LOL

I would not bother with the strips. They are not even worth the time it takes to dip in the pool. The drop kit you have will do you okay until your good kit comes in.

Once you get your good kit you will have so much fun and be SO proud of what you have done. You might not have to ever go the pool store again!

HUGS! You CAN do it!

Kim
 
Best thing ever that was ever recommended to me on this site is to get my own test kit. I also ran from store to store hoping someone will finally give me good results and they never did. When I got my kit I found they were so far off it wasn't even funny. they are either incompetent people working there or just there to make money off of you.
 
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