What do weekly pool services actually do?

[culdeus]

Lets just say you pay for a weekly service. I assume they come out and first balance the ph. But in Texas FC loss at this point is so high due to water temp and sun exposure do they just bring the pool up to shock level every week and let it go?

I assume they periodically monitor for stuff like TA etc. etc. but rarely act on it.

Just curious if anyone knows what their basic method is in a hot climate to keep the pool from turning green between trips.

 

[jblizzle]

Depends what you pay for ... just chemical balance or some will maintain it (clean skimmer, debris, filters, etc).

For the chemical balance, from what I have observed, they typically raise the CYA higher than we would recommend 100-300pm (because they only come once a week at best) and then jack the FC really high in the hopes it has not dropped too far by the time they come back. They probably also check the pH and TA ... not sure they do much beyond that.

I think all they are really trying to "guarantee" is that the water will not turn green, which is all most people care about ... that is not the same as having well balanced water. And then if the water does turn green, they will come out and add a LOT more chorine to get it cleared again (possibly too high a FC level that could damage the pool) ... and of course you likely do not get a partial refund for time lost while the pool was not swimable. {In-laws pool was GREEN for over a month with the company trying to clear it ... no refund that I am aware of}

 

[woodyp]

Generally, they do whatever is in the contract that specifies what you agreed to pay them for to do--cleaning and such. Chemical additions are usually over and above that amount. Without a SWG in Texas and my known fear of puck use...........no way they can take care of my pool once a week to my satisfaction. You know they are not using one of our recommended test kits so that makes everything else a guesstimate at best.

 

[jblizzle]

One company in Tucson comes every 2 weeks ... even in the summer ... tell me how the water can be well balanced for 2 weeks with no chemical adjustments??? They are the ones that had the CYA up around 300ppm and use chlorine gas to raise the FC.

 

[Seanhan]

If you want it done right !! Do it yourself !!

 

[culdeus]

If you want it done right !! Do it yourself !!

I understand that. I was just thinking this morning about how it is even possible to do a texas pool in july/aug on a weekly chemical add.

I imagine many chem services here do a puckinator type system + dumps. Otherwise it's useless.

 

[chem geek]

Most pool services use Trichlor tabs in floating feeders or inline chlorinators which can easily last through one week. The CYA builds up and they deal with this in various ways -- some shock weekly to help make up for the too low active chlorine level, some use algaecides or phosphate removers, some do partial drain/refill when the CYA is higher, or a combination of these methods.

Some services use the high CYA with high FC level approaches which are OK for one week, going from 14 ppm FC to 4 ppm FC with 100 ppm CYA over a week, though over 2 weeks I can't imagine the size of the swing even with a higher CYA level.

 

[jblizzle]

Most pool services use Trichlor tabs in floating feeders or inline chlorinators which can easily last through one week. Some use the high CYA with high FC level approaches which are OK for one week, going from 14 ppm FC to 4 ppm FC with 100 ppm CYA over a week, though over 2 weeks I can't imagine the size of the swing even with a higher CYA level.

Not like the sun is intense here

Arizona Pima Chemical uses gas also and they make a point to saying they come every week ... unlike "the other guys" [PoolChlor] that only come every 2 weeks and yet the costs are basically the same.

They both like to send out a lot of mail flyers.

Interestingly, the cost is only around $40 / month which is a little tough to compete with even doing it yourself ... but how do you put a price on consistent water quality