As in many parts of the country, here in North Carolina we had a brutally cold winter. It was cold enough for a long enough period of time that we had a hard freeze. I was a bit nervous starting up the pool. I get all of the water out of the pipes above ground for the winter, but since winters are not usually so cold, I know there was water underground in the pipes. I had to drain water from the pool a couple of times over the winter to keep ice from cracking the tiles around the waterline of the pool and spa. One time when I checked, we had about an inch of ice in the pool. I know you Northerners are scoffing, but for where we live in NC that's some serious cold. I grew up in NJ and lived in the Pocono mountains in PA for many years; so, I do know cold.
We dumped several gallons of bleach in the pool last fall, and that seemed to do the job over the winter. The pool had a very slight green tint. We got the leaves out and ran our robotic cleaner for 3 or 4 cleaning sessions to get most of the crud out. I filled up the pool and spa and reinstalled the SWCG. We've dumped a couple hundred lbs. of salt in the pool and have the salt level at 3200. I ran water tests yesterday...low TA, low CH, low CYA, and FC good . I used the Pool Calculator to figure out how much stuff to add. Following the recommendation not to add all chemicals called for at once when you need to add a lot, I added about half of what the Pool Calculator recommended.
Today the water is looking very clear. The acid dispenser is maintaining the pH at 7.5.
I'll test TA and CH again tomorrow and see how much more baking soda and calcium chloride is needed. I'll give the stabilizer another couple of days to dissolve before checking the CYA again.
I can't thank the members of the TFP Forum enough for all their sharing of pool info over the last two years. Two years ago I knew nothing about pools, and I had promised my wife we would put in an in-ground pool. The pool installation was completed in October 2012. Last year was our first full Summer with the pool. Thanks to TFP I have a pool that is easy and inexpensive to maintain, not to mention a happy wife.
We dumped several gallons of bleach in the pool last fall, and that seemed to do the job over the winter. The pool had a very slight green tint. We got the leaves out and ran our robotic cleaner for 3 or 4 cleaning sessions to get most of the crud out. I filled up the pool and spa and reinstalled the SWCG. We've dumped a couple hundred lbs. of salt in the pool and have the salt level at 3200. I ran water tests yesterday...low TA, low CH, low CYA, and FC good . I used the Pool Calculator to figure out how much stuff to add. Following the recommendation not to add all chemicals called for at once when you need to add a lot, I added about half of what the Pool Calculator recommended.
Today the water is looking very clear. The acid dispenser is maintaining the pH at 7.5.
I'll test TA and CH again tomorrow and see how much more baking soda and calcium chloride is needed. I'll give the stabilizer another couple of days to dissolve before checking the CYA again.
I can't thank the members of the TFP Forum enough for all their sharing of pool info over the last two years. Two years ago I knew nothing about pools, and I had promised my wife we would put in an in-ground pool. The pool installation was completed in October 2012. Last year was our first full Summer with the pool. Thanks to TFP I have a pool that is easy and inexpensive to maintain, not to mention a happy wife.
