Gonna have to hire someone to maintain

[umpalumpajay]

Well, i've had the pool since December, i've learned a TON from all the great people here - made some rookie mistakes and probably will make more. Got the test kit, my bleach, my salt, and other odds and ends and my pool is lookin' great and is very healthy with the TFP methods - all levels are right on the money. Sunny southern California weather is starting to settle in and im going to be traveling quite a bit over the summer - at one point for 3 weeks straight in july. SO, i think im going to hire someone for the summer to keep the pool nice for the family as my wife just really won't keep it up. My question, do most pool guys use this method? it seems to me like everyone i know with a pool service has had an algae problem. i mean, lets say you have a HUGE party on Saturday and your pool guy comes every Friday, thats potentially 6 days that you don't have enough chlorine! i want to make sure whoever i hire sticks to the levels this site prescribes. is that reasonable? advice?

 

[jblizzle]

Very few "pool guys" follow the TFP method since they only visit the pool once a week. With a SWG, they might not screw up your chemistry too bad ... maybe. Problem is, you may not know what kind of potions they may add to the pool.

Why not just teach your wife to maintain the pool. With a SWG, there is not really much she would have to do besides check the pH and maybe add a little acid. If she can spare 5 minutes 2 or 3 times a week, that is all it should take.

 

[JohnT]

Hire a neighbor who doesn't know anything about pools and teach them the right way.

 

[umpalumpajay]

i had her check chlorine levels while i was in vegas for a week and she adjusted it a little (before i turned on SWG) so that might not be too bad. maybe if i just taught her to test ph and chlorine and keep those levels in check, it might be good enough to keep it good enough till i get back. im leaving for a couple of 2 week periods and a 3 week. you know SoCal, it will probably be well over 100 degrees - i hate being the tech guy with our computers from 2000 miles away, God only knows how much i'll dislike being the pool guy from that far. lol! i still have to learn how to clean the cartridge filter, but i think the PB will teach me if i ask.

 

[bobodaclown]

Hire a neighbor who doesn't know anything about pools and teach them the right way.

This is a great suggestion!

 

[jblizzle]

i still have to learn how to clean the cartridge filter, but i think the PB will teach me if i ask.

This is probably all you need in order to learn to clean your filter: http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/144-maintenance-and-cleaning-of-pool-filters

 

[umpalumpajay]

This is a great suggestion!

actually this stirs a thought with me, i don't have a neighbor i like that much and most of them are much older, but i have a good friend who does his own pool with this method who might help me out - maybe i can help him out when HE goes out of town. hmmmm.

 

[Casey]

actually this stirs a thought with me, i don't have a neighbor i like that much and most of them are much older, but i have a good friend who does his own pool with this method who might help me out - maybe i can help him out when HE goes out of town. hmmmm.

Sound like a plan!

 

[swoopman]

actually this stirs a thought with me, i don't have a neighbor i like that much and most of them are much older, but i have a good friend who does his own pool with this method who might help me out - maybe i can help him out when HE goes out of town. hmmmm.

Since you have a SWG maybe your wife could do the daily testing and your friend could stop by once a week and do weekly tests, adjust SWG if needed, adjust pH, etc.??

 

[ping]

What type of chemicals are you adding these days and how often?

You might want to keep a log of the chemicals, amount, and date of additions and you will see a trend develop. If your wife doesn't have a problem handling the chems then she could easily follow the trend and the pool should not get out of whack while you are away.

 

[Smykowski]

I don't have a SWG, but I know my pool's behavior better than my kids'. When I travel, I just tell my wife how much bleach to add and on what days, and that keeps it close enough until I get home again

 

[MARCO...polo]

What type of chemicals are you adding these days and how often?

You might want to keep a log of the chemicals, amount, and date of additions and you will see a trend develop. If your wife doesn't have a problem handling the chems then she could easily follow the trend and the pool should not get out of whack while you are away.

THIS!

I was recently away for a short trip. I've only had the pool about 7 months but know the trends well enough to anticipate the whats and whens. As the only additions I anticipated were MA I mixed up a couple of 'cocktails' for her to add to the pool on specific days and times (pump runs). I mixed 31.4% MA to the appropriate 4 to 1 batches so she didn't have to deal with the nastiness of the MA vapors/hazards, measuring or testing. Cranked up the SWG a tad and asked her to brush if she felt like it. When I returned the numbers were on the money.

 

[Patrick_B]

actually this stirs a thought with me, i don't have a neighbor i like that much and most of them are much older, but i have a good friend who does his own pool with this method who might help me out - maybe i can help him out when HE goes out of town. hmmmm.

I like this plan.

 

[umpalumpajay]

What type of chemicals are you adding these days and how often?

You might want to keep a log of the chemicals, amount, and date of additions and you will see a trend develop. If your wife doesn't have a problem handling the chems then she could easily follow the trend and the pool should not get out of whack while you are away.

This is a very good idea as well. I've decided on a pump speed and run time so im just fiddling with the SWG to get it to produce at the right rate - but its only been running about a week so still dialing it in. My ph is pretty stable, but definitely adding muriatic acid as needed to keep it on target - maybe once a week. so basically, adding acid and bleach when necessary and brushing as often as i can - 3/4 times a week. so really its no big deal, but the water is still only 66 degrees at this point, so im not sure how its going to be when it gets to 80. i like the idea of mixing up diluted acid for my wife to put in as necessary. really good idea - much safer for her.

oh, and yes, im definitely keeping a log of my numbers. i use the strips daily, sometimes the kit for ph when i don't trust the strips, but use most of the full kit once a week.

 

[jblizzle]

Test strips? ! ?

Do yourself a favor and stick with the drop based tests.

 

[umpalumpajay]

the more i think about it, i could clean out (REALLY CLEAN) small sized old bleach bottles and dilute acid in them w/ water - the right amount to lower ph .2 at a time.

 

[umpalumpajay]

i've compared the strips to the drop tests and for the most part, they seem to match up very closely. chlorine was right on the money as was CH, TA, and CYA. i dont really trust the ph all that much so i usually drop test that one - especially since its so important. chlorine i've been kit testing too because i really want to lock in the SWG percentage. like i said though, i drop test once if not more per week the whole group of tests. thanks for the tips!

 

[dravenone]

If it fits your budget add a Solaxx PH pump. It's not maintenance free, but in a situation like you are facing it will let you get through an extended period without issue.

 

[chem geek]

i've compared the strips to the drop tests and for the most part, they seem to match up very closely.

Test strips can be inconsistent especially for some tests and vary by brand, so I'm curious which brand of test strips did you use? Did they really test for CH since most only test for Total Hardness (TH) that includes magnesium in addition to calcium. Usually the CYA test is the worst and of course the strips have rather broad ranges for reading.

 

[umpalumpajay]

Im using the aquacheck 7 way strips. I did the full test both ways, kit and strip, last night and again, the tests were VERY close other than ph which was wrong, or rather UNCLEAR. I dont want to guess that one. I work some pretty crazy hours so a full kit test really is not gonna happen every day. Cya was right on the money with the strips.