Around here much you will find that not much credence is given to pool store testing. While you would think that a "professional" would be the best, unfortunately in most cases it is quite the opposite. Between employees who blindly trust the word of chemical sales representatives and high school kids working in the pool store for the summer you end up with poor results from their testing. In my case two different pool stores told me my CYA was "fine", around 70 or 80. When I tested myself I found it over 200.
They "usually" don't mess up the FC & pH too bad, so like Lisa said you need chlorine in the pool. But, you need something more important - keep reading......
To follow the pool care methods taught here you need to arm yourself with the knowledge and tools necessary to care for your pool.
The knowledge is condensed in the
Pool School link at the top of every page. It is a great community here, but we do ask that you read and try to understand the information being taught. Questions are always welcome and folks will try to direct you and teach you the methods.
The tools are not limited to the brushes, vacuum hoses and other stuff you use around the pool, but include the most important item - one of the
recommended test kits. You can buy a kit at a pool store, but again the pool store kits generally won't cut it. To effectively practice the TFPC methods, the FAS/DPD chlorine test is essential. All these kits contain that test while very few other kits do. Think of it this way, do you see a doctor blindly prescribing drugs without seeing the patient or having tests run? Here at TFP we are going to ask for photos so we can see the condition of the water and are going to ask for a full set of test results.
