help! my pool cover came off a little...

And another question - should I have the pool store do anything? They will want to if the pool is yucky. I mean they will get out the debris and vacuum normally but I don’t know if they will with gross water. They will also want to put 4 gallons of chlorine in.
 
All depends on your local weather.
I guess I can ask the pool store, they would know how it is to open that early. I just want to open before the water warms up though I do know I could probably open in early June and the water would still be freezing. another thing, speaking of freezing water, when we open the water will be very cold, so I assume i need to leave it like that. the slam directions say to vacuum every day and this is embarrassing but we have only used the manual vacuum once or twice, we have just not had a need. I assume I need to manually vacuum this, rather than put my robot in?
 
I just want to open before the water warms up though
We need to wait and see that one. Some years it's 80 in April. Others we have snow in May.
I assume I need to manually vacuum this, rather than put my robot in?
The robot works with multiple passes, but nothing beats the old skool manual vac.
 
I have no confidence in pool store advice. Maybe you do. You can lookup your local weather and make your own decision.

If your water stays naturally cold for as long as you say you have no rush.

Your pool robot will work fine during the SLAM as long as it likes the cold water.
 
We need to wait and see that one. Some years it's 80 in April. Others we have snow in May.
yes, but say we do have snow and the pool is open, it's ok, as long as my pump is running? I'm just saying is there a "too early" when it comes to opening? if it's a matter of a week or 2 than normal?
 
I am also here in the midwest. don't do anything other than put the cover back on. Your water will be fine when you open in the end of May, it will be like any other year. Whatever you do dont put anything in as you will be wasting your money.
I have a mesh cover so it always gets some "stuff" in my pool.
 
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I am also here in the midwest. don't do anything other than put the cover back on. Your water will be fine when you open in the end of May, it will be like any other year. Whatever you do dont put anything in as you will be wasting your money.
I have a mesh cover so it always gets some "stuff" in my pool.
well it won't be the same as any other year, I have never dumped a bunch of dirty cover water into my clean winter pool before. I open to beautiful blue water every year!
 

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I really like opening to clean clear water. anyway i think I'm going to plant to open in April. everything is saying warmer than normal spring and that's how winter was too so opening April 24 gives me 3 weeks to clear the pool til we leave and I think that should be plenty of time (in all of my experience SLAMming which is zero). If the weather really warms up I can always move it, they aren't busy in April.
 
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doesnt make sense to open in April. There is not enough solar hours in Michigan to warm up you pool. You will just waste time and money.
 
doesnt make sense to open in April. There is not enough solar hours in Michigan to warm up you pool. You will just waste time and money.
I don't want the pool to warm up in April. Nor I do ever depend on the sun to warm my pool. if I did, we wouldn't swim til July! We are allowing 3 weeks to clear the pool if needed as I have to go out of town on May 15. Plus, it's 70 again today. we are going to have a warm spring so the sooner the better - for the algae in there.
 
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Rest assured, while it's uncharted territory for you, it's just another day at the TFP office for us. We got you when the time comes. :)
 
OP - You're in good hands, these guys know what they're doing. Listen to them and you'll do fine. FWIW, I've done a couple slams and it's not hard at all. As for opening, I live in S.E. MI and would not bother opening before May 1st. You'll have plenty of time to clear up the water before your trip.

Question to the group. Would it be reasonable to add a gallon or so of chlorine upon opening in order to clear the water enough to be able to see, and clean out, the debris? Or, do you just start the slam and start cleaning as soon as you can see? I've had algae but never a cloudy/murky pool.
 
It's got to be mixed well to know the CYA and set the FC target. (Possibly needing CYA after the long off season).

SLAM and vac/scoop run concurrently but any debris will chew through FC almost as quick as you can add it, so until any crud is gone, you're basically spinning your wheels in an attempt to keep it from getting worse before it gets better.

We've helped clear abandoned pools with trees growing in the mud and full eco systems. As long as it's water-y, it won't come close to some of the battles we've seen. Even if it's black water.

Patience and some elbow grease win every time.
 
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OP - You're in good hands, these guys know what they're doing. Listen to them and you'll do fine. FWIW, I've done a couple slams and it's not hard at all. As for opening, I live in S.E. MI and would not bother opening before May 1st. You'll have plenty of time to clear up the water before your trip.

Question to the group. Would it be reasonable to add a gallon or so of chlorine upon opening in order to clear the water enough to be able to see, and clean out, the debris? Or, do you just start the slam and start cleaning as soon as you can see? I've had algae but never a cloudy/murky pool.
with this crazy weather we are having, I'm fine opening early this year to be safe.

and yes I trust everyone here, I've been posting here for 7 years and in 7 years I've never had to SLAM and my pool is clear and beautiful every day because of everyone here!
 
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So I'm 10 days away from opening. the pool store opens my pool. they will want to dump 4 gallons of chlorine in and clean the pool. Is that ok? Or tell them just to clean it? I will get CYA in as fast as I can but that generally takes a couple days and I don't want to not chlorinate for a couple of days.
 

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