My wife and I just bought our first house. In the backyard, we have a once-beautiful, now struggling in-ground pool and hot tub. We know little-to-nothing about pool ownership. The water is greenish-brown. I have fished a hose, some towels and bottles, and other random larger trash items, but there is a pretty good amount of debris on the bottom.
The complete documentation we have from the previous owner is three hand-written sheets giving very basic information on how to drain, backwash, and vacuum. The house and pool were built in 1998. The couple divorced years ago, only the woman has been living there for the last few years, and did not keep anything up (dishwasher did not work, water heater was leaking, air filters hadn't been changed in years...I can't complain too much, because we never would have been able to afford the place if things were working). She told us that she emptied the pool, so the water in there now is rainwater. Using Google Earth, the pool is definitely blue in January 2004, and definitely green in April 2008, so it has been sitting for at least almost three years. The pump is set to the backwash setting, but there is no noise from any of the equipment, I do not think that anything is actually on. There is no movement in the pool. There is also quite a few tiles that have come off of the wall above the water level. As far as I can tell, the structure of the pool is just fine, just very, very dirty.
On to the label reading:
The filter is a PurexTriton Nautilus FNS48, model 09C. The thing next to it (DE filter valve?) is set to backwash, says 125 GPM, and is a model SM-20-2.
It appears to have 3 heat pumps, 2 are Centurion 10-168786-07s, 2 HP, 1.30 SF, type CX, form KJM, rpm 3450, hz 60, code G, encl DP, volts 208-230, the other one is smaller, maybe 1 HP, has a different label and is not readable whatsoever.
There is a taller item which is Anzen brand, has a barely readable warning or something on the top which looks like it mentions a blower, but no other identification.
There is a STA-RITE heating system, model number not readable, which says it has a max working pressure of 50 psi and max flow rate of 120 gpm.
Our real estate agent got a quote while we were looking at the house. Option 1 is for "Pressure wash pool, replace missing tile and start up pool (includes start up chemicals)" for $3,000. Option 2 is for "Replace 186' linear feet tile with customer's choice of standard tile. Prep and replaster 530 sq ft with white plaster." for $10,780. We did not get other quotes at this time, as I wanted to look at what our options are available.
Do I clean the water in the pool? Do I drain, scrub, and then refill? I plan on ordering the test kits as soon as my discount is available. Do I test it when it comes (I assume the chlorine will be 0, but do I need to know the other numbers)?
Obviously this is a lot of information, so I do not have my hopes up. I waver every day on whether I should try to tackle this or just pay the $3,000 to get it done. Thank you to anyone who reads through this short novel
The photos:
*EDITED*pictures no longer being hosted
The complete documentation we have from the previous owner is three hand-written sheets giving very basic information on how to drain, backwash, and vacuum. The house and pool were built in 1998. The couple divorced years ago, only the woman has been living there for the last few years, and did not keep anything up (dishwasher did not work, water heater was leaking, air filters hadn't been changed in years...I can't complain too much, because we never would have been able to afford the place if things were working). She told us that she emptied the pool, so the water in there now is rainwater. Using Google Earth, the pool is definitely blue in January 2004, and definitely green in April 2008, so it has been sitting for at least almost three years. The pump is set to the backwash setting, but there is no noise from any of the equipment, I do not think that anything is actually on. There is no movement in the pool. There is also quite a few tiles that have come off of the wall above the water level. As far as I can tell, the structure of the pool is just fine, just very, very dirty.
On to the label reading:
The filter is a PurexTriton Nautilus FNS48, model 09C. The thing next to it (DE filter valve?) is set to backwash, says 125 GPM, and is a model SM-20-2.
It appears to have 3 heat pumps, 2 are Centurion 10-168786-07s, 2 HP, 1.30 SF, type CX, form KJM, rpm 3450, hz 60, code G, encl DP, volts 208-230, the other one is smaller, maybe 1 HP, has a different label and is not readable whatsoever.
There is a taller item which is Anzen brand, has a barely readable warning or something on the top which looks like it mentions a blower, but no other identification.
There is a STA-RITE heating system, model number not readable, which says it has a max working pressure of 50 psi and max flow rate of 120 gpm.
Our real estate agent got a quote while we were looking at the house. Option 1 is for "Pressure wash pool, replace missing tile and start up pool (includes start up chemicals)" for $3,000. Option 2 is for "Replace 186' linear feet tile with customer's choice of standard tile. Prep and replaster 530 sq ft with white plaster." for $10,780. We did not get other quotes at this time, as I wanted to look at what our options are available.
Do I clean the water in the pool? Do I drain, scrub, and then refill? I plan on ordering the test kits as soon as my discount is available. Do I test it when it comes (I assume the chlorine will be 0, but do I need to know the other numbers)?
Obviously this is a lot of information, so I do not have my hopes up. I waver every day on whether I should try to tackle this or just pay the $3,000 to get it done. Thank you to anyone who reads through this short novel
The photos:
*EDITED*pictures no longer being hosted