SLAM and white haze

[Aaronbr]

So long as you used a sufficient amount of powder (slightly heaping scoop) you’re good pausing a little before adding the drops shouldn’t hurt anything, pausing while adding the drops is what can skew the results.

I guess that rules out testing error. Yesterday I did clean my chlorine tube with alcohol. I tested my water this morning and added my powder and swirled it for about 4 minutes to try and match the length of time my wife talked before my test last night. Once I start dropping I don't stop. My OCLT failed with a whopping 4.5 FC loss. Maybe it's still testing error as I'm running out of things to try. I might clean the filter again. Maybe I need to brush my pool earlier rather than an hour before taking my night OCLT reading.

 

[Mdragger88]

I guess that rules out testing error. Yesterday I did clean my chlorine tube with alcohol. I tested my water this morning and added my powder and swirled it for about 4 minutes to try and match the length of time my wife talked before my test last night. Once I start dropping I don't stop. My OCLT failed with a whopping 4.5 FC loss. Maybe it's still testing error as I'm running out of things to try. I might clean the filter again. Maybe I need to brush my pool earlier rather than an hour before taking my night OCLT reading.

It’s dark for both tests right?

 

[Aaronbr]

It’s dark for both tests right?

Yes, sunset is at 7:45pm and sunrise is at 5:45am. I tested at 9:15pm and 4:41am.
I'll test again tonight and see if my testing was flawed somehow. I should have retested my sample last night after I got an FC of 21 when I should have had FC of 20 at 4:18pm when I added chlorine.

 

[clambert1273]

Yes, sunset is at 7:45pm and sunrise is at 5:45am. I tested at 9:15pm and 4:41am.
I'll test again tonight and see if my testing was flawed somehow. I should have retested my sample last night after I got an FC of 21 when I should have had FC of 20 at 4:18pm when I added chlorine.

For my OCLT's, I test at 8pm and add LC then retest at 8:30pm and use that number then because I'm always up early I test in AM between 4:30-5:30am

 

[Mdragger88]

Its ALOT of drops & its late/early so testing errors are definitely a possibility. Its so clear & beautiful so such a large overnight loss is unusual. Do you have an autofill or overflow drain that you haven’t cleaned out? Maybe an unused line? Perhaps check the vacuum hose? Just racking my brain here..

 

[Aaronbr]

Its ALOT of drops & its late/early so testing errors are definitely a possibility. Its so clear & beautiful so such a large overnight loss is unusual. Do you have an autofill or overflow drain that you haven’t cleaned out? Maybe an unused line? Perhaps check the vacuum hose? Just racking my brain here..

I agree with the drop counting error. I'll find out tonight when I retest OCLT I guess. Last night around 7pm I brushed my pool and spa. I ran my spa for about 20 minutes with no heat to filter the water after brushing and to flush the lines, then I ran the spillway feature to flush out the water and bring in fresher water from the pool. After brushing the pool and spa I took all the parts that pull out of the skimmer and brushed everything in there. I used a bottle brush to get in where the autofill is, brushed in the autofill line to the pool, and then dumped about a gallon of pool water in the autofill basin to flush out the water older water. That was the third time brushing out the autofill and skimmer in the past 3 weeks. I run my pump 24 hours a day. This is week 4 of cleaning my pool. Something I thought of this morning is I have a place to put an umbrella in my baja shelf that I didn't open up. Today after work I'll take the cap off and brush it out. Only other thing I question is my bottle brush, the bristles aren't very stiff. or maybe the little conduit opening in my light niche that feeds the power cable to my light.

 

[Mdragger88]

I agree with the drop counting error. I'll find out tonight when I retest OCLT I guess. Last night around 7pm I brushed my pool and spa. I ran my spa for about 20 minutes with no heat to filter the water after brushing and to flush the lines, then I ran the spillway feature to flush out the water and bring in fresher water from the pool. After brushing the pool and spa I took all the parts that pull out of the skimmer and brushed everything in there. I used a bottle brush to get in where the autofill is, brushed in the autofill line to the pool, and then dumped about a gallon of pool water in the autofill basin to flush out the water older water. That was the third time brushing out the autofill and skimmer in the past 3 weeks. I run my pump 24 hours a day. This is week 4 of cleaning my pool. Something I thought of this morning is I have a place to put an umbrella in my baja shelf that I didn't open up. Today after work I'll take the cap off and brush it out. Only other thing I question is my bottle brush, the bristles aren't very stiff. or maybe the little conduit opening in my light niche that feeds the power cable to my light.

The umbrella thing! I was going to ask if you had one.

 

[Aaronbr]

I removed the umbrella thingy cap at lunch today, cleaned it with my bottle brush and also cleaned all the other returns in my pool/spa since I had the brush in hand. It all seemed fine. I did notice a gap in my grout, could that be the cause? If things don't clear up soon I'm going to contact my pool builder about repairing this since my pool is only a year old and still under warranty.

 

[Mdragger88]

Even if it’s not the cause of this problem I would ask them to fix it while you still have the chance.
Fingers crossed for a good oclt tonight/tomorrow. You have done your due diligence for sure!
Did you check the vac hose? Sometimes they can get gunk in them because they float & may have an air gap in the rings that doesn’t get completely flushed with chlorinated water. The intex pool hoses are like that sometimes. Also any parts of the cleaner - we’ve seen them harbor algae before.

 

[Aaronbr]

Even if it’s not the cause of this problem I would ask them to fix it while you still have the chance.
Fingers crossed for a good oclt tonight/tomorrow. You have done your due diligence for sure!
Did you check the vac hose? Sometimes they can get gunk in them because they float & may have an air gap in the rings that doesn’t get completely flushed with chlorinated water. The intex pool hoses are like that sometimes. Also any parts of the cleaner - we’ve seen them harbor algae before.

I haven't checked the hose or vacuum yet. It's currently not in the pool because all it does is get stuck on the uncovered drains. I'll be sure to check it out before I use it again though. I'll have to research how to clean out those hoses, probably section by section.

 

[Aaronbr]

I feel I'm close to the end. Probably about to jinx myself, but I only lost 1.5ppm FC between 10am and 4:30pm. I also don't notice the white dust up that started this thread. It was overcast today so maybe it was hard to see.

Question on cleaning grout lines, do people have a preferred method of cleaning grout lines? Also, is it common for grout lines to give off dust when brushed with a small stuff bristle brush?

 

[Aaronbr]

I passed the OCLT and CC test! Later today I'll check for any of that white haze I had been seeing. I think the atuocover vault along with a bit of testing error along the way is what was holding me back all this time. I've definitely learned a lot during this process and got to know my pool much better.

 

[Texas Splash]

I passed the OCLT and CC test!

 

[clambert1273]

I passed the OCLT and CC test! Later today I'll check for any of that white haze I had been seeing. I think the atuocover vault along with a bit of testing error along the way is what was holding me back all this time. I've definitely learned a lot during this process and got to know my pool much better.

 

[Aaronbr]

I'm going to SLAM a few more days. I still see some of that white dust up, but it's only in a few locations. I also keep pulling out dead caterpillars from the bottom of my pool. This is the season for them and they seem to like to go for a swim...

I did cover my pool before I went to work and only dropped .5 FC by the time I got home, so that is a good sign.

 

[Aaronbr]

I'm still getting that white haze but I'm not going to really concern myself with it just now. I haven't turned on my swg, haven't added any liquid chlorine for 3 days, and only dropped 1ppm FC over the past two days (I've been keeping my auto cover closed except at night to brush my pool). My FC just tested at 16 which is the SLAM threshold for my CYA of 40. Once it drops a bit more and the water warms up I'll get back in and install everything I took apart.

Thanks for all the insight and help along the way! If I am missing something please let me know.

 

[Aaronbr]

Yesterday my pool finally came down to 9.5 FC. I decided to turn on my SWG to see if it's working properly and the results are inconclusive. I set my SWG to 20% and I run my pump 24 hours a day. Today my FC was still 9.5 and I had .5 CC.

I'm a bit disheartened as either my SWG isn't working or I still have some kind of algae issue to deal with even after that 4 week SLAM. My pool has remained covered except for opening to brush/test. No one has swam in it except for me to put the lights back and install the suction covers two days ago.

 

[MITBeta]

PoolMath says that your SWG should have added 1.5ppm FC in 24 hours. The fact that your FC level didn't fall seems pretty right on to me. A CC of 0.5 is fine in the absence of any other cause for concern.

 

[Aaronbr]

Thanks. I turned the SWG to 40% to see what happens.

 

[Mdragger88]

1.5ppm fc consumption/day is pretty good for sunny California in June! I think you’re doing fine. As for the .5 cc - clean your beaker with alcohol & try again tomorrow.