Pool clean up from rental house

[skydude]

I have a rental house in Tempe AZ. Apparently there has been little to no maintenance done on the pool for the past year. It's plaster and I haven't run the tests yet, but I added a lot of bleach today to the pool and am running the pump overnight. It's a plaster pool and I tried to brush the yellow algae off the walls, but most of it didn't come off. Is that normal for yellow algae?

 

[Texas Splash]

Yellow or not, it's not normal. The fact that some of it appears to have brushed off is a positive sign I would think. Your test results should help give you a good roadmap of what to do next, which more than likely will require a "SLAM" (link below). As a renter, the big question will be .... will you be available to attend to the pool to perform the SLAM since maintaining the proper SLAM FC level is a must. Algae can take on various colors, but only after maintaining the proper SLAM FC/CYA ratio will you know for sure how that stuff is going to react over time. If it's set into the plaster as it sounds, it could take a while for the chlorine to fully penetrate the pores of the plaster and/or algae roots and fully resolve. I'd be curious to see those test results when you get a chance.

 

[skydude]

I'm going to run the tests tomorrow morning, I'll post the results here.

 

[skydude]

Chlorine 3.5
pH 7.8
CC 0
CH 1100
Alkalinity 250
CYA 200+

I'm going to sell the house in three weeks or so. Should I drain the pool and acid wash the walls or SLAM the water?

 

[tim5055]

Chlorine 3.5
pH 7.8
CC 0
CH 1100
Alkalinity 250
CYA 200+

I'm going to sell the house in three weeks or so. Should I drain the pool and acid wash the walls or SLAM the water?

A SLAM Process at 200+ CYA will be next to impossible.

 

[Texas Splash]

Yeah, based on your situation with that CYA and selling, I suspect a drain and wash is probably your best option. The water table and ground stability should not be an issue, but you can always ask folks locally to make sure.

 

[Arizonarob]

Howdy neighbor, I’m in Chandler. I’d be very careful of doing a complete drain at this time of year because of the temperature and sun we have now. The plaster in that pool being exposed to the elements with no water, can lead to some cracking. Not saying it will, but it can happen. There are other ways to do a water exchange without having to drain the pool, the tarp method comes to mind. (Maybe one of the mods can post a link)

Normally you do the drain/refill between Dec and Feb when it’s much cooler and the sun angle is down.

If we get lucky and have a cloudy day or two in the next few weeks, you could possibly do the drain/refill during that time, provided you have the proper equipment to do it quickly.

You can always consult with some local professional pool companies to get a few opinions

~Rob