The Leslie's manager is not a youngster and was not trying to sell me anything. He recommended draining and acid-washing, which would earn him nothing.
It looked to me like he was trying to sell you 200 lbs of chlorine...
I've read enough on this site to know that what some people describe as "trouble free" -- carting around jugs of industrial-strength bleach (probably ruining lots of clothes in the process) and tending to the pool every day -- seems to me to be the definition of trouble.
Forgive me, but I'd have to disagree that you've read enough on here. Perhaps you missed:
Certified106,
who's ecstatic that their spa pH
has been rock solid for the first time since they got their spa.
Akathisia, who hasn't had any issues with their spa
since they joined 3 years ago.
I could go on, but these were two completely different, random people who just posted they are enjoying the fruits of the TFP method in the last two days, in the spa forum (which is smaller than the pool one).
I've read enough to know that when someone is toting around carts of chlorine, it's usually because they've followed pool store advise, added dichlor or trichlor constantly, jacking up their CYA until the FC isn't effective and they suffer an algae bloom. This means they find TFP for the first time when their pool is a mess, and it takes a lot of chlorine to kill an algae bloom. Also, they usually have to do it if they let their FC drop to zero...such as it appears you did. The happy people usually don't make threads all the time saying how happy and trouble free their pool is. My point is if you gloss over a bunch of threads without really digging into them and watching them to conclusion, you may get the wrong viewpoint that everybody on TFP carts jugs of chlorine around all the time, which is most certainly untrue. Those with SWG,
who monitor and ensure their FC always stays at the proper level, almost never have to add any chlorine. Those who add liquid chlorine may have to add 1/2-1 bottles of
regular bleach a day in the peak of summer...hardly carts full of "industrial" strength bleach!
Trouble free isn't
maintenance free. With a SWG you have to test on a regular basis to ensure it's working and keeping up. When I change the oil on my car, that's
maintenance done to ensure the engine stays
trouble free. Skip the maintenance, loads of trouble (in both the car and the pool).
I can't do that overnight chlorine loss test because the chlorine level is too low. And yes, I do have some algae, although not as much as I would expect with almost no chlorine.
You need to SLAM your pool. After that, you can go back to using your SWG, and as long as you test regularly, you will be trouble free.