I'm sure this topic has been discussed before but I wanted to add my $.02 as well concerning this forum.
I was commenting on someones first time post called "First time owner in Florida." a few minutes ago and mentioned that (in my humble opinion and many others, I guess) step number one was to get a proper test kit. Well, when I joined TFP a year ago, this exact same advice (but given to me) set off lots of alarm bells in my head.
I'm thinking to myself, "Oh, hurry up and buy one of OUR test kits before we can help you. Yeah, I already see what this web site is all about". But then I think it was either @mknauss or @duraleigh that mentioned I could buy the Taylor test kit from amazon if I wished. So that got me thinking, "Well, I'll buy that one then because I'm not sure if they just repackage the same test kit from Taylor and just overcharge for it."
Boy, oh boy was I wrong with my suspicions. This site is truly filled to the brim with folks who are not looking to profit one single dime off of people who are having a tough time maintaining the pool and spas. I've seen time and time and time again where somebody who had the typical GREEN SWAMP comes back with pictures a week or two later with pretty, blue, clear and SAFE pool water. And now I know why tfteskits sells the TF-100 kit. Yes, I know it's still based off of the Taylor reagents but the K2006c kits doesn't really have enough of the reagents that somebody needs if they going to clear up a large pool via a week long SLAM process and then maintain their pool throughout the summer and fall.
And yes, I've also seen some folks coming onto this site who say, "I've been keeping my pool clean and safe with yada-yada-yada (** insert random chemical or mineral here) and y'all don't know everything about pool water". But that's ok too. If other pool owners have a method that works for them and it doesn't not include testing their own water or adding liquid chlorine most of the time to keep algae at bay, then bully for them. As long as they don't try to convince other newbies that their method is even better than learning how to test and treat our own water, more power to them.
After thinking about it for a few minutes, it is my opinion that it is really difficult for some people to locate any kind of valuable resource like this forum and quickly believe that it has people who are volunteering to help others without making a buck. People who have been pool owners for years and years and helping other brand new pool owners; who in turn become volunteers on here who help other newer pool owners. I'm sure I'm probably driving my point into the ground by now so I guess I will stop my random ranting now.
But one last point.... looking back on my beginning, I wish I would have bought the TF-100 but I did not. And now I've already bought my re-supply of reagents before I closed my pool last autumn. In the immortal words of Homer Simpson, "DOH!!"
I was commenting on someones first time post called "First time owner in Florida." a few minutes ago and mentioned that (in my humble opinion and many others, I guess) step number one was to get a proper test kit. Well, when I joined TFP a year ago, this exact same advice (but given to me) set off lots of alarm bells in my head.
I'm thinking to myself, "Oh, hurry up and buy one of OUR test kits before we can help you. Yeah, I already see what this web site is all about". But then I think it was either @mknauss or @duraleigh that mentioned I could buy the Taylor test kit from amazon if I wished. So that got me thinking, "Well, I'll buy that one then because I'm not sure if they just repackage the same test kit from Taylor and just overcharge for it."
Boy, oh boy was I wrong with my suspicions. This site is truly filled to the brim with folks who are not looking to profit one single dime off of people who are having a tough time maintaining the pool and spas. I've seen time and time and time again where somebody who had the typical GREEN SWAMP comes back with pictures a week or two later with pretty, blue, clear and SAFE pool water. And now I know why tfteskits sells the TF-100 kit. Yes, I know it's still based off of the Taylor reagents but the K2006c kits doesn't really have enough of the reagents that somebody needs if they going to clear up a large pool via a week long SLAM process and then maintain their pool throughout the summer and fall.
And yes, I've also seen some folks coming onto this site who say, "I've been keeping my pool clean and safe with yada-yada-yada (** insert random chemical or mineral here) and y'all don't know everything about pool water". But that's ok too. If other pool owners have a method that works for them and it doesn't not include testing their own water or adding liquid chlorine most of the time to keep algae at bay, then bully for them. As long as they don't try to convince other newbies that their method is even better than learning how to test and treat our own water, more power to them.
After thinking about it for a few minutes, it is my opinion that it is really difficult for some people to locate any kind of valuable resource like this forum and quickly believe that it has people who are volunteering to help others without making a buck. People who have been pool owners for years and years and helping other brand new pool owners; who in turn become volunteers on here who help other newer pool owners. I'm sure I'm probably driving my point into the ground by now so I guess I will stop my random ranting now.
But one last point.... looking back on my beginning, I wish I would have bought the TF-100 but I did not. And now I've already bought my re-supply of reagents before I closed my pool last autumn. In the immortal words of Homer Simpson, "DOH!!"
