Hello Community!
First, I would like to thank you for sharing your knowledge and wisdom. I appreciate having these forums as a resource and have done extensive research and reading while on my quest to conquer a recurring issue I'm having. Thank you in advance for your helpful comments and suggestions!
The Problem:
We have several cabins in the Smoky Mountains with indoor swimming pools. They are small so perhaps "plunge pools" would be more appropriate. Every few months the pools become cloudy and I get a phone call from the management company telling me they can't figure out what is wrong. I make the drive up there and always find the same thing.
The Levels:
Typically, adding shock and muriatic does nothing. I've tried different types of chlorine and other products that have been recommended to me in the stores which do nothing. I have called "professionals" for help who can't figure it out either, so, I end up throwing in a sump pump and draining the water.
At first, I tried draining a quarter of the pool. When that didn't work, I tried half. After a lot of time and effort, I just started draining and refilling the entire thing. After doing this several times, I decided it would be a good idea to see about automating the pool chemistry maintenance. A local company talked me into adding automatic chlorinators to every pool, which I did. Guess what? It's still a problem!
Here's What [I think] Is Happening
My Questions
First, I would like to thank you for sharing your knowledge and wisdom. I appreciate having these forums as a resource and have done extensive research and reading while on my quest to conquer a recurring issue I'm having. Thank you in advance for your helpful comments and suggestions!
The Problem:
We have several cabins in the Smoky Mountains with indoor swimming pools. They are small so perhaps "plunge pools" would be more appropriate. Every few months the pools become cloudy and I get a phone call from the management company telling me they can't figure out what is wrong. I make the drive up there and always find the same thing.
The Levels:
- = 0 ........... Total Chlorine
- = 0 ........... Free Chlorine
- > 240 ....... Alkalinity
- > 8.4 ........ pH
- > 300 ....... Cyanuric Acid
Typically, adding shock and muriatic does nothing. I've tried different types of chlorine and other products that have been recommended to me in the stores which do nothing. I have called "professionals" for help who can't figure it out either, so, I end up throwing in a sump pump and draining the water.
At first, I tried draining a quarter of the pool. When that didn't work, I tried half. After a lot of time and effort, I just started draining and refilling the entire thing. After doing this several times, I decided it would be a good idea to see about automating the pool chemistry maintenance. A local company talked me into adding automatic chlorinators to every pool, which I did. Guess what? It's still a problem!
Here's What [I think] Is Happening
- We are adding stabilized chlorine to indoor pools
- Indoor pools don't have to worry about the sun burning up the chlorine
- Cyanuric acid levels build up causing the pool to lock up [but no one knows this]
- We add more and more chemicals which take no effect
- Cyanuric acid levels continue to climb
- TDS exceeds the point at which water can be chemically treated
- We have no choice but to drain and refill
My Questions
- Am I on the right track?
- Will switching to NON-STABILIZED chlorine help solve the problem?
- If so, where can I find this product for in-line feeders? Most products online don't provide all the details needed to make a decision on what type of chlorine it is.
So basically you are correct. I wouldn't worry about item 6 (TDS). But a major water exchange is the only way to lower the CYA. For indoor pools, you can get-by with a CYA of about 20, no more than 30 I'd say. From there we use the 
