Where do you all buy chemicals?

[NCleavelin]

I'm new to this forum and a newbie at pool maintenance - been doing it awhile but always used the pool shop to test and never have gained the pool knowledge I ultimately want. Not too thrilled overall with my pool water (it looks ok and clear but not as good as I think it could be)

I have a 15K gallon chlorine pool, with a DE filter in North Texas (sorry I'll work on my signature later when I have time)

Maybe this is a dumb question, but where do you all buy your chemicals?

And I've always used granular shock, and had no idea about liquid chlorine until now. Should I be using that instead of granular shock? And do I still use tabs in the floaters? I don't have an automatic chlorinator or anything

I ordered my T-100 Pro test kit just now!

 

[Texas Splash]

Maybe this is a dumb question, but where do you all buy your chemicals?

You know, about 1-2 years ago it may have sounded silly, but today it's a battle trying to find anything in stock. Liquid chlorine used to be plentiful at Home Depot, Walmart, and the pool store, but sometimes it's hit & miss. Muriatic acid is generally still at the pol store or hardware center. Stabilizer when needed can get tricky or just order it online. Those are the big ones. Yes, stick to liquid chlorine as the powdered products will increase your CYA (or CH).

Be sure to visit our Pool Care Basics page for tons of great info. Welcome to TFP!

 

[RickRude]

Hey, we're neighbors! See this recent post of mine in which I compiled some local sources of liquid chlorine.

Best Places to Buy Liquid Chlorine

Here is an updated link for the HASA dealer locator I just found: Find Where You Can Buy HASA Products | HASA Pool Liquid Chlorine

www.troublefreepool.com

Wal Mart raised their price of Pool Essentials to $4.97. The Home Depot price is more attractive now, but I was there this past weekend and the outdoor product was already 2 months old, so unless I happen to be there when they've just replinished, I'll probably stick w/ Wal Mart. But let me know if you wanna split the bulk at Pinch a Penny.

 

[kul]

I thought the chlorine shortage last year was due to a factory fire or something? Was the factory ever rebuilt? Or is this why we have the shortage still?

 

[Homebrewale]

Chlorine from Walmart or Home Depot, muriatic acid from Home Depot, CYA from Walmart, Lowes or Home Depot, and baking soda from Costco.

 

[DrewLG]

If I had a 25,000 gallon unshaded pool in Arizona I'd probably shop around for the very lowest prices. But my pool's small and only in full sun for a few hours a day, so I don't use a lot of chlorine.

Since the difference between best and worst price doesn't add up to many actual dollars for me, I pay a little extra to get my chlorine and muriatic acid from the local family-owned pool store. Their HASA chlorine is always very freshly bottled, and I like supporting local businesses anyway.

 

[atxjmy512]

I get my liquid chlorine from Walmart (Pool Essentials @ $4.97) and my Muriatic Acid from Home Depot (2, 1 gal jugs for $17).

 

[Mdragger88]

For the liquid chlorine that I use to supplement my swg-
I have a local mom & pop pool store that sells refillable 2.5 gal jugs w/ a deposit & it’s always fresh - otherwise it’s Walmart

They also currently have cya/stabilizer cheaper (5#/$20) than my usual place (4#/$20 @Walmart)

I have a vinyl pool & no heater so I don’t buy calcium chloride but on the occasion I choose to add a little to my spa I get the clorox brand one from Walmart.

I rarely need to adjust ph so the Muriatic acid I bought 2 + yrs ago at Home Depot still has a lot left in it.

I have maybe bought 5# of baking soda in 3 yrs (Walmart) as my Ta doesn’t really fall because I rarely use acidic products.

I get pool salt at the local hardware store, Walmart, lowes, or sometimes the pool store- so long as it’s not clorox brand, it’s convenient & a decent price.

I get boric acid once a year from duda diesel.com

Most of my reagents come from tftestkits.net but I have bought a large bottle of cya reagent & some others on amazon.

Skimmer socks/hair nets, scum bugs, skimmer baskets & other random pool stuffs - amazon

I only use pucks for vacations
& the occasional cya increase, fc increase, ph lowering trifecta they provide when it’s super hot & I run my fountain 24/7. Even so, I do so sparingly.
I have what amounts to a lifetime supply as my friend’s pool died so he gave me a huge bucket.

As u can see - Most items can be obtained at your local hardware/grocery/big box stores - I do like to support my local mom & pop when I can, I just don’t get my water tested there & don’t ask their advice or buy products I don’t intend to buy there.

Recommended chemicals

Non-Recommended Pool Chemicals

These pool chemicals should not be added to your pool. While stores may try to sell you these products we share why you should avoid each of them.

www.google.com

Please check PoolMath
effects of adding section & look at how each 8oz puck or 1# of “shock” will effect your water chemistry.
The fc gets consumed daily
but the cya (from trichlor/dichlor)
or
calcium (from cal hypo) remains & can only be removed via water exchange.

Calcium Hardness - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[ladylonghorn]

I see you are from Plano! I'm just from up the road in Frisco. I took over all chemical maintenance several months ago after complete mismanagement and over use of the tablets by local pool cleaning companies. I've been exclusively liquid for 3 months now.

I alternate between liquid chlorine and liquid bleach. Honestly I find that the price per gallon is pretty similar however liquid chlorine is higher concentrated so I use slightly less.

I buy bleach from Kroger or Walmart. Liquid chlorine from Pinch a Penny. They just had a good deal - buy one jug (2.5 gal) get one 50% off. I actually increased from having 2 jugs to 4 to take advantage and not have to refill as often.

 

[NCleavelin]

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome!

• So ok - sounds like I should be using Liquid Chlorine instead of granular shock (good thing since I just about ran out of granular shock!). So I'm going to try Pinch a Penny for the fresh stuff...or else Wal-Mart
• I got my TF Pro test kit in the mail today - soo excited but soo intimidated! Going to test my water this evening and see how this goes... If I need to, can I post my results here to get some advice on what I should be doing? My daughter is having her 7th birthday party this Saturday in our pool! Water looks clear and decent, but want it to be in tip top shape!
• I know this info is somewhere, but just the basics...what is the ideal level for chlorine, pH, and CYA? I'm still learning all this stuff, and I'm sure the kit will tell me once I dive in
• And how much liquid chlorine do you put in, if your chlorine is low, or does it vary? I have a 15K gallon pool in Texas.
• Also, do you all still use tabs in the floater, if you use liquid chlorine? I don't have an automatic chlorinator...just a floater in the pool and one floater in the hot tub. I usually put in 1 tab in each floater, once a week, but not sure if that's still needed!

Thanks in advance and sorry if these are super newbie questions! I updated my signature - hopefully I did it right!

 

[kul]

If you haven’t done it yet, DL poolmath so you know where your levels should be
PoolMath

 

[RickRude]

Don't be intimidated. Testing is easier than lugging chlorine jugs out to the pool. The maker of your kit even has a series of Youtube videos explaining how to do each test.

TF100TestKit

The TF-100 sets the standard for excellence in Pool Testing Kits. It contains 7 separate tests to give you accurate readings on each important pool water par...

www.youtube.com

Recommended levels are posted here: What Are My Ideal Pool Levels?

And PoolMath will tell you how much to add.

 

[KJB1]

Hey, we're neighbors! See this recent post of mine in which I compiled some local sources of liquid chlorine.

Best Places to Buy Liquid Chlorine

Here is an updated link for the HASA dealer locator I just found: Find Where You Can Buy HASA Products | HASA Pool Liquid Chlorine

www.troublefreepool.com

Wal Mart raised their price of Pool Essentials to $4.97. The Home Depot price is more attractive now, but I was there this past weekend and the outdoor product was already 2 months old, so unless I happen to be there when they've just replinished, I'll probably stick w/ Wal Mart. But let me know if you wanna split the bulk at Pinch a Penny.

Exact same issue in So. California

 

[IceShadow]

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome!

• So ok - sounds like I should be using Liquid Chlorine instead of granular shock (good thing since I just about ran out of granular shock!). So I'm going to try Pinch a Penny for the fresh stuff...or else Wal-Mart

Yep, LC is good because it doesn’t add anything to your pool except chlorine and some salt.

• I got my TF Pro test kit in the mail today - soo excited but soo intimidated! Going to test my water this evening and see how this goes... If I need to, can I post my results here to get some advice on what I should be doing? My daughter is having her 7th birthday party this Saturday in our pool! Water looks clear and decent, but want it to be in tip top shape!

Please do and we can give advice.

• I know this info is somewhere, but just the basics...what is the ideal level for chlorine, pH, and CYA? I'm still learning all this stuff, and I'm sure the kit will tell me once I dive in

Someone posted the levels below. The most important thing is to follow the FC/CYA Levels, keep your CSI around 0, and pH in the 7s.

• And how much liquid chlorine do you put in, if your chlorine is low, or does it vary? I have a 15K gallon pool in Texas.

I use a gallon every other day of 12.5% in my 20k pool but I’m to the north of you. If my pool is covered, it uses much less. Maybe a gallon every 4-5 days.

• Also, do you all still use tabs in the floater, if you use liquid chlorine? I don't have an automatic chlorinator...just a floater in the pool and one floater in the hot tub. I usually put in 1 tab in each floater, once a week, but not sure if that's still needed!

Tabs add CYA. I have some but I don’t use them. I plan to if I’m ever out of town without someone able to watch the pool.

Thanks in advance and sorry if these are super newbie questions! I updated my signature - hopefully I did it right!

Looks good to me.

 

[NCleavelin]

Ok my very first test is in the books! Let me know your thoughts/tips/advice! Know for sure I need to add acid first to lower pH, right? And then add chlorine?

I ended up finding multiple (quite a bit - maybe 15ish) 1 lb packs of granular shock at my house - should I use those up since I have them or just get rid of them/sell them and go buy Liquid Chlorine to use right away?

pH 8.2
Chlorine 0
Calcium Hardness 375
Total Alkalinity 80
CYA ~30 (not sure on this one as once I filled it up to the 30 line, I could still somewhat see the black dot in the tube)

 

[kul]

Know for sure I need to add acid first to lower pH, right? And then add chlorine?

Correct! Use liquid chlorine if you can so you are not adding anything extra. The poolmath app will provide you with exact amount of Muriatic acid and chlorine that you need to add. Don’t add both at once. Add one in front of a return, wait 20-30 minutes and then add next one. When you add MA, do it super slow like a pencil width stream. I usually turn up my pump speed to help speed the process and brush the area where I poured to make sure it’s all moving around.

 

[NCleavelin]

Correct! Use liquid chlorine if you can so you are not adding anything extra. The poolmath app will provide you with exact amount of Muriatic acid and chlorine that you need to add. Don’t add both at once. Add one in front of a return, wait 20-30 minutes and then add next one. When you add MA, do it super slow like a pencil width stream. I usually turn up my pump speed to help speed the process and brush the area where I poured to make sure it’s all moving around.

So I've always diluted the MA in a 5 gallon bucket of water and just poured into the middle of the pool (of course that's what the pool shop had told me before so no clue if that's right)

Do I dilute the MA or just pour it in straight up but like you said, in front of a return and super slow?

What does the PoolMath app mean when it says "add __ by volume to reach your target"? The chlorine part says "Add 125 oz or 1 gallon by volume to reach your target"...I put in "Bleach" as the type...if I'm buying Liquid Chlorine from Wal-Mart is that the type I put in? Or is it Trichlor, Dichlor, etc?

 

[Mdragger88]

Adding acid to a bucket of water just makes a big bucket of acid you might spill & has u handling it twice.
Just pour it from the bottle, slowly in front of a return. Brush the area. Hold the bottle over the water, this way if u spill it, it goes in the pool, not on u or the pool deck/surfaces.
Bleach is liquid chlorine is sodium hypochlorite- all the same in pool math.
You must put in the percentage- likely 10%
Liquids are measured by volume (oz, gallons)
Solids are measured by weight (oz, grams)

 

[kul]

Do I dilute the MA or just pour it in straight up but like you said, in front of a return and super slow?

I pour it straight up. You do not need to dilute it.

What does the PoolMath app mean when it says "add __ by volume to reach your target"? The chlorine part says "Add 125 oz or 1 gallon by volume to reach your target"...I put in "Bleach" as the type...if I'm buying Liquid Chlorine from Wal-Mart is that the type I put in? Or is it Trichlor, Dichlor, etc?

Poolmath let’s you select the type of chlorine- such as 10%, 12.5% etc. Liquid chlorine is the same thing as bleach. For some reason TFP likes to call it bleach. I have always thought it odd but it’s the same thing so whatevs.
If it’s telling you to add a gallon then that means you selected liquid chlorine/bleach and a %. So add a gallon of what you selected.

 

[NCleavelin]

Adding acid to a bucket of water just makes a big bucket of acid you might spill & has u handling it twice.
Just pour it from the bottle, slowly in front of a return. Brush the area. Hold the bottle over the water, this way if u spill it, it goes in the pool, not on u or the pool deck/surfaces.
Bleach is liquid chlorine is sodium hypochlorite- all the same in pool math.
You must put in the percentage- likely 10%
Liquids are measured by volume (oz, gallons)
Solids are measured by weight (oz, grams)

This is all solid info...thank you!

Last question - does it matter if I do the acid first or liquid chlorine, as long as I wait 20-30 minutes in between each one?