Two kids with ear infections....newb wanting to know if its the pool

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Those pool store results sure look pretty on a nice computerized print out-------but it's still mostly lipstick on a pig.:pig: Thousands of posts here touting the inaccuracy of pool store test results. Trust your own results on a good test kit.
 
A great test kit like the TF-100 or K-2006 and knowing how to use Pool Math are all that is needed to maintain your pool. Well... that and reading, studying Pool School until you understand it. It's amazing how easy it is and how much sense it makes once you get the hang of it. Knowing the chemistry of your pool and knowing exactly what it needs is very empowering, unlike the pool store approach of "here's some numbers that LOOK nice and accurate and here's how much of your money we want."
 
I'll just say that I feel for you. Some kids are prone to get ear infections a lot more than others. I have two kids and my son never gets them and my daughter gets them all the time and it's frustrating when you worry it will affect their hearing. I don't think any of my daughters issues were from our pool. We've mainly had trouble the last two years when we go on vacation to VA and she swims in the lake. For two years straight we've ended up at the emergency room due to her ear issues. And the most frustrating part was the first visit never fixed the problem. They usually give drops which don't help and 3 days later we are back and they give a stronger anti-biotic and she gets better. We just got back from VA a couple weeks ago. It took 1 urgent care and 2 emergency room visits this year. It was 2 emergency room visits the year before.

It's a good idea to get the pool chemistry in check but it may not stop infections happening. My daugther seems to get them whenever the wind changes direction.
 
Regarding test kits - I also live in T.O. and needed a test kit. It appears that your best bet in Canada is to buy one of the Taylor Test Kits - they can be bought online from a place in Quebec called Piscines Apollo. Pretty much all American sellers of this stuff won't ship to Canada - it isn't clear to me whether this is due to licensing reasons or shipping of hazardous goods. They are something like $130 which is more than twice as much as they are in the US so you may want to buy one if you go to the US. I just got my kit yesterday and one thing that I noticed is that you don't get nearly enough CYA reagent - it will only last for a handful of tests as you need to use 7mL per test rather than a few drops which is the case with most of the other reagents. So if you are buying the kit I would also buy extra CYA reagent at the same time to save on shipping.

p.s. I am recovering from an ear infection myself and I have low CYA and had low FC in my pool with a bit of algae starting to grow.
 

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Yeah I only mentioned the Liquid Chlorine at Canadian Tire (Which is still on sale I just saw it in the flyer) because it seems to be the best bang for the buck. Walmart had Clorox for $4.30/4L of 8.25% whereas the stuff at Canadian Tire is $3.99/5L of 10.8%.
 
JeromeM said:
So far they haven't started selling grocery's, lol
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They sure do. ;)
Huge frozen foods section, bread, eggs, and such in most of the store around Ottawa.
No fresh meat or produce, yet....

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JeromeM said:
Yeah I only mentioned the Liquid Chlorine at Canadian Tire (Which is still on sale I just saw it in the flyer) because it seems to be the best bang for the buck. Walmart had Clorox for $4.30/4L of 8.25% whereas the stuff at Canadian Tire is $3.99/5L of 10.8%.
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The Aquarius (House Brand) 10.8% stuff is the one that seems to go on sale once in a while, for $3.99 for 5L.
The Purox 10.8% is shown in the flyer this week, but it's "Everyday low price" of $5.69 for 5L.
 
JeromeM said:
I can't believe they sell food at yours, I haven't seen one around Toronto selling food yet.
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I know! And they're the worst tire shop around.
Completely destroyed one of my truck tires, taking it off the wheel.

and still on sale :D
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Ah! The gas bar coupons! Usually a limit on those. :(
Looks like the regular price (4.99) of Aquarius is better than the regular price (5.69) of the Purox brand, also.
I'll fill up the truck (with gas and some chlorine) before heading out of town tonight!
 
Okay I just wanted to follow up with everyone.

First of all I wanted to say thank you very much for all the great information. You members are a life saver.

I got myself a test kit (Taylor K-1004, only one I could get my hands on quickly) and started testing the water myself. I have to say that the results I got from the store were pretty close to what I was testing. Nonetheless I went by my tests.

So I wound up adding 5L of Liquid Chlorine and half bag of salt and everything seem to be back inline now. All levels seem to be within acceptance and no new cases of ear infection.

Thanks again everyone for the help.

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wayner said:
Wal-mart has pool supplies and most of the Wal-marts here in Scarberia are open 24x7 and you can also get chlorine at grocery stores - my local Metro store is open 24x7.
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I wound up getting it at our local Canadian Tire. thanks

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Keating said:
They sure do. ;)
Huge frozen foods section, bread, eggs, and such in most of the store around Ottawa.
No fresh meat or produce, yet....

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The Aquarius (House Brand) 10.8% stuff is the one that seems to go on sale once in a while, for $3.99 for 5L.
The Purox 10.8% is shown in the flyer this week, but it's "Everyday low price" of $5.69 for 5L.
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Yah I wound up getting the Purox. How often do you guys use it?? Is this used instead of the "shock" type dry chem?
 
northrn said:
To paraphrase Richard, a pool is like a puppy. You have to care for and feed it daily even if you don't wanna play.
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Maybe I have been lucky for the most part, but I have had my pool for about 6 years and it has a SWCG. Assuming that the SWCG was working properly there was very little for me to do throughout the year once the salt and CYA were at the right levels upon opeing the pool - I checked chlorine every few days using a test strip and took a sample to the shop every month or so. This year my SWCG seems to be on the fritz and I am having issues with getting my CYA levels up to snuff so it is a bit of a different story. IMHO that is one of the beauties of an SWCG - much less regular maintenance.
 
wayner said:
Maybe I have been lucky for the most part, but I have had my pool for about 6 years and it has a SWCG. Assuming that the SWCG was working properly there was very little for me to do throughout the year once the salt and CYA were at the right levels upon opeing the pool - I checked chlorine every few days using a test strip and took a sample to the shop every month or so. This year my SWCG seems to be on the fritz and I am having issues with getting my CYA levels up to snuff so it is a bit of a different story. IMHO that is one of the beauties of an SWCG - much less regular maintenance.
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You automated the feeding, but it was still getting fed every day:mrgreen:
 
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