Recent content by Vette

You're probably going to want to stick with bleach. AFAIK, the only form of chlorine that won't mess with your CYA is lithium shock which is very, very expensive and only comes in powdered forms (no tabs for feeders). Bleach is pretty inexpensive and once you get into the habit of it, the daily...

:goodpost: Stacia, welcome to TFP! :swim: :cheers: Pool school will change your pool ownership life for the better. Knowledge is power and you'll end up spending a lot less time taking care of your pool; as a bonus, your pool will be unbelievably clear like you might have never seen a pool...

You want to keep the chlorine at shock level throughout the whole process. With work and other responsibilities it may slip a little below that, but try to keep it above that level as much as possible (I'll admit, I've never actually gone through the SLAM process, my pool has behaved pretty well...

The higher your CYA, the higher you have to hold your FC for the slam. You'd be better off lowering the CYA before beginning. Bleach does not add to your CYA level, which is why it is the best form of chlorine for a pool. Trichlor and other stabilized forms of chlorine (Trichlor is the 1" and...

Yes, you pour bleach into the pool into your return jet (where the water streams back into your pool after going through the filter). That disperses the bleach around. You'll want to keep the filter running 24/7 throughout the whole process and you should be good at long as you maintain shock...

Do you have your own test kit? That will be essential to proper maintenance of your pool! If you don't, we highly, highly, highly recommend the TF-100 kit. You are going to need Cyanuric Acid. You can buy it almost anywhere that has pool chemicals. Get the granule version, not liquid (it'll...

You have no free chlorine and your CYA is on the high end of what we recommend. You should add some bleach right away to bump your FC up, having no FC is going to allow stuff to grow really fast. At the top of the page is "PoolMath" which you can use to see how much bleach you need to add to get...

Great work! Keep it filtering and get swimming!

I can't tell from your pictures how structurally sound the pool itself is. Obviously the walls outside the pool are in rough shape, but the pool looks OK. Still, it's a 25 year old pool... not sure what I'd do in this situation

Please take lots of pictures! Love a good cleanup store.

Hi mbusd. I usually add bleach in front of the jet so it disperses quickly, but I know some people do other methods. If you pump is running, it will eventually mix up fine. Don't add to the skimmer though, you don't want super concentrated chemicals flowing through your equipment.

Sounds good, let us know how it goes!

I know that the Never Lube valves are expensive, but IMO they are worth it. I have one even on my above ground equipment (along with one Jandy check valve). Ball Valves get brittle in the sun so that handle will crack right off one time when you try to turn it. Then you'll have to bring a wrench...

You don't have valves that you can use to shut off the water supply to the pump equipment? If you have those, you should be able to take apart the filter even with the pool filled.

I think it's funny how pool builders throw undersized cartridges on pools then tell people they are high maintenance. First season we didn't have to clean the cartridges mid-season, and last year we only had to do it once.