Most of the builders by me have a store that compliments the construction business.
I knew I was Pool Stored when...
- Thread starter PoolStored
- Start date
I am also one of the lucky people who found TFP within three weeks of buying a house with a pool. I wore my swimsuit to our closing because I was so excited. We went swimming as soon as we got the keys.
The previous owners left behind a pool store arsenal. I wondered why anyone would need huge containers of Alkalinity Up and Alkalinity Down, and pH Increaser and pH Decreaser. They also had various pucks, test strips, algecides, metal inhibitors, clarifiers, flocculants, cal-hypo, and granular shock. Now I know that cabinet might as well have had a big sign on it that said, "Drain and refill."
Two weeks later, before we had even moved in, I noticed the pool had yellowish algae all over. It was about 10pm, which saved me from being pool stored. I found TFP pretty quickly and was impressed that it was the only resource that actually explained pool chemistry. I bought a proper test kit, resisted the urge to use the canister of Yellow Out in the cabinet, and started my first SLAM. My husband was worried that I would hurt our 15-year-old liner, but we had already decided to replace it the next year, so stakes were low. The water sort of improved, but the CYA was sky high and fall was closing in. The TFP method helped me understand my options, and I decided that it was best to close early (right after Labor Day) and start fresh in the spring after the liner was replaced. That decision alone saved me so much time, aggravation, and $$$. I spent the winter reading up on pool chemistry and lurking in the TFP forums. Once the new liner was in and the pool was filled, I knew exactly what to do.
The knowledge I've gained from TFP has given me the confidence to manage my pool, which feels great and helps me save money. Now the pool is an enjoyable hobby instead of a stressful chore.
The previous owners left behind a pool store arsenal. I wondered why anyone would need huge containers of Alkalinity Up and Alkalinity Down, and pH Increaser and pH Decreaser. They also had various pucks, test strips, algecides, metal inhibitors, clarifiers, flocculants, cal-hypo, and granular shock. Now I know that cabinet might as well have had a big sign on it that said, "Drain and refill."
Two weeks later, before we had even moved in, I noticed the pool had yellowish algae all over. It was about 10pm, which saved me from being pool stored. I found TFP pretty quickly and was impressed that it was the only resource that actually explained pool chemistry. I bought a proper test kit, resisted the urge to use the canister of Yellow Out in the cabinet, and started my first SLAM. My husband was worried that I would hurt our 15-year-old liner, but we had already decided to replace it the next year, so stakes were low. The water sort of improved, but the CYA was sky high and fall was closing in. The TFP method helped me understand my options, and I decided that it was best to close early (right after Labor Day) and start fresh in the spring after the liner was replaced. That decision alone saved me so much time, aggravation, and $$$. I spent the winter reading up on pool chemistry and lurking in the TFP forums. Once the new liner was in and the pool was filled, I knew exactly what to do.
The knowledge I've gained from TFP has given me the confidence to manage my pool, which feels great and helps me save money. Now the pool is an enjoyable hobby instead of a stressful chore.
When we got our pool, we went to the local mom and pop pool store that the previous pool owner had used, took the BioGuard classes, bought everything they recommended and proceeded to do what we were told like good little newbies. We routinely got the water tested for proper chemical levels and bought whatever they recommended.
We do partially drain every year because of Michigan winters and hard freezes requiring lowered water levels. (I didn't like having to take apart the skimmer opening to install the winter guard.)
We went through cycles of clear water and cloudy then greenish water for the first few years.
Finally, it came to a head when the water started turning cloudy and the pool store employee told me the pool's calcium was too high and we'd have to drain it. He told me he did not own a pool and would never own one even though his kids kept begging for one. (He never seemed very enthusiastic about his job.)
I went home and started researching what to do about high calcium levels and found TFP. Ordered TF-100 test kit.
FYI, we did not have high calcium but instead it was high cya, low fc and an algae bloom starting.
It was great to be able to get the pool TFP sparkly clear and no longer be pool stored.
I returned to the local pool store for water testing just for kicks. Of course, it never matched the TF-100 readings.
In the 16 years we've had the pool, we are on first name basis with the manager and get things we need when coupons are available but don't buy the chemicals. I still have some filter cleaning potions, pucks and bags of shock from 12 years ago but rarely use them. Funny thing is, they don't go bad and last a long time when you don't use them. LOL.
It's taken 5 years to get through the huge bucket of pucks.
We do partially drain every year because of Michigan winters and hard freezes requiring lowered water levels. (I didn't like having to take apart the skimmer opening to install the winter guard.)
We went through cycles of clear water and cloudy then greenish water for the first few years.
Finally, it came to a head when the water started turning cloudy and the pool store employee told me the pool's calcium was too high and we'd have to drain it. He told me he did not own a pool and would never own one even though his kids kept begging for one. (He never seemed very enthusiastic about his job.)
I went home and started researching what to do about high calcium levels and found TFP. Ordered TF-100 test kit.
FYI, we did not have high calcium but instead it was high cya, low fc and an algae bloom starting.
It was great to be able to get the pool TFP sparkly clear and no longer be pool stored.
I returned to the local pool store for water testing just for kicks. Of course, it never matched the TF-100 readings.
In the 16 years we've had the pool, we are on first name basis with the manager and get things we need when coupons are available but don't buy the chemicals. I still have some filter cleaning potions, pucks and bags of shock from 12 years ago but rarely use them. Funny thing is, they don't go bad and last a long time when you don't use them. LOL.
It's taken 5 years to get through the huge bucket of pucks.
My PB had the vsp and larger cartridge filter already built in to price. Added SWG 2 waterfalls and gas heater. Automation was part of set price. No haggling or nickle and diming. Piping getting run to equipment today woohoo.
I’ll admit I like Leslie’s Salt and CaCL. I think they are the best out there and I’m willing to pay more for it so I go to the “pool store” for them (yes I know I can get “similar” items on Amazon or elsewhere for cheaper but again I think they are the best).
Anyways I was standing in line waiting to pay and the clerk was giving the guy ahead of me his water chemistry measurements. I heard him say the following
1. “don’t worry about that 180 CYA, it has nothing to do with water chemistry and won’t affect anything”
I just laughed as I saw him sell him phosphate remover, clarifiers, algecide, and other stuff Im not sure even what they were. $200 later he was out the door. Absurd. I didn’t spend $100 on my pool total in 2022…
TFP is the BEST thing out there for pool owners. No question.
Anyways I was standing in line waiting to pay and the clerk was giving the guy ahead of me his water chemistry measurements. I heard him say the following
1. “don’t worry about that 180 CYA, it has nothing to do with water chemistry and won’t affect anything”
I just laughed as I saw him sell him phosphate remover, clarifiers, algecide, and other stuff Im not sure even what they were. $200 later he was out the door. Absurd. I didn’t spend $100 on my pool total in 2022…
TFP is the BEST thing out there for pool owners. No question.
- Jun 1, 2018
- 13,930
- Pool Size
- 26000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
Its all about the knowledge! Know what you need & what you don’t.
I feel sorry for that customer.
We've all been there but we didn't seek out more information until we had major fails with the pool store advice.
I still feel sorry for him. I didn't know enough 12 years ago either.
Oh boy... I'm almost ashamed to admit how badly I was "pool stored" the first couple frustrating years of owning a pool. When we bought our house, it had a pool, and I was more or less ambivalent about it. I'd never had a pool before so this was my first experience with maintaining one. During the house-buying process, I talked to the previous owner and he warned me away from the pool store, but gave me advice just as bad as the pool stores do. He assured me that in 3 years of owning the house, the only thing he'd ever needed to put in the pool was trichlor pucks. He said to just keep them in the floater at all times, and your water will be crystal clear. Well, that worked for a little while and things seemed okay, until the algae showed up, and no matter how much chlorine I threw at it, it would not die. Of course, I know now this was because of my CYA being through the roof from the trichlor. I ended up draining and refilling the pool that year, but I still felt clueless about how to keep it from happening again.
So what did I do? Well, naturally, I sought pool experts at the pool store! I didn't know much about pool stores either, but I had heard of Leslie's so I went there. They gave me a little plastic bottle (which I still have and use to fill my tubes to test on my own) and sent me home to get a sample of my pool water. I visited a couple times, each time leaving with hundreds of dollars of snake oil, magical remedies, and mystery chemicals which never did anything. It makes me sick now to think of how much money I wasted on clarifiers, flocculents, algaecides, phosphate removers, and other mysterious concoctions. At one point during a visit, I had two employees get into a heated argument about the dangers of copper algaecides in front of me.
Eventually, I had a visit that convinced me they neither knew anything about pool chemistry, nor had my best interest in mind. I brought in a water sample and the guy working there poured it into a machine, which I assumed must be industry-standard high-tech wizardry. And then... he started lecturing me.
"Did you add acid to lower your pH?"
Me: "Well, yeah, it was too high"
"NEVER add acid to your pool! It ruins the water!
Me: "But the-"
"Acid is like putting drugs in your pool! It's like heroin! Does that scare you? It should! I'm trying to scare you!"
Me, thinking: "Uhh what on earth?"
"And look at your Total Dissolved Solids! 500! Do you shock your pool?"
Me: "Yeah once a week or so"
"You don't need to shock the pool. All the other idiots working at Leslie's tell you to do it but it ruins your water."
I asked about alkalinity and pH and he told me to never worry about those - just keep the chlorine in range and alkalinity and pH would "follow". (This is, of course, nonsense!) At this point, I should have turned around left the store, but I assumed he had to know something that I didn't. He also told me the water in his pool was 20 years old, never drained, and he never used any chemicals in it besides chlorine. He insisted I should only use Leslie's brand of dichlor because it's "99% pure", pointing out the active ingredients (failing to mention that a lot of that 99% is CYA - probably because he didn't know). "The liquid stuff? Pffft, it's only 10%! You're paying for 90% water!" he told me.
When I left, I had a very bad feeling about the money I was spending at this place, so I started searching online and found TFP. I made my first post about this visit to Leslie's and it was @Dirk who gave me the very best of advice:
Sometimes, I think about bringing some water to Leslie's just for the free entertainment value. I haven't bought anything from them in years. They are scam artists on the level of the used car salesman at the local lemon lot.
So what did I do? Well, naturally, I sought pool experts at the pool store! I didn't know much about pool stores either, but I had heard of Leslie's so I went there. They gave me a little plastic bottle (which I still have and use to fill my tubes to test on my own) and sent me home to get a sample of my pool water. I visited a couple times, each time leaving with hundreds of dollars of snake oil, magical remedies, and mystery chemicals which never did anything. It makes me sick now to think of how much money I wasted on clarifiers, flocculents, algaecides, phosphate removers, and other mysterious concoctions. At one point during a visit, I had two employees get into a heated argument about the dangers of copper algaecides in front of me.
Eventually, I had a visit that convinced me they neither knew anything about pool chemistry, nor had my best interest in mind. I brought in a water sample and the guy working there poured it into a machine, which I assumed must be industry-standard high-tech wizardry. And then... he started lecturing me.
"Did you add acid to lower your pH?"
Me: "Well, yeah, it was too high"
"NEVER add acid to your pool! It ruins the water!
Me: "But the-"
"Acid is like putting drugs in your pool! It's like heroin! Does that scare you? It should! I'm trying to scare you!"
Me, thinking: "Uhh what on earth?"
"And look at your Total Dissolved Solids! 500! Do you shock your pool?"
Me: "Yeah once a week or so"
"You don't need to shock the pool. All the other idiots working at Leslie's tell you to do it but it ruins your water."
I asked about alkalinity and pH and he told me to never worry about those - just keep the chlorine in range and alkalinity and pH would "follow". (This is, of course, nonsense!) At this point, I should have turned around left the store, but I assumed he had to know something that I didn't. He also told me the water in his pool was 20 years old, never drained, and he never used any chemicals in it besides chlorine. He insisted I should only use Leslie's brand of dichlor because it's "99% pure", pointing out the active ingredients (failing to mention that a lot of that 99% is CYA - probably because he didn't know). "The liquid stuff? Pffft, it's only 10%! You're paying for 90% water!" he told me.
When I left, I had a very bad feeling about the money I was spending at this place, so I started searching online and found TFP. I made my first post about this visit to Leslie's and it was @Dirk who gave me the very best of advice:
Further in my first thread, @Mr Bruce added to the conversation too, further convincing me that these TFP guys might know what's up:
Sometimes, I think about bringing some water to Leslie's just for the free entertainment value. I haven't bought anything from them in years. They are scam artists on the level of the used car salesman at the local lemon lot.
- Nov 12, 2017
- 11,931
- Pool Size
- 12300
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Most of us could tell almost the exact same story, with very few alternate details. I'm glad you found us and have stuck around. Sorry I shouted at you!
Perhaps, but they serve an important purpose. The little squeeze bottles are awesome, first off. I still use mine every time I test. And (at least at my local store) they sell a lot of chlorine, and keep it inside. Which means there's a good chance they'll always have the freshest chlorine when I need it. They sell lots of things I might need someday, and it's good to have them around. Not for advice, but because they stock many useful items. Big box stores also stock pool supplies, but they don't generally store them as well, or rotate them properly. We can't rely only on online stores, that's not a good long-term strategy.
Leslie's no longer solicits me. They know me. I buy stuff regularly and so we have an unspoken agreement. I'll come in once in a while, and they won't try to sell me stuff I don't need. It's an equitable arrangement.
Don't be sorry! I appreciate it. I needed it.Most of us could tell almost the exact same story, with very few alternate details. I'm glad you found us and have stuck around. Sorry I shouted at you!
Perhaps, but they serve an important purpose. The little squeeze bottles are awesome, first off. I still use mine every time I test. And (at least at my local store) they sell a lot of chlorine, and keep it inside. Which means there's a good chance they'll always have the freshest chlorine when I need it. They sell lots of things I might need someday, and it's good to have them around. Not for advice, but because they stock many useful items. Big box stores also stock pool supplies, but they don't generally store them as well, or rotate them properly. We can't rely only on online stores, that's not a good long-term strategy.
Leslie's no longer solicits me. They know me. I buy stuff regularly and so we have an unspoken agreement. I'll come in once in a while, and they won't try to sell me stuff I don't need. It's an equitable arrangement.
You do have a point about the squeeze bottle, I still use mine as well, and the stock of actual useful chemicals. It sounds like there are a number of people who don't have any alternative pool stores to choose from. Here in the Phoenix area, we have a ton, and I found a smaller family owned chain who I've been buying liquid chlorine from for the past few years.
Decoy205
Silver Supporter
+3. On the bottle lol I use mine for testing. I almost think they purposely don’t train the “sales reps” ( which by me are just kids in their summer jobs it seems). they probably just say run the water through the computer and sell what it says. Lol
It’s maddening that the best thing Leslie’s has to offer is a plastic squeeze bottle. (And it is good. I really love mine.) But it really captures the whole concept of being pool stored. “Free” testing!!! Hahaha.
When I was told "we are pool experts." Only got to swim 4 times from May 28th to September 2nd, 2019. I probably paid over $1,200 in chems that year. Just opened to a clear pool again for the 3rd year in a row.
Over a decade ago... I was new to maintaining a pool, and it was turning greenish every other week. Pool Store kept selling products like 'green to clean' or whatever. Learned from here that first summer, very quickly... and all my neighbors and friends could never believe how clear my pool was "It looks like drinking water!"
Thanks TFP!
Thanks TFP!
I stopped at the local pool store on the way home (, $31.00 for a 5 gal. jug of chlorine.) Fresh, they were just cutting the plastic off of the pallet of jugs.
The guy in front of me got pool stored for $150.00, 2 little bottles of something, (to raise his ta little bit, I overheard the clerk saying.)
The guy in front of me got pool stored for $150.00, 2 little bottles of something, (to raise his ta little bit, I overheard the clerk saying.)
- Nov 12, 2017
- 11,931
- Pool Size
- 12300
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
I've yet to achieved success (full TFP Conversion), but I have pulled people aside to sell them on TFP when I see something like this. Not in the store, of course, but after they get outside. Usually get a blank stare or a stranger-danger vibe, but I don't care, it's a good deed whether they accept it or not. I've pointed out chlorine date codes in big box stores, too.
Do Superman and Batman take this kind of abuse?
You can lead a horse to [clean pool] water, but you can't make him drink [the TFP kool-aid].
Maybe it's the costume. You should dress up before you go to the pool store and let us know how that works out for you
*narrator voice*
Has Superman finally met his match against The Swindler ? Man of Steel VS Man of Steal. Coming July 2023 to a Leslie's near you.
Turbo1Ton
Gold Supporter
- Dec 26, 2019
- 1,841
- Pool Size
- 14500
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
- Nov 12, 2017
- 11,931
- Pool Size
- 12300
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Maybe it's the costume. You should dress up before you go to the pool store and let us know how that works out for you
