Water clarifiers and polishers?

[C3Cl3N3O3]

I've got a few quarts left over of Oasis Pools Super Sheen Water Clarifier and Polisher. Are these types of additives safe to use, or are there any residual build-ups of anything I need to be concerned with? They do improve the sheen a bit, so I was going to continue to use it occasionally prior to gatherings at the pool. The bottle doesn't list the ingredients or the company that actually makes it. I don't use any other pool store chemicals other than pH Down. My water looks pretty darn good without it.

 

[duraleigh]

If you are sure you get good results with no side effects, it's your call to use them.

Mostly we get reports of them doing no good whatsoever and sometime causing problems instead of helping. The filters in this thread are surely plugged because of the use of floc or clarifiers. Learning how to use my test kit....

 

[chem geek]

You shouldn't use them with a DE filter, but if you've got a sand or cartridge filter you don't mind cleaning on occasion then they won't hurt so long as you don't overdose them. Also keep in mind that some clarifiers are incompatible with some kinds of metal sequestrants and will create a precipitated cloudy mess.

 

[C3Cl3N3O3]

Great thanks. It's a sand filter. I might use it sparingly if at all.

 

[udailey]

I have a DE and I use flocculant. Sometimes I get a 5-8psi increase in the DE filter. I backwash for 10 seconds or less and its fine. I bought 4 gallons of floc online for 99 dollars. Pretty good price. Total Solutions Pool Clarifier | Factory Direct Chemicals
I do like the fact that it clears up cloudy water quick. 2-4 hours and the improvement is obvious. 8 hours and its the clearest water ever.

 

[Donldson]

I bought 4 gallons of floc online for 99 dollars. Pretty good price.

I maintain proper water chemistry and have perfectly clear water without ever spending a dime on floc or clarifier. I call that a considerably better deal.

Just a heads up, it sounds like you are using floc wrong. You apply floc, shut off your filter, allow everything to settle and then vacuum to waste. Allowing floc to circulate through your filter could essentially turn your DE in to cement. Make sure you are using the product correctly.

 

[udailey]

No I didn't know about vacuuming to waste. Glad you told me.

 

[AprilsZoo]

Not to mention that if you are needing to use floc often enough to stockpile 4 gallons :cyclopsani: of it... then you likely have underlying water quality issues that are causing the cloudiness in your pool.

Flocculent tends to become a band-aid approach to water quality... it's intended and useful purpose is to overcome (hopefully temporary) poor filtration.

Since you have a DE filter, this is almost certainly NOT your problem, unless your filter is malfunctioning in some way.

The erroneous "pool store" wisdom is that every cloudy pool needs flocculent or clarifier (or worse yet, both )
And it just isn't true in 99.5% of cases...
But it does keep people on confusing merry-go-round of the impossible-to-keep-clear pool. While in the process, clearing out their wallet, if not their pool .

The simple truth is that if you are relying on test results from one of the recommended kits, and are willing to read & :study: learn a few basic principles and stay out of the pool store (unless you know exactly what you need and can get in and get out), then you will have a clear pool that will be Trouble Free and easy to maintain, because you will know the reason for everything you are adding to your pool, and you will be confident in your ability to keep your pool safe, sanitary, and sparkly clean.