a friend is about to close pool for season. is it worth SLAMing or wait for spring ?

[lindaspoolboy]

A friend will be closing her pool soon (we're up in NJ).
Sounds like she has been battling algae with help (i.e. harm) from local pool store.
Is it worth getting under control now; or will the cold NJ winter kill off the algae so
we can worry about getting her BBBed in the spring ?

Thanks !
- len

 

[duraleigh]

Hard decision. If you close with a mess, you will open to a mess. Sorta' like the guy that says, " you can pay me now, or pay me later".

 

[Donldson]

If she SLAMs now, she opens to a clear pool ready to get going.

If she closes as-is most of the algae will die in the cold NJ weather, but it isn't going anywhere. So the pool will be full of dead algae, live algae that will begin regrowing as soon as the cover is removed, and with no chlorine in the water she runs the risk of a CYA-ammonia conversion. If the CYA is converted then she will need a tanker of chlorine to remove the ammonia before the pool will hold FC.

So it might not be more work to wait, but it certainly won't be less.

 

[Swampwoman]

+1 ^ By attrition I had to open a foreclosed pool when I bought this house. If she has algae now, there is a very high chance she will open to black water with ammonia!

As such, I'm reasonably confident its more a case of "pay now, or pay MORE later"

Put that puppy away clean if you can

 

[Tepelus]

If he is willing to accept some help, I think that you can measure the CYA for him. If the pool water has a big CYA concentration, than is better to clean the pool in spring time since the pool has to be drained anyway. If CYA is manageable, than one should consider SLAMing now.
Just my humble opinion.

 

[lindaspoolboy]

Well, not what i wanted to hear; but that's why I asked.

Thanks everyone.