Drain pool and start over?

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KJFankhauser

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May 5, 2013
5
Charleston, WV
Long story short we had a horrible summer last year, rain rain rain, and had a baby so the pool wasn't used much. I ended up with cloudy water towards the end of summer, which we flocked per local pool stores suggestion(chemistry was fine). After I flocked I tried a few times to sweep, even on waste, and it would just stir up the 'yuck' and become cloudy again. Fast forwards to about a month ago and my pool cover fell in so now I have leaves and such in there too. I got what I could with the net but still gross...

My question... at this point am I better off draining it completely and starting over? I'm afraid to drain because I've read liners slip?
Its an 18' above ground pool (not the blow up kind)

Any auggestions? Also if it would help clear I'm open to changing to chlorine from baqucil.
 
You're right. A total drain is almost never a good idea. You could do a partial drain (about 1-2 ft remaining) if you felt there was a lot of debris that might otherwise be difficult to see or get to. Either way though, the pool will require a "SLAM" (link below in my signature). Actually, I now see you still have baqucil in the water, so you'll want to review this page first: Pool School - Convert Your Baqua Pool to Chlorine.

Either way, you MUST have the proper test kit. I would suggest the TF-100 (link below) because it has the reagents required to read FC at the high levels required to eliminate algae. I would also recommend taking a look at our Pool School page as that will help guide you as well. It can all be done and has been done many times. But you must have the right test kit and be committed to doing it yourself. No pool store products or advise.

If you have any questions, please let us know.
 
I have a neighbor with a Baqua pool who spends way more time and money on his than I do on my chlorine pool. Once I got mine balanced thanks to this site, I spend about 10 - 15 min/week keeping it up. Mine is always clear and his is usually cloudy. A well balanced chlorine pool only needs chlorine added a couple times/wk. As for cleaning what you have, I would get the sanitizer level up to the shock range as was mentioned. This will clear up the water. If you can set your return jet to circulate the water into a whirlpool pattern, all of the debris will eventually wind up in the middle which will make getting it out easier.
 
KJFankhauser said:
Fun stuff. Okay. Hopefully I can fish everything out then. Changing to chlorine is my last resort just because the chemicals seem way hard with a full time job and no one else to help
Thanks for the advice though!
Click to expand...
If you don't let the pool store mess you up, maintaining proper chemistry is really easy. I doubt I spend five minutes a day on the pool, and maybe an hour once a week to vacuum and brush. The key is to know your pool. With your own test kit, you'll know it intimately in a couple weeks, to where you can guess with precision what test results you'll get.

The other alternative is to go with a saltwater chlorine generator. Then you don't have to mess around with bleach jugs. It's pricey to get set up, though.

Back to the original problem.... set the multiport valve to waste and vacuum out the water you want to replace. Then at least the foot or so you have left in the shallow end won't be full of leaves.
 
KJFankhauser said:
Fun stuff. Okay. Hopefully I can fish everything out then. Changing to chlorine is my last resort just because the chemicals seem way hard with a full time job and no one else to help
Thanks for the advice though!
Click to expand...

Chlorine is super easy with the help from this site! I almost went with the pool frog system that was recommended at the pool store (they said it would be easy) but found this site and everyone told me to stay away from pool store stuff - I'm so glad I listened. We installed our pool last year had a great summer .......just opened for this summer and in just 2 days our pool Is ready to go. The people here know what they are talking about! Best of luck - we are all here to help!
 
KJFankhauser said:
Fun stuff. Okay. Hopefully I can fish everything out then. Changing to chlorine is my last resort just because the chemicals seem way hard with a full time job and no one else to help
Thanks for the advice though!
Click to expand...

Here's a question for you - how much money did you spend last season on the Baquacil chemicals and how often did you have such perfect clarity that you could see what type of screw head is used on the main drain covers in the deep end?

Here's my guess - you spent LOTS of money (on the order of $1,000 or more) on chemicals and you rarely, if ever, were able to make out the cover screws in the deep end...

You'll find from reading our subforum on Baquacil that most people come here on or about the third year with a Baq pool complaining that they spend endless time and money on their pools and never can get them clean. Then they make the switch to chlorine and they can't believe their eyes the first time they see what a sparkling pool looks like. Then they are floored that they can actually do it all on much less than $100 per month (most people spend down near $30/month) and less than an hour total per week.

Do you want pool water that looks like this -

5316D76B-C437-4304-8858-A66544D57195_zpsoqveirde.jpg


Then it's time to ditch the Baquacil and the lousy pool store advice and take control of your pool.

Best wishes to you.
 
I have a full time job, I go to the gym everyday, I have a full-time granddaughter on my off days, we ride our Harley 4 days a week in the summer and if i don't buy $100 worth of 12percent bleach from Ollies, I pay the Wal-Mart prices for 7 jugs every 2weeks. I don't have the pool store on speed dial either.

My point... it's as easy as 5 minutes a day.
 
I probably spend around $100/year on mine. Some CYA, ph decreaser and testing refills. Maybe a bag of salt. That's it.

I do have to replace the cell in my SWG every couple of years. That runs another $70 or so.
 
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