Hi, Last summer was the first year as new above ground pool owners. To get winter ready we drained as we were supposed to, put all filters, etc away and covered. Earlier this year the cover blew off and now the water is horrible looking, dirty, nasty. We figured we would just drain, clean and start over but I have been told by some friends that we don't need to do that. My question is what do we need to do to get it clean without draining? Thanks for your time.
Getting pool summer ready
- Thread starter Ticky
- Start date
- Jun 22, 2014
- 47,789
- Pool Size
- 17888
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45 Plus
Hello and welcome to TFP! 
Typically, when someone comes to us with a water problem, we guide them with a coupe very simple concepts:
1 - You must have your own (proper) test kit and take charge of your own pool; it's NOT hard at all
2 - Take a little time to read our Pool School page and related information on the ABCs of Water Chemistry to get a basic understanding
From there, we can help you learn to test your water, and maintain it with relatively simple products saving you time and money. Most importantly YOU own the pool and what goes in it. SO the first thing you would need is the right test kit. We recommend either the TF-100 or Taylor K-2006. Both are outstanding products, but you'll see a little more value with the TF-100. In my sig below is a link for "SLAM". That page is what will inevitably be required to clear your water of algae. Generally that is done without draining water "unless" the CYA (your stabilizer) level is too high - something that typically happens from using pool store chlorine tablets and bags of shock.. But your test set results will tell us that.
It may seem like a lot of info at first, but with the test set it all makes sense quickly. Look around the TFP site and see what the pages have to offer. Read some testimonials here about people who have taken charge of their pool and you'll see you can do it as well. Let us know if you have any questions. Great to have you with us.
Typically, when someone comes to us with a water problem, we guide them with a coupe very simple concepts:1 - You must have your own (proper) test kit and take charge of your own pool; it's NOT hard at all
2 - Take a little time to read our Pool School page and related information on the ABCs of Water Chemistry to get a basic understanding
From there, we can help you learn to test your water, and maintain it with relatively simple products saving you time and money. Most importantly YOU own the pool and what goes in it. SO the first thing you would need is the right test kit. We recommend either the TF-100 or Taylor K-2006. Both are outstanding products, but you'll see a little more value with the TF-100. In my sig below is a link for "SLAM". That page is what will inevitably be required to clear your water of algae. Generally that is done without draining water "unless" the CYA (your stabilizer) level is too high - something that typically happens from using pool store chlorine tablets and bags of shock.. But your test set results will tell us that.
It may seem like a lot of info at first, but with the test set it all makes sense quickly. Look around the TFP site and see what the pages have to offer. Read some testimonials here about people who have taken charge of their pool and you'll see you can do it as well. Let us know if you have any questions. Great to have you with us.
- Jul 3, 2013
- 9,028
- Pool Size
- 15000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool SJ-40
Thanks. That's a good size pool but can be cleaned up quite readily just by using chlorine as the primary sanitizer. Texas Splash spells out the path to take very nicely. Follow his advice and you'll be on your way.