Opening Pool for the Season - New Sand?

[baazil1]

We didn't exactly close our above ground pool last year the way we usually close it. We left everything in place, including filtration system and hoses, even left the water filled pretty high. Covered with a pool cover and bam, pool closed.

We took the cover off this past weekend to some lovely looking swamp water. All good, few bottles of shock and all should be well... however... is it OK to just turn on the filtration system? We don't want to replace the sand that is in the system if I don't have to, it's heavy and since we let it sit all winter, it's just going to be a big mess to deal with. If I can get away with it, just this once, that would be a nice time saver.

So, is it appropriate, or even slightly ok to reuse the 4 bags of sand that are currently in the filter and just turn the thing on and start chemicalizing the pool?

Thanks for any thoughts!

 

[Razorhog]

Yes, in general sand doesn't need to be replaced. Have you read any pool school here? Do you have a test kit? "A few bottles of shock and all should be well" is the basic gist, but you need to test and do a SLAM.

 

[baazil1]

I was faced with a similar issue last year when we opened the pool. We didn't secure the cover and a windstorm blew it half off during the winter, causing all of the autumn leaves and gunk to drain into the pool. Recovering it, securing it and expecting the worst come Spring, we uncovered and got the worst. Nasty leaf filled putrid water. Long story short, we were told that these particular chemicals that cost hundreds of dollars would do the trick... turns out, a couple of bottles of shock took care of the issue and cleared the pool up.

Of course, we still tested and rocked out the appropriate chemicals to get the pool ready, at a much reduced cost

Thanks for the info on the sand... I'll check tonight and see how that goes!