New BBB questions

[Kathy3232]

Ok, I admit, this BBB method sounds good. However, I gotta ask a couple questions just to ease my mind.

1.Is plain old bleach ok to use when you have young children swimming in the pool? The obvious answer is yes, but being a mother, I HAVE to ask or I'll kick myself.

2. Are all of you BBB's really happy with having to mess with your pool everyday? I'd much prefer less maintance, but I do want to go simple and cheaper too. It's hard enough with life's time constraints with 2 young kids. I'm afraid I won't get out there every day to test and maintain.

 

[JasonLion]

Yes, bleach is just as safe, probably safer, than other forms of chlorine. Full strength bleach is a little dangerous, you don't want to drink it or spill it on your clothes or get it in your eyes. But once in the pool it is very safe, and exactly the same as chlorine from any other source.

Not everyone is happy with the amount of work, but most people are. It really doesn't take long once you become familiar with it. And you really ought to be checking up on the pool daily anyway, even with automatic chlorine feed systems. I think the main objection is carrying bleach bottles around. You might want to check in your area to see if liquid chlorine is available from the pool stores. Liquid chlorine is chemically the same as bleach but comes in higher concentrations, so less carrying.

 

[reebok]

as far as #2 goes, I would put it this way: I've had a pool for 3 years now, and every year I've had multiple algae outbreaks. sometimes it was my fault for letting the chlorine get to 0, but this year I was staying on top of my chlorine and pool in general because of my new baby (keeping he chlorine around 3-4ppm per the apparent pool industry standards). my leslie's swimming pool maintenance book they gave me when I moved here says that good circulation, filtration, brushing and chlorine is all you need to stay algae free. so when I had a big algae bloom this year (initially blaming it on pollen before it got so bad it obviously was algae) I was totally lost. I spent hours searching the internet and reading trying to figure out what the deal was. I investigated every alternative I could find (nature2, ozone, frog, etc.) more or less not caring about the cost to keep the pool nice for my family. but in all the literature, nothing ever really made sense to me of why it was better or why my way shouldn't work. unfortunately, on my internet searches virtually every link I found was poolforum.com which never worked. so I decided to follow pinch a penny's pool care plan to shock weekly, use chlorine tabs, and their all-in-one algaecide (whch was a polyquat 60 based algaecide). I would still be doing that today if the algaecide didn't cost $42/half gallon which made me search harder for a better solution. finally I found this site and the reason my constant chlorine levels didn't prevent an algae bloom - my CYA was too high for the amount of chlorine I was using (see chlorine/cya chart in pool school). thanks to pool school, I have a good handle on how to care for my pool and prevent algae from ever getting a foothold. if you ever fight algae (without the resources here) you will become a firm believer in the old saying "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." fighting algae is hard, expensive with the pool store chemicals and having to run your pump 24/7 plus clean it often, not fun and very time consuming. if you're looking to save time, daily testing and following the guides here is the way to do it.
also, you can still use a polyquat 60 algaecide (look at the ingredients for poly-really-long-name 60%) for insurance against an algae bloom if you want, it's just very expensive and you have to add it weekly.

 

[CosmicJester]

I've just started doing BBB method on my pool about a month ago, and I can definitely say it's a piece of cake. Testing the water takes less than five minutes start to finish, and adding the chemicals takes about the same amount of time, if not a bit less. The chlorine generally depletes at the same rate from day to day, so if you're in a big hurry you can just toss in as much chlorine as you had used the day before and you'll be fine. It may help to know that the best time to add chlorine is after dark... finish dinner, wash the dishes, then check your chlorine.

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

I used to love the convience of not checking on the pool everyday, but that just led to problem after problem and way to much frustration with the pool. Now I spend 5 minutes a day, if that. BBB works! Plain and simple. Now I spend maybe 5 minutes a day and I NEVER have any problems. I simply LOVE it.

 

[hokey71]

Here is my 2 cents...

Last year I converted from using Baquacil to BBB and I couldn't be happier. My pool maintenance has become so much easier with less problems and crystal clear water. I also don't add bleach to my pool everyday as I've found I can go 2-3 days without having to add any. Especially when the pool is not used a lot. I still try to check it everyday because I don't want to get behind but it is very easy and once you get the hang of it adding bleach is so easy. I don't even have to measure it anymore...I can just feel how much i need to put in...lol.

I opened my pool this year for the first time after using the BBB method and my water was practically crystal clear when I removed the cover with the exception of some dead bugs. I filled it up and vacuumed the water and shocked it and it was practically perfect. I had to raise my TA and CYA levels but it was easy.

Bottom line...I would never use anything else now! I can get all the chemicals I need (for the most part) at Walmart or the supermarket which is closer than any pool store and I'm usualy in these stores enough anyway. It is also waaaay cheaper than Baquacil which is a huge plus.

I still talk about it to everyone that owns a pool to see what they are using and try to convert them.

 

[cubbybeave08]

What Pool Mom said...She has taught me well...It only takes about 5 minutes...I was camping this weekend...Left at about 4:30 pm on Friday, got back about 12:30 pm on Monday. I bounced my FC up to about 9 ppm on Friday and when I got back it was about 1.5...still enough to keep pool clean. After I tested I added about 90 ounces of 12% Bleach...Liquid Chlroine what ever, I got it back up to about 7. Yesterday I tested it was down to 3...bounced it back up to 7...I still have lots of helicopter seeds from my big maple falling into the pool. All in all I have spent about 5-10 minutes a day except for days when I have to vaccume the pool. It is all in the testing...If you stay on top of your water it will be kind to you all summer long. You need to look at it this way...Develop what she calls sparkely poolitis, and just become a 5 minute slave to your pool everyday. And you will never have problems...My kids are 10 and 13...they love the sparkly pool and they have never had any kind of irritation...I never could go underwater before with my eyes open...always burned...In My pool I can do that all day long...Trust the B's. Trust this site.

 

[bluebeginner]

The more I read, the less nervous I am getting about using this method and being able to do it well. Thank you all for putting my mind at ease.

 

[fuzzy_dba]

1.Is plain old bleach ok to use when you have young children swimming in the pool?
2. Are you BBB's really happy with having to mess with your pool everyday? I'd much prefer less maintance, but I do want to go simple and cheaper too. It's hard enough with life's time constraints with 2 young kids. I'm afraid I won't get out there every day to test and maintain.

1. SAFER than the stuff from the pool stores that costs a lot and can really mess things up. The primary ingredient in plain ultra bleach is 6% sodium hypochlorite (the other 94% is primarily water and salt). The ingredient in liquid chlorine is either 10% or 12.5% sodium hypochlorite (the other 88%-91.5% is primarily water and salt). The difference: 1 gallon of liquid or 2?
The stuff that's sold a "Shock" isn't: It's chlorine with either CYA or calcium and possibly copper added. The CYA builds up and up and up and requires more and more chlorine to sanitize the water, the calcium can cause the water to be hazy or "un-sparkly", and copper (minerals) in the water can turn hair green! YUK
2. My 'messing with the pool' amounts to 5-10 minutes of taking measurements & either brushing or dropping in the pool cleaner: That's it.
My water is safe for the family, doesn't have a "chlorine smell" (at all!), and the kids friends are stunned that they can swim underwater without goggles: no burning eyes.

I know it sounds strange, but I feel that I know my water and know how it'll react to a pool party (which we have several of each week), leaves (and I have lots of them), or even *not* checking the water each day. Your choice...

 

[cubbybeave08]

Fuzzy,
You are right...if I test everyday I get the feel for what my pool is doing each day. Then I know like last night I hadn't checked the water since Wednesday...I knew my FC would be down...it was about 2.5 So I knew I needed to add about 90 ounces of 10% to bring it back up. I double checked my pool calc notes and sure enough I was right. I can look into the pool and see all the way to the bottom...last week when we swam, I opened my eyes and could actually keep them open and I swam all around under water and never had a problem no burning or anything. This is why I take such pride in my work on the pool...I know it is safe for my kids. My DW calls me pool boy...as in oh pool boy...could you bring me a drink! But I know she is happy that she and the kids can just get in in the morning while I am at work because I have done my job the night before!