Wrinkled pool liner: do I need to replace now or can it wait?

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bkkari

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Aug 21, 2014
57
Central, MN
Hello,
We need your advice. We put our inground swg pool in in 2012. Two summers ago we had some problems with algae and thought we had yellow mustard algae. We had our pool at shock levels for a lengthy time that season and after a lot of help from your forum fixed the problem. Since that time ( for the last two summers) we have kept our pool looking great and sparkly clean. However we were doing this by keeping the chlorine level higher than what it should be ( FC 8-12). It was a Huge mistake on our behalf and we are going to be paying for it. We didn't realize there was a problem until this season when we opened up the pool we realized out liner had faded significantly below the water line. We didn't think that was a big deal and just assumed it was rear and tear from use and being in sunlight all day long. However now we have noticed our pool liner is getting wrinkles. On the sides. We have not noticed any ( yet) on the floor of the pool but see them on all pool sides. It's not noticeable to the average person looking at the pool but once you're in the pool and run your hands along the liner you can feel them. You also will see them, if someone points them out to you. Our pool chemicals have been within range ( aside from the chlorine for the last two years ). Approximately running at : FC 8-12( put in higher "shock" mode 0ver the winter months: above 20 ). Now @ 4.0
CC: 0-.5, TA 100-120 ( currently at 100), pH 7.5 ( currently at 7.2 as we have been working on lowering the TA), CYA 55-60, CH 375, SWG 3600. We faithfully use the TF-100 testing kit.
Since we've noticed this problem we have lowered our FC which is currently at 4.

We obviously know this is our mistake and our fix is that unfortunately we will need to replace the liner. My husband wants to wait this out and wait to replace the liner until it leaks and has more problems. My question to you is:do you think we should replace the liner now, or is it ok to "wait" until something leaks, etc? I know you're not able to predict the longevity of he liner but based on your experience do you think the liner can still last us a few more seasons ? Aide from the aesthetics of seeing a few wrinkles is there harm in keeping it as is and riding this out as long as it'll last, or do you think this is a more urgent issue that we should address and replace this season. ( again this is our 5th season using the pool. We close it down for winter months and reopen in spring).

This is tough lesson learned the hard way, I know. Any advice or suggestions you guys have is greatly appreciated.
 
I would say wait. You have a large pool, and there's no need exhausting yourself and spending the money until their is a true compromise in the liner itself. Regardless of the color, the pool will look fine and still provide relief when you need it. But as I read your history, what also caught my eye was your CYA level. Since you have a SWG pool, the CYA should be a minimum of 70 as noted on the Pool School - Chlorine / CYA Chart. That higher CYA helps to protect the slow/steady release of FC produced by your SWG. If you had your SWG set to maintain the FC at 8-12 for those 2 years, that was a lot of extra work on the SWG/cell. The other thing I want to point-out is that even at a CYA of 50 or 60, your SLAM FC level is at 20 or more which is safe. It's true we probably wouldn't want to maintain such a high level for months at a time, but you were nowhere near that high. So the fading part still seems a it odd to me, and I'm not so sure the wrinkles would be attributable to the slightly elevated FC level either. :confused:

In the end, I'd wait. Get the most out of what you have now and replace the liner when you have to. Enjoy the rest of your swimming season.
 
Unless your pH and chlorine were MUCH MORE out of normal than you report, I would not attribute your liner issues to chlorine.

I cannot offer another explanation but I do not think your reported test results would ever cause any wrinkles or fading.

Regardless, I don't think you should change your liner, either. Enjoy it and go swimming!

Does the liner feel brittle around the wrinkles?
 
Oh that makes me feel better that I may not be "totally" to blame, but then also concerned to figure out the true cause. In any case, the liner does not feel brittle around the wrinkles. On two of the steps entering the pool, the liner has also showned some stretching( like there's extra liner at the end of the step itself and not tight fitting). This is only on two of the four steps. ( the steps go across our whole shallow end: 20 feet).
Another thought: in regards to our salt level. Our Taylor testing kit has shown it to be 3600 ppm. On the testing kit it says there could be a 200 ppm variance + -. Do u think if it was really 3800ppm, would that cause this problem? ... Or else maybe it's just a not very high quality liner that was put in to begin with?... I understand that many times pool liners need to be replaced around 7 years and ours is sub-parr, do u think?
 
The salt has nothing to do with your issues. It is not uncommon for the tests to be off by that much....no problems.

I can't speak to the quality of the liner but the fading takes place below the water level, right?....suggesting a chemistry issue. Does a picture show the damage?
 
faded pool liner.jpg

Here's picture of the faded liner. Found it very interesting how it faded exactly on the middle of the diamond line. We do usually keep our pool water around that level, even though in this picture our water level is a little higher. Just cant believe that it faded perfectly on that line... interesting. I did take some pictures of the wrinkles in the walls of our liner too, but they may be hard to see if I cant point them out to you.
 

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