Why?

[belgique]

Depressed with the aggravation in getting the pool clear after a zillion bottles bleach and then the prospect of having to fool with it everyday (testing and adding yet more bleach etc).

Why is it that my brother has a pool near Tampa and it only gets looked at once a week by a pool service guy...the guy roars in, does something and is gone in 15 minutes. Ok, the pool is under one of those "cages" you see in Fla but that still doesn't account (IMHO) for how they are able to get by with only a once a week check and adding of chems...no daily checking and adding stuff. They don't touch the pool except to enjoy it. BTW, their pool is beautiful, 24/7/365.

I'm starting to weaken and go back to the pool store...help me

 

[reebok]

in pool school it says the easiest way to take care of a pool is to hire someone to do it. I agree that daily testing can be a pain, but I'm not going to pay someone to do it either. I can tell you that it would be easy to take care of a pool yourself that way by following this formula: chlorine tab feeder, weekly shock (pool store shock which means dump a certain amount of chlorine in based on your gallonage and that's it), and a weekly polyquat 60 algaecide. but it's not the best way, and definitely not the cheapest. where does your brother live? it gets easier as you go and after your issue(s) clear up. I love this method, but it does ake some effort. in pool school it also says your pool is like a pet, it needs daily care. I like my pool a lot more than my pets, so it's worth it to me.

 

[belgique]

Hi Reebok...Hiring someone is not an option for me...wish it were. We're at the end of the earth but sure is pretty. His pool is in Dade City. Sis in Law just told me that the cost averages $80-90/month...at this rate, I'm spending more than that on bleach and having to do it myself. The siren song of the pool store is calling me :lol: .

 

[Casey]

The BBB method provides me with a break atleast every other day if I feel lazy. Believe me, I do sometimes. My pool water has been sparkling clear for two years running. I am afforded the two days at the most in between testing and adding liquid chlorine as long as I don't go three days. It's not hard. It's not sucking up all my time... just 5 minutes from testing my water, to turning on the pump, to getting online to punch in my #'s in the pool calculator to measuring my bleach and pouring it over the return. Done.

Why would you want to go spend hundreds on pool chemicals that they say will work, come home, dump them in, filtrate and circulate and see hardly a dent in improvement or clarity, go back to the pool store, have them test the water, have them say Oh, try this.... spend more money, go home, dump it in and the next time you look at it, your pool is greeeeeeen!

Go back to the pool store............. on and on and on...

I could probly estimate that time to running into over an hour OR MORE but I'm being conservative right now with just an hour. Estimate how much money you're spending too!

I just went to the Pool Store to buy a new lid for my pump. While I was in there, the owner's wife was trying to tell the customer that TA will help her chlorine work. I had also over heard that the customer was using some kind of non chlorine in her pool. She wants to know when to add the Alkalinity UP she just paid $16 for 4 LBS of this stuff. I wanted to scream BBB at her but kept my mouth shut and watched her pay for it and say she's dumped so much money in her pool so far this year and hasn't even been able to swim. Should I feel bad for her? I'm not sure yet... Then the lady says, we've had such high phosphates this year and the customer picks up a bottle of PhosFree <price unkown to me> and puts it down and takes her very expensive container of Akalinity Up aka baking soda and leaves. Did I mention they were using test strips too?!!!!!!!!! AUGH!

I find that BBB works for me, even though I do have to work with it, 5 minutes a day. I love my pool, even if I just keep the water clear and can't swim because of weather. If I could leave it open all year, I would but treating a big ice cube is kinda hard.

I think you should stick with it! If you are in the process of clearing your pool, you have to remember that your pool didn't turn green in a week and it ain't gonna clear in a week. It takes time! POP! Pool Owner Patience!

 

[Guest]

Really once you get a pattern down, you can usually know how much chlorine is needed everyday. You learn how to adjust it based on the weather and usage. You shock once a week to your known quantity of bleach.

It really is not that time consuming. The initial bringing it in line and figuring out the quantities and patterns that work is the hard part, but once done you are good to go.

 

[DBfan187]

Sounds like you're not concerned with the price of things and just want it maintained easier, correct?

If so, you should really consider a SWG. It will make things easier for you so you can enjoy your pool more often.

 

[belgique]

Thanks for the input so far. Cost is certainly a factor but not the factor, within reason. The factor would be keeping the pool clear when we RV for a couple of weeks without anyone able to do more than the most basic of things (backwash, add some pucks, but not test). We have a vacation rental and a drawing card is the pool so this is important.

I see the merits of BBB and have no problem with the daily activity, IF we are here. That is not onerous and easily accommodated. It is the away time. We don't have leaves and blowing sand to deal with. We do have all day sun and, frequently, wind.

The SWG already got my attention as stated on another thread. But, is it feasible to use BBB when we are here and then pucks etc when we hit the road for a couple of weeks? In the summer we do not travel much preferring to RV when everyone else is at work :lol: and the pool would be closed.

Again, thanks for the inputs. It us very useful for me and will probably be useful for others down the road. Steve

 

[Beez]

I see the merits of BBB and have no problem with the daily activity, IF we are here. That is not onerous and easily accommodated. It is the away time. We don't have leaves and blowing sand to deal with. We do have all day sun and, frequently, wind.

Honestly, I don't think you're seeing it right. I guess I can only speak for my pool, but after you get the water stabilized, and you have tested enough times, you get a feel for the daily chlorine usage. So if you have somebody that could simply stop by and pour in a little bleach every day, that's all you would need. Otherwise, I don't think using pucks every so often would totally wreck your BBB method.

Course, I could be wrong...


Dave

 

[PaulR]

The SWG already got my attention as stated on another thread. But, is it feasible to use BBB when we are here and then pucks etc when we hit the road for a couple of weeks?

Yes. You can get the "pucks are evil" mantra from this place but really it's like the "money is the root of all evil" quote, it's too short. Constant use of pucks is evil. A week or two on vacation, you shock the pool and load up the floater or chlorinator, and you're probably good. Actually for two weeks you might want to invest in an inline chlorinator rather than a floater; no potential corrosion issues if the floater parks itself somewhere inconvenient, and I think the chlorinators hold more pucks too.
--paulr

 

[irishal]

To add some $$$ numbers to this thread, and I know cost is not the main issue, but when you see the cost of BBB on paper it does stand out. Every other night when the kids are done swimming I pour 3qt of bleach into my pool.
Total time spent 3-5 mins.
Cost of bleach at wally world $1.52 for 3 qt.
In a week I'll add 4 of the 3qt containers.
Cost per month $24.32 not including taxes.
Because I've come to know my pool and its needs, I have an instruction sheet for my neighbors for when we're gone. It reads like this:

1. Pour 3qts of bleach in front of return every 2 nights.

You will not regret switching to BBB.

Cheers,
IrishAl
22,000 AG Pool
Sand Filter
Switched from Pristine Blue to BBB this spring!!!!!

 

[Guest]

Trichlor will cause your CYA to raise and your TA and pH to drop, period. If you make the necesary adjustments to your water chemistry and don't mind draining and refilling when the CYA gets too high then there is no problem with using BBB when you are there and trichlor when you are away. Many of my customers did something similar.
Personally, when I go away I turn my pool off since I don't want to have to worry about replacing a burned out pump because the water level got low (we have a lot of evaporation here in Florida). It's far easier and cheaper to clear a green pool when I get back. In fact, I went away for 10 days last August and when I came back the pool was not even green, just starting to get slightly cloudy! I keep 50 ppm borates in the water and am sure that is the reason why.