Vacation question for new pool owner....

[new2pools]

We are leaving for vacation soon and I'm not sure what to do about our pool. I usually leave our 2 spd pump running on low 24/7. I'm thinking though I will turn it off because the skimmer basket really needs to be emptied daily.

My questions are this....

...is it okay to leave the pump off for 6 day? We will leave on a monday morning and back the following saturday evening.

Also, I can put CL in monday morning before we leave, so it will be without any additions until sat. That would be 5 days later. If so, how much?

My CYA is around 25 and right now I typically add about 6-8 cups a day or 14 cups every other day to try to keep my free chlorine around 4.

How much do I need to add before we leave?? (okay to add if I'm not running the pump the whole time) Also, had been considering adding some tri-chlor pucks to get my CYA up anyway (to around 35) so maybe this is the time to do it? If so, how many do you think I should add for the 5 days -don't really want my CYA much more than it is as I like keeping a low CL level.

Thanks, we are leaving soon and I'm sooo worried my perfect pool, that I've not had one problem with, will be green and icky when we come back!

 

[rpgman]

I wouldn't add bleach without circulating it....

can't you get a cheap auto timer at Home Depot to run the pump?

I got one last year for about $20, and I use that for having my pump run about 4 hours in the morning (6 to 10) and 3 hours at night (9 to 12)

 

[crazycanuck]

is there a neighbor that can come over and empty the skimmer basket? I suspect that circulation is gonna be the key to keeping your pool from going green. Do you have a sock on your basket... maybe you can take it off for this 6 day stretch so it doesn't clog. I couldn't tell if it was an inground or agp... if inground, do you have a main drain... you can just adjust your
valve to only use the main drain and bypass your skimmer. I am not sure about pucks, I am sure someone else can chime in on that.

I don't know how good bleach will be without circulation.

 

[new2pools]

Should I throw a few pucks in a floater while I'm gone to raise the cya and also for chlorinating too?

I'm thinking that is what I will do.

Hubby bought a timer so we will hook that up and I have talked to my mom and will have her come over and clean the skimmer and add some bleach every few days.

Hopefully that will keep it good until I get back.

 

[rpgman]

Should I throw a few pucks in a floater while I'm gone to raise the cya and also for chlorinating too?

I'm thinking that is what I will do.

Hubby bought a timer so we will hook that up and I have talked to my mom and will have her come over and clean the skimmer and add some bleach every few days.

Hopefully that will keep it good until I get back.

great... that timer will come in handy, your best investment for a pool, and I'll bet you got it for under $30.....I use mine everyday and never have to worry about turning the pump on or off.

 

[JSHILLING]

I'm going on a much netted vacation next week and can't decide if I should leave the solar cover on. The house/dog sitter might use the pool but its a PIA to take on/off and I'm thinking the junk on the cover will end up in the pool. If I leave it off my concern is I'll have tons of leaves both floating and on the bottom. any thoughts? :?

 

[rpgman]

I'm going on a much netted vacation next week and can't decide if I should leave the solar cover on. The house/dog sitter might use the pool but its a PIA to take on/off and I'm thinking the junk on the cover will end up in the pool. If I leave it off my concern is I'll have tons of leaves both floating and on the bottom. any thoughts? :?

pay the sitter extra $'s to clean the pool....maybe just getting the stuff off the top....

or, tell them if you use the pool, you must clean it.

 

[JSHILLING]

Thanks - Good idea - I could teach a monkey to skim the pool and empty the skimmer