Hello from sunny Clearwater. I've been a long time pool user, and a 10+ year pool owner over the last 3 houses I've lived in. I hadn't had a pro pool company in over 6 years and hoping to keep it that way!
That said, I definitely need help. The pool I'm caring for now came with the foreclosure I bought back in the fall. When I purchased it, the pump was dead (an old AOSmith/Hayward 3/4 horse), the cartridge filter was run to black and full of rocks and debris and the pool water was pea-soup thick and black. Me and my buddies, while the pool was 2/3 full, removed two full pickup loads of garbage from the pool. Plastics, wood, bricks, stone block, rubble, grass and leaves, you name it. It was quite literally the most disgusting cesspool I've ever seen. It's quite obvious it hadn't had any care in the 3+ years the house was empty.
Since then, things have gotten a lot better. I've replaced the filter and pump with that in my signature and re-piped most of the system. It runs! it pumps! it fills the new cartridge within an hour or so with spongy green/yellow filth.
At the advisement of several pool owner friends of mine, I've done the following to attempt to clean up the water:
- Gotten the pool chemicals from Pinch A Penny and worked to balance the Ph and other factors of the water. At this point, I've got water that floats in and out of the "good" range and won't hold chlorine.
- Poured chlorine in as a super shock as requested. This really seems to be doing the most good, but I've still got some milky green to the pool.
- Ran the pump 24 hours/day, every day, for the last 3 weeks.
- Taken the cartridge out several times/day, hosed it down with a water hose, cleaned the crevaces and reinstalled. Cleaned both the skimmer basket and the basket in the pump while I was in there.
- Ran the skimmer-powered pool vacuum over the bottom and walls of the pool dozens of times, giving it the opportunity to soak up any remaining sludge or leaves. As of the last cleanings with this method, I've gotten very little from the bottom.
- Scrubbed the sides with a hard bristle brush and then a nylon brush. The sides are now in pretty good shape, considering their still touching the green water.
- Did a "Water change" similar to a fish tank, draining the pool half way and refilling with fresh water twice down, allowing 5-6 days between each cycle to thin out anything in the water. This hasn't helped as much as I'd have liked.
So, all of this done and I have a few issues:
1. Water still green and milky.
2. Pump seems very labored and has shut itself off two times within a few minutes of turning the main drain on full and the skimmer off. Could I still have stuff stuck in the main drain pipe? Is there an easy way to snake this out with water in the pool? Alternatively, if I turn on only the skimmer, it works great!
3. Several people, including two pool companies I called, suggested I drain the pool and start over. I'd really hate to do that. Am I completely unreasonable or is that the course of action I should take?
I'm at a loss as to what to do next. I appreciate any help anyone can be
Denis
That said, I definitely need help. The pool I'm caring for now came with the foreclosure I bought back in the fall. When I purchased it, the pump was dead (an old AOSmith/Hayward 3/4 horse), the cartridge filter was run to black and full of rocks and debris and the pool water was pea-soup thick and black. Me and my buddies, while the pool was 2/3 full, removed two full pickup loads of garbage from the pool. Plastics, wood, bricks, stone block, rubble, grass and leaves, you name it. It was quite literally the most disgusting cesspool I've ever seen. It's quite obvious it hadn't had any care in the 3+ years the house was empty.
Since then, things have gotten a lot better. I've replaced the filter and pump with that in my signature and re-piped most of the system. It runs! it pumps! it fills the new cartridge within an hour or so with spongy green/yellow filth.
At the advisement of several pool owner friends of mine, I've done the following to attempt to clean up the water:
- Gotten the pool chemicals from Pinch A Penny and worked to balance the Ph and other factors of the water. At this point, I've got water that floats in and out of the "good" range and won't hold chlorine.
- Poured chlorine in as a super shock as requested. This really seems to be doing the most good, but I've still got some milky green to the pool.
- Ran the pump 24 hours/day, every day, for the last 3 weeks.
- Taken the cartridge out several times/day, hosed it down with a water hose, cleaned the crevaces and reinstalled. Cleaned both the skimmer basket and the basket in the pump while I was in there.
- Ran the skimmer-powered pool vacuum over the bottom and walls of the pool dozens of times, giving it the opportunity to soak up any remaining sludge or leaves. As of the last cleanings with this method, I've gotten very little from the bottom.
- Scrubbed the sides with a hard bristle brush and then a nylon brush. The sides are now in pretty good shape, considering their still touching the green water.
- Did a "Water change" similar to a fish tank, draining the pool half way and refilling with fresh water twice down, allowing 5-6 days between each cycle to thin out anything in the water. This hasn't helped as much as I'd have liked.
So, all of this done and I have a few issues:
1. Water still green and milky.
2. Pump seems very labored and has shut itself off two times within a few minutes of turning the main drain on full and the skimmer off. Could I still have stuff stuck in the main drain pipe? Is there an easy way to snake this out with water in the pool? Alternatively, if I turn on only the skimmer, it works great!
3. Several people, including two pool companies I called, suggested I drain the pool and start over. I'd really hate to do that. Am I completely unreasonable or is that the course of action I should take?
I'm at a loss as to what to do next. I appreciate any help anyone can be
Denis
