I have been an advocate of TFP since I found it last year. I love it and have learned so much.
I got my pool in 2010 and did the "pool store" way of doing things with an Ionizer and bagged chemicals. It was a mess. Had ugly stained liner and child with green hair all season.
Found TFP in early 2011. Converted to BBB, loved it. However, last summer I spent way more money on bleach than I ever did with bagged pool chemicals. I did have a terrible algae bloom take over my pool after it filled up with tornado debris (including tons of insulation) last April 27th, but was able to get the algae under control with nothing but bleach -- and a lot of it.
I was wondering if there is anything I could do this year to reduce the cost of my chlorine consumption. I had to add two to three 182 oz jugs each day for the whole summer. During the algae bloom, I could add upwards of 6-8 182 oz jugs daily. The Wal-Mart brand costing $2.97 per jug had me easily spending $200-$300 per month during the heart of the swim season. I had a beautiful pool, but at a large cost. I was faithful to test the water, and had to use that much to keep it up. My neighbor was greatly impressed with the look of my pool, and when I told him I used bleach, he couldn't believe it (as he uses pool store chemicals). However, when I told him how much I had to spend, he said "****, no! Mine don't look as good, but it certainly doesn't cost that much to maintain either."
Again, I wouldn't change for the world, I don't care how much it costs because of the ease of use and all stains are gone, but keeping my CYA at 30 and chlorine at 6.0 is really costing me a lot of money. I have read over and over that the BBB method is supposed to be significantly cheaper, but it has actually been more expensive for me.
Am I doing something wrong? Is there any way I can cut down on the costs? Should my CYA be kept higher? My 27'x52" AGP is in full sunlight all day, every day. No shading. I have a great two-speed pump I run 24/7, and a vinyl liner. I'm near Birmingham, Alabama, so the humidity and heat is very high in the summer months. Pool temp easily reaches 95-100 in summer.
Any advice you could offer is great. Thank you for offering this great forum for those of us who were extremely frustrated and uneducated on pools. This site has been my best friend.
Angel
I got my pool in 2010 and did the "pool store" way of doing things with an Ionizer and bagged chemicals. It was a mess. Had ugly stained liner and child with green hair all season.
Found TFP in early 2011. Converted to BBB, loved it. However, last summer I spent way more money on bleach than I ever did with bagged pool chemicals. I did have a terrible algae bloom take over my pool after it filled up with tornado debris (including tons of insulation) last April 27th, but was able to get the algae under control with nothing but bleach -- and a lot of it.
I was wondering if there is anything I could do this year to reduce the cost of my chlorine consumption. I had to add two to three 182 oz jugs each day for the whole summer. During the algae bloom, I could add upwards of 6-8 182 oz jugs daily. The Wal-Mart brand costing $2.97 per jug had me easily spending $200-$300 per month during the heart of the swim season. I had a beautiful pool, but at a large cost. I was faithful to test the water, and had to use that much to keep it up. My neighbor was greatly impressed with the look of my pool, and when I told him I used bleach, he couldn't believe it (as he uses pool store chemicals). However, when I told him how much I had to spend, he said "****, no! Mine don't look as good, but it certainly doesn't cost that much to maintain either."
Again, I wouldn't change for the world, I don't care how much it costs because of the ease of use and all stains are gone, but keeping my CYA at 30 and chlorine at 6.0 is really costing me a lot of money. I have read over and over that the BBB method is supposed to be significantly cheaper, but it has actually been more expensive for me.
Am I doing something wrong? Is there any way I can cut down on the costs? Should my CYA be kept higher? My 27'x52" AGP is in full sunlight all day, every day. No shading. I have a great two-speed pump I run 24/7, and a vinyl liner. I'm near Birmingham, Alabama, so the humidity and heat is very high in the summer months. Pool temp easily reaches 95-100 in summer.
Any advice you could offer is great. Thank you for offering this great forum for those of us who were extremely frustrated and uneducated on pools. This site has been my best friend.
Angel
