Throwing K-2006 test water back into the pool.

[Mike_k]

I do the same - except I record everything in my iPad - which makes a great light box / white background for seeing the colors.

Do you use a specific app to keep track? I'd kind of like to do the same, since I have WiFi and can use the PoolCalc site on my iPad when I'm outside. (The app doesn't have very good reviews and doesn't retain the pool size, according to the reviews. :? )

I have an Excel spreadsheet that I use the Quickoffice Pro app to edit. I save the spreadsheet in Dropbox so I can view it from my PC or iPhone if I ever need to. I also have the Extended Test Kit Directions copied in Evernote so they are handy if I ever need them. I actually have a bunch of articles/posts copied in Evernote - Chlorine/CYA chart, Borates notes, Recommended Levels, etc. It's nice to have everything handy and easily accessible. I love Evernote. :-D

I use the PoolCalc site as well as opposed to the app. I agree, the reviews of it are not very good.

 

[Mike_k]

Why do it squatting uncomfortably? I use a chunk of PVC pipe as a giant pipette and fill a measuring cup with sample water.

And all this time I've been getting flat on the ground, reaching down into the pool as far as I can, getting my shirt all wet... This is genius!

I'm 5' nothing and have to stand on tiptoe to shove my arm way down into the pool... I'm going to have to Bogart a length of DH's PVC for this purpose.

The smallest diameter PVC that I had handy was 1" - which seems too big. I can't get very good suction - the water just falls out. I'm going to have to find something smaller. My kids have something like this:

Works like a big syringe. It would still mean that I would have to get down low to the pool - but something like this might work well for you.

 

[Richard320]

I picked up a 4' piece of 1/2" PVC pipe at Lowes one day when I was there getting something else. I forget what I paid - under 2 bucks, I'm sure. I can stab it down a couple feet the cap it with my thumb. Then I pull it out and dump it into my cup. Some leaks out, but it's only water...

 

[Mike_k]

I picked up a 4' piece of 1/2" PVC pipe at Lowes one day when I was there getting something else. I forget what I paid - under 2 bucks, I'm sure. I can stab it down a couple feet the cap it with my thumb. Then I pull it out and dump it into my cup. Some leaks out, but it's only water...

Yeah - I was going to try 1/2". With the 1", by the time I get it over the cup most of the water has alteady dropped. It's still a great idea.

 

[reagan]

I love DropBox; use it all the time for homeschooling my youngest! Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[chem geek]

So now the question is: How bad is it that I was tossing everything back in the pool for nearly a year? Is there any risk of the toxic chemicals building up over time, or do they dissipate/breakdown? Is it worth draining some amount and refilling in order to dilute what's there? I was doing this for quite a while (as I said, close to a year), but I simply have no point of reference for how potentially bad things could be at this point.

I would not worry about it since the quantity of chemicals is small, the amount of dilution is huge, and you aren't drinking large quantities of pool water. The most toxic chemical in the regular tests (pH, FC/CC) is DPD (N,N-Diethy1-p-pheny1ene-diamine sulfate) but it's still only 450 mg/kg for the LD50 for rats. The amount of DPD in the powder is < 2% by weight. One scoop is far less than 1 gram so is < 20 mg. Even doing this every day for 10 years would put < 73000 mg in the entire pool which is diluted by at least a factor of 5000 (so around 15 mg) if you were to drink a gallon of pool water. So you can see where I am going with this. Don't worry about it.

 

[HofstraJet]

I do the same - except I record everything in my iPad - which makes a great light box / white background for seeing the colors.

Do you use a specific app to keep track? I'd kind of like to do the same, since I have WiFi and can use the PoolCalc site on my iPad when I'm outside. (The app doesn't have very good reviews and doesn't retain the pool size, according to the reviews. :? )

Here's my Excel spreasheet (had to zip it since .xlsx files are not allowed). It includes the following worksheets:

Test result log
General rules about adding chemicals
Best guess chlorine chart
Expense log to track pool-related expenses
Chemgeek's chlorine/CYA chart
Bleach cost calculator
Template for recording test results with instructions for a Taylor K-2006 kit

If you have suggestions, please post as we can all make this a better worksheet.

Enjoy!

 

[lalittle]

So now the question is: How bad is it that I was tossing everything back in the pool for nearly a year? Is there any risk of the toxic chemicals building up over time, or do they dissipate/breakdown? Is it worth draining some amount and refilling in order to dilute what's there? I was doing this for quite a while (as I said, close to a year), but I simply have no point of reference for how potentially bad things could be at this point.

I would not worry about it since the quantity of chemicals is small, the amount of dilution is huge, and you aren't drinking large quantities of pool water. The most toxic chemical in the regular tests (pH, FC/CC) is DPD (N,N-Diethy1-p-pheny1ene-diamine sulfate) but it's still only 450 mg/kg for the LD50 for rats. The amount of DPD in the powder is < 2% by weight. One scoop is far less than 1 gram so is < 20 mg. Even doing this every day for 10 years would put < 73000 mg in the entire pool which is diluted by at least a factor of 5000 (so around 15 mg) if you were to drink a gallon of pool water. So you can see where I am going with this. Don't worry about it.

Thanks for doing the math on this. I kink of figured that it wasn't a serious issue, but I have to say that it does make me feel better to have this sort of conclusive information to support this assumption.

Thanks everybody,

Larry

 

[mrodgers]

I always test IN the pool.

Er.... don't you use a lot of the chemicals when testing directly in the pool... Oh! Now I get it, you are doing the test while in the pool, not testing the entire volume of the pool!

Another question about disposing of the test sample... The recommendation is to toss down the drain, but what about with a septic system? Is the chemicals ok for a septic?


And the thought of using a length of pvc pipe as a pipet to gather water sample? Genius Never thought of that and I did have the thought of asking how folks collect a water sample from at least a foot under the surface.

 

[kvnrourke]

If you have an AGP, you can use a few feet of clear flexible plastic hose from the hardware store and use it as a siphon. Just submerge the entire hose in the water, cap the end of the hose with your thumb while still entirely submerged, and then lift the thumb-capped end up until the other end of the hose is at the desired depth. Then lower the thumb-capped end over the outside wall of the pool and release your thumb. After you have let a little water run on the ground to purge the hose, you will be getting the water from the desired depth of the pool.