Funniest/ most ridiculous thing the pool store has told you

Jump to latest Follow Reply
S

soundguy

0
LifeTime Supporter
Jun 22, 2009
62
Gulf Coast, AL
I was shocking my pool and the cya was around 70 so it required a lot of chlorine. Also, I wasn't able to maintain the shock level because of work so the process took longer. So this one day the pool store guy said, "you sure are using a buncha chlorine." I told him I have mustard algae to which he immediately replied, "mustard algae feeds on chlorine. you are just giving it food with all of the chlorine you are putting in your pool." I stood there in amazement and I'm sure that was reflected on my face. Once he finished his :blah: :blah: about algae food I said, "you should go to troublefreepool.com and read pool school." Then I paid for my algae food and left.

Wow... just wow.
 
Re: Funniest/ most ridiculous thing the pool store has told

a few weeks ago I went to the pool store to get my salt level checked. Big waste of my day as she said she didn't know how to find out my current salt level, only how to read to me how much salt I should buy from them. Her words exactly! in that same visit, I heard another girl tell a customer that copper makes chorine not work at all in a pool and it was a waste of time and money to add any more chlorine when there is copper in the water. Now, if she had used the words 'algae food', it would have made my day!
 
Re: Funniest/ most ridiculous thing the pool store has told

soundguy said:
"mustard algae feeds on chlorine. you are just giving it food with all of the chlorine you are putting in your pool."
Click to expand...

Yep...just the other day I was reading up on chlorine-based lifeforms, and there it was, Mustard Algae! Right next to the entry for Itchy Algae in that quarry in Arlen. :lol:

=========

About 2 weeks ago, I was in the LPS for a part, and while there I asked if they carried liquid chlorine. (Hey...sometimes they have sales, you never know) Fellow said "Yeah, we have pool shock right over here" and told me the price, amount per case, etc. I asked about concentration, and did the math, and it worked out to somewhere close to $0.40/oz of Chlorine. I finish my quick math, he says "So you want me to have the guys load up a few cases while you're waiting?" I said no thanks, it was a bit higher than I wanted to spend.

The conversation then went something like this:

"Well, it's not like you have any real alternatives for liquid chlorine."

"Sure I do. Bleach is a whole lot cheaper ounce for ounce than that stuff."

"But bleach won't work as well."

"It won't? Why not?"

"Pool chlorine is a special kind of chlorine, formulated specifically for pools."

"Oh. So it's probably sodium hypochlorite then?"

*checks bottle* "Yes! Yes! That's what it is."

"Read a bottle of bleach some time."

Sometimes I just can't help it...
 
Re: Funniest/ most ridiculous thing the pool store has told

soundguy said:
I was shocking my pool and the cya was around 70 so it required a lot of chlorine. Also, I wasn't able to maintain the shock level because of work so the process took longer. So this one day the pool store guy said, "you sure are using a buncha chlorine." I told him I have mustard algae to which he immediately replied, "mustard algae feeds on chlorine. you are just giving it food with all of the chlorine you are putting in your pool." I stood there in amazement and I'm sure that was reflected on my face. Once he finished his :blah: :blah: about algae food I said, "you should go to troublefreepool.com and read pool school." Then I paid for my algae food and left.

Wow... just wow.
Click to expand...

It's a good thing you finally got some food for that Mustard Algae when you did, I was just gonna turn you in to the Mustard Algae Abuse Hotline! :hammer:
 
Re: Funniest/ most ridiculous thing the pool store has told

Just remember, if it's just some 19 y/o kid working the counter, they are just repeating what they were told to say, don't bite their heads off, just smile and walk out with what you came for.

Now, if it's the Owner, Manager, or self proclaimed Pool Expert, feel free to unload!
 
Re: Funniest/ most ridiculous thing the pool store has told

On the chlorine lock thing, one of the guys told me that chlorine lock is only a problem above 100 ppm of CYA.

On the liquid chlorine/clorox issue, they also told me it would build up too much salt.

One of the last times I had the pool store test my water (even with my TF-100 I used to have them test my water on occasion) the guy looked at me with an extremely serious look and asked how my pool looked. I said it looks great--crystal clear and sparkling. He asked if I was sure!!! I said I was sure--just took the sample he tested. He then said that my phosphates were very high that I almost certainly have algae. I politely smiled and said I'll be ok.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
Re: Funniest/ most ridiculous thing the pool store has told

"It's normal to have a green pool, look how hot and humid it is outside" heard last year in a big chain pool store.

"Copper sulfate is bad, it's poison, we don't sell that stuff" said the clerk standing beside a shelf full of Bioguard Banish.

"The ideal CH is 200" said a clerk without even testing the water.

"This (pointing to dichlor) is a much better chlorine than this (pointing to cal-hypo)."

"You shouldn't use sodium bicarbonate from the grocery store, it doesn't last as long as ALK Increaser" from a pool store web site (That phrase is still up on their website BTW).

And when I brought over a specially formulated water sample (one with 1200 or so ppm CH), their DPD test went cloudy white, lady said "OMG I don't know what wrong with your pool water but it's all cloudy, look! You should drain it all immediately." Then she proceeded to test CH, after about 60 drops (hello sample size!) she started to squeeze the reagent bottle so hard the R-0012 was squirting out into the test cell. "Look, no color change, just drain it all, you'll get a severe skin rash for sure."
 
Re: Funniest/ most ridiculous thing the pool store has told

"Liquid chlorine will cause your total dissolved solids to build up. I'd recommend using that (pointing a bucket of Cal-Hypo) instead."


This was after he tested my water, which has a CH level of 390. His test incorrectly showed a 200 for the CH reading.
 
Re: Funniest/ most ridiculous thing the pool store has told

I had a pool store employee tell me he had read about a "new" procedure to lower TA: pour a gallon of MA all at once in a column in the deep end of the pool. He was planning on trying at his own pool.
I agreed with him that MA works for lowering TA, but that dumping a lot in one spot may damage his vinyl liner.
He actually said that since I seem to know a lot about pool chems, he was not going to try adding an acid slug to his pool after all.
It felt good to help the pool store guy.
 
Re: Funniest/ most ridiculous thing the pool store has told

Today I was in a pool store getting a part and mentioned I used bleach. Meh said the bleach addsnphosphatesm(algae food) to the pool and that I should switch to liquid chlorine. Seems odd...i have not read that anywhere yet.
 
Re: Funniest/ most ridiculous thing the pool store has told

was told today to watch breathing the 12% liquid chlorine as it will burn right away if you take a deep breath. Powdered chlorine is MUCH safer.

Odd....cause I tend to remember burning the heck out of my nose, and giving myself a nosebleed last year after smelling some Cal-Hypo last year. Ya...I'm that stupid too!
 
Re: Funniest/ most ridiculous thing the pool store has told

This report was on our evening news the other day from a "Premier Pool builder/supplier" in our area:

Chemicals to treat algae can cost between $45 and $150 + and take up to two weeks to clear completely. “Unfortunately, some pool owners resort to a quick-fix,” she says. “Some try to vacuum the algae and that is a big mistake!” :hammer: [/b]

Not sure how much THEIR chemicals cost but bleach is definitely cheaper :p
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply