5 years of closure

[Chase Goodling]

Hello all,
My name is Chase, my wife and I bought a house back in the middle of November that has an above ground pool. I live in central Pennsylvania in Ickesburg. From what our neighbor was telling us (of which i take with a grain of salt) the previous owners of 5 years did not open the pool at all. I know it was open previous to them and a new liner was put in prior to selling to the last owners. We are in the middle of March obviously and for seasonally warm weather im getting a head start on this thing so we can jse it this summer. My mom and dad had a pool some years back (probably 7 years ago) and dad tore it down because it was giving him fits. Im concerned i may not be able to get it going this year for us when it gets hot. I started pumping the water off the cover yesterday and werw this far. I hope to get some tips and tricks from everyone!

-Cheers

 

[Flying Tivo]

Welcome! You are off to a great start by joining TFP. After you get the cover off, you will need to rake any crud, leaves, etc of the bottom. The other option is to do a full drain and refill if water is not that expensive in your area. Please start reading on ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry and order a Test Kits Compared include the speed stir. Also fill in your signature with you pool specs and equipment. You can also take a picture of you pump pad.

 

[kimkats]

What a pretty set up! You are going to LOVE your new pool when we get you all set up on how to care for it using stuff you can buy from Walmart and Target! How neat is that???

@Flying Tivo got you off to a great start with his wonderful post (THANKS Felipe )

I support his idea of a drain and start over if it is as black as I think it is going to be.

Now set up a video camera so we can all enjoy the *show* when you go to take the cover off while trying to keep the mess on top from going into the pool LOL

Kim

 

[Texas Splash]

This should be fun to watch. Make sure to keep us visually updated. We love pics. Also, since you may very-well be doing a healthy water exchange, keep in mind your water source. If you have city water, it may be fine, but if you are on a a well there's a large potential for iron. So be aware of that. Even in some rural areas, iron is prominent If you think it is, you might consider having water trucked-in. If iron is not an issue, get ready for a TFP SLAM Process. Have your trusty TF-100 and chlorine ready and get to it. Nice to have you with us on the forum. Welcome!

 

[Divin Dave]

Welcome Chase,
sparkly Pools are easy. here are the basics.

Get a recommended test kit
Read Through Pool School while you're waiting for it to be delivered
Maintain your pool chemistry by TFP recommended levels.
Use Bleach or Liquid Pool Shock as your main source of chlorine (no pucks or powders)
DO NOT listen to people in the pool store and do not buy the snake oil they sell and do not get your pool water tested there.
Use Pool Math or the TFP Pool App to determine how much of something you need to add to your pool. (these are automatic calculators that will need your test results). Do not add anything it doesnt tell you to add.

Do this, and your pool will be enjoyable instead of being a headache.

 

[Chase Goodling]

This group is awesome! I have never been welcomed to a forum quite like this! I got the cover off the pool today. Its honestly not as bad as i thought itd be! I was figuring black (Cant see a thing BLACK). To my surprise, I CAN see the bottom! Lots and lots of algae and leaves, but it is the bottom none the less! Right where the water line is, there is some little staining on the liner, i took my hand and was able to rub the line off with my finger. So im confident i can get this liner clean. I have heard so many others say never drain a vinyl liner pool. But my dad has drained his several times and he said he never had an issue? Whats the tale of the group on this? I ordered a TF-100 kit last evening. So that should be on its way. Alittle background on myself, like stated above, I live in Ickesburg, Pennsylvania. Farm country. I live in a wide open field in a valley of two small mountains. I sling wrenches for JB Hunt transport on their trucks. Avid hunter/fisher, motocross guy, and sprint car racing guy. I want so bad to get this up an going because after a hot day of work id love to sit at the pool with a drink! Sorry I kind of went off track there. Just to help everyone better understand who I am and what I do. I did take some more pictures.

 

[Chase Goodling]

To add to everything from my last post, I am a volunteer firefighter for Ickesburg. Im sure if i asked my chief, i could borrow our tanker for alittle to get it filled back up. We run very little calls a year (usually around 150 calls a year) although if we do drain and refill, i could just get a localish pool water company to come over and fill half way-ish. Then top off with the mountain water we fill our tanker with.

 

[kimkats]

This group is awesome! I have never been welcomed to a forum quite like this!

Yeah we are kind of friendly! We LOVE to help people enjoy their pools!

But my dad has drained his several times and he said he never had an issue? Whats the tale of the group on this?

So long as you drain fast and refill asap you are good. You do not want the liner to sit out of water too long.

I sling wrenches for JB Hunt transport on their trucks

THANKS! Keep those big trucks running!!!

motocross guy

I will have to hop on the desk top to share my toy pic with you. I have had a off road bike or 2 LOVE me some woods runs!!

after a hot day of work id love to sit at the pool with a drink!

It is true joy!! And think after doing some yard work jumping in! Living the pool life!!

I kind of went off track there. Just to help everyone better understand who I am and what I do

We are all like a family here. We love to learn about new people and share in their lives and joys!

I ordered a TF-100 kit last evening.

Be still my heart! NICE job!!

Okay so lets get you all set up:
-set up your signature-What kind of pool (above ground), size in gals, kind of filter (DE, sand, cartridge), how you are will be adding chlorine (liquid or SWG (Salt water generator) If you don't know just take a pic and we can tell you what is what.

-Look in your area for liquid chlorine-Walmart has it in the pool section. It is labeled as "pool shock" or such. Also call your local pool store to see if they carry liquid chlorine (best bet for many) BUT know that is the ONLY thing you are *allowed* to buy from them!

-Look down at my siggy below for the link to the recommended chemicals. Do not buy any of it just yet except for CYA. This has to be added to water. You can buy it at Lowes, Home Depot, or Walmart.

I have something you are are going to love! It is Pool Math PoolMath Now if you are not an app person we do have a web based Pool Math. It can be found at the bottom of each page. This can even tell you have many gallons your pool holds!

Have you read any of Pool School yet?

Kim

 

[Chase Goodling]

Yes, i read up on the chemistry section and started the algae section.

 

[kimkats]

What a wonderful pic of your family! Love the smiles!

 

[carnivalday]

Oh boy oh boy oh boy is this gonna be fun to watch!

 

[wireform]

Chase,
Welcome aboard. With all the hobbies you mention this shouldn't be a big deal. I was off the forum and looks like you have many fans already. FLYING TIVO mentioned RAKE and I want to be sure you understand it's not the rake used for leaves on the lawn but rather a pool rake, basically a fishing style thing for the pools. Not underestimating you...just words of caution. Lots of luck and keep the pictures coming.

 

[clambert1273]

Im hopping in to say welcome and so I can watch it unfold You will love it here, I showed up years ago and never leave

 

[JodieM]

Welcome Chase! How’s that pool coming along? Can we get an update?

 

[Chase Goodling]

Hello everyone! Sorry for missing out so much and kind of going off grid for awhile. We had so much stuff come up all at once it was crazy! But my wife and I pushed through and we got it all accomplished. Switching focus back over to my pool and our unfinished bathroom im in the middle of remodeling as well! So we started by draining our pool, getting what i could with a rake which took about 5 or 6 hours hitting the liner with some dish soap and a soft scrub brush. Then got a sump in there to drain the last 2 inches and then a shopvac for all the silty muck on the bottom. Started filling up with our garden hose to settle the liner back in untill Blue Mountain Excavating can come in and fill er up. I did check the pump (filled up a 55 gallon drum) to verify operation before i started all this and it sounded good and was putting out a strong flow!

 

[Chase Goodling]

Sorry everyone, i have other pictures as well that say are to big to upload. Ill have to take pictures and try again. Im sooooo ready to get this thing up an running!

 

[PoolNewb2020]

If you have trouble with picture size, just view the picture on your smartphone in full screen and then take a screen shot, the resulting image should be much smaller in size than the original taken by the camera.

 

[kimkats]

You sure did have your work cut out for you!!! Good job getting the muck up and out!!!

Kim

 

[Wobblerlorri]

Settling in to watch this one ... Don't ever despair -- I started this year off with a nasty pool and now it's crystal clear and beautiful thanks to TFP!

 

[Chase Goodling]

Heres where i was at a few days ago. The bottom of the liner got some nasty wrinkles, tried an tried to get them out but just couldnt. But atleast its better than it was.