Hi All
First post! Great site
My wife and I just bought a home with an in-ground pool. 16 x 32 I believe it is. We close on April 30th and I am trying to learn as much as I can about pool care & maintenance prior to actually occupying the house. My question is related to actually opening the pool. I read all the posts about removing the cover, filling the pool, checking the pump/filter etc and I seem to have all of that down in my head. My question surrounds what you actually do to the water first when the pool is open? Some sites say shock right away, some sites say run the pump for awhile before doing anything, some sites say test ph first before adding shock or chlorine, some sites say adj alkalinity prior to pH - I'm so confused as to what the actual order should be - or if there even is an order...
So let's say I have the cover off, the water level is where it should be and I have been running the pump/filter for a few hours …now what????
- Should I just shock the pool first thing and then test the water a few hours later?
- Should I test the water before I do anything at all??
-Does the order in which you approach adjusting water chemistry depend simply on what the water testing tells you? In other words, should I basically just test the water and adress the element that is most "out of whack"??
I guess I need sort of a step by step guide in terms of the order in which to address water chemistry when opening a pool...
I plan on purchasing the Taylor K-2206 test kit after many recommendations on the form here.
Thanks!
Dan
Berlin, CT
First post! Great site
My wife and I just bought a home with an in-ground pool. 16 x 32 I believe it is. We close on April 30th and I am trying to learn as much as I can about pool care & maintenance prior to actually occupying the house. My question is related to actually opening the pool. I read all the posts about removing the cover, filling the pool, checking the pump/filter etc and I seem to have all of that down in my head. My question surrounds what you actually do to the water first when the pool is open? Some sites say shock right away, some sites say run the pump for awhile before doing anything, some sites say test ph first before adding shock or chlorine, some sites say adj alkalinity prior to pH - I'm so confused as to what the actual order should be - or if there even is an order...
So let's say I have the cover off, the water level is where it should be and I have been running the pump/filter for a few hours …now what????
- Should I just shock the pool first thing and then test the water a few hours later?
- Should I test the water before I do anything at all??
-Does the order in which you approach adjusting water chemistry depend simply on what the water testing tells you? In other words, should I basically just test the water and adress the element that is most "out of whack"??
I guess I need sort of a step by step guide in terms of the order in which to address water chemistry when opening a pool...
I plan on purchasing the Taylor K-2206 test kit after many recommendations on the form here.
Thanks!
Dan
Berlin, CT