? after reading "Turning Your Green Swamp Back..."

[jimhokie]

First let me say I wish I had all that advice for the previous 11 years of pool ownership! Glad I found this site.

Here's my question: I always thought vacuuming the pool on waste as soon as possible after killing the algae was very important to reduce the amount of biological material in the pool that uses up the chlorine. (Doesn't even dead algae and other accumulated debris consume free chlorine?) But there was no mention of even vacuuming the pool, either filtered or on waste, during the swamp cleaning process. Is it just assumed you'd be doing this as well, or exactly how best do you combine vacuuming to clean up the spring-time frog bog? I would love to hear that vacuuming on waste isn't necessary because I hate wasting 5 or 6 inches of water out of a 20x40 pool!

 

[Richard320]

Good question! We'll get on JasonLion to do something about it!

You are correct - organics do consume chlorine. We usually recommend dragging a leaf rake across the bottom to scoop out any accumulated sludge early in the process, like while you're waiting for the test kit to arrive. You needn't vacuum to waste. You can just vacuum, then do a backwash. Less wasted water than way.

A lot depends on how bad your pool is. Some people just have green, without leaves and critters. Once the algae has faded to grey/white, it's the filter's job, not the bleach, to get rid of it.

 

[jimhokie]

The main reason I vacuum to waste when opening in the spring is because I have a sand filter, and much of the algae just passes right through it. Vacuuming the entire bottom on waste eliminates 90% of it, although it takes a lot of water, then the filter slowly. I've tried adding DE to tighten the filter, but if its tight and there's a ton of algae in the pool, the algae just blocks it quickly and I have to backwash and repeat.

Let me ask a follow on question...I've seen many references to using bleach on this site. I've always thought bleach was not a good idea. I thought maybe it threw off the pH or was for some reason frowned upon. Is this not the case? Is bleach effective at a lower cost than "pool" chlorine? Any particular type to look for or avoid?

 

[linen]

Welcome to tfp, jimhokie

I've always thought bleach was not a good idea. I thought maybe it threw off the pH or was for some reason frowned upon. Is this not the case?

That is not the case. Using bleach is basically ph neutral. Bleach/liquid chlorine is an excellent method for chlorinating your pool. See: http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/types_chlorine_pool

Is bleach effective at a lower cost than "pool" chlorine?

Most people find using bleach/liquid chlorine to be more cost effective than other chlorine sources.

Any particular type to look for or avoid?

Plain bleach or liquid chlorine is the best. Avoid anything that has scents or is labeled as splashless.

 

[duraleigh]

jimhokie,

Your thoughts about vacuuming to waste are pretty logical but that's not quite how it works. I have never vacuumed to waste as my water refill source is limited. Many, many others here on the forum never do, either.

Getting a pool crystal clear is a process of killing the organics and then filtering them out of your pool. If your sand filter is not filtering out the debris, you are either not operating it correctly or it is broken internally. When was the last time the filter was opened and the sand cleaned up? That may be needed.

Anyway, vacuuming to waste is simply not practical in many circumstances and is not at all necessary to get a pool crystal clear.

 

[jimhokie]

Thanks for all the answers linen and duraleigh! I did find the "BBB" link later while continuing to browse this site. I will use bleach from now on whenever the pool needs more than my salt chlorinator system can provide.

It's amazing how much I've learned from this site so far. I thought I had a pretty good handle on pool maintenance having grown up around my father's pool company in addition to owning my own pool for 11 years. Guess I "learned" vacuuming on waste from my father's procedures, but I will try the filter-only method this spring. I expect I'll have to do a lot of backwashing, at least early in the process and especially when vacuuming to the filter, but I can't imagine I'd waste nearly as much water backwashing multiple times than the 5-6 inches lost while vacuuming on waste.

Last year, I was concerned that maybe the sand had crusted and the water was mostly flowing through channels. So I opened it up and reached deep into the sand to loosen it up. It seemed nice and loose already, so I don't think that was the problem. I will check it again, and verify there is enough sand in it. I did see the procedure described on this site about running a hose down into the sand until the overflowing water runs clear. I will also do that.

I'm kind of dead in the water right now awaiting arrival my new 2-speed motor (thanks to a recommendation from this site!). The old one is screaming and I expect it to Crud out at any moment, so I don't want to start the clean-up while depending on that motor to keep running. I'm just trying to run it enough to keep the water from stratifying to minimize algae growth near the surface where the water gets much warmer if not circulated--less dead algae to have to clean out. And I will stock up on bleach in the mean time.

Thanks again for all the good poop!

 

[Isaac-1]

As I see it vacuuming to waste or not depends on a number of factors, water cost being one, but could also be advised if you know your pool is prone to building up CH or CYA (assuming use of trichlor) and water replacement would lower it , etc.

 

[jimhokie]

I'm usually in the mode of needing to increase CH and CYA just from normal water loss, so all the more reason to not waste water.