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Ree

Ree

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May 28, 2013
12
Hi there... my name is Ree. My husband went through a midlife crisis a few years ago, left us and little by little stopped helping us at the house. He usually opens the pool. So bear with me... This year I have taken the cover off the pool (above ground 18x25oval) by myself to discover that a lot of leaves fell into the pool. I've been shoveling the leaves out of the pool with a rake for about 2 weeks on and off and tryin to clear the water of the algae. My DE filter and pump were working great but I am finding that the water that goes back into the pool isn't as strong. I have back washed... and bumped... a lot. I am wondering how to get the glass off the pump it seems to be too tight. I am thinking that is the only thing I have not done. I'm tiny and not very strong so I have resorted to strap wrenches to untighten things in the past. Could use some moral support...

Thanks

ree :drown:
 
Welcome to tfp, Ree :wave:

It sounds like you have a pretty good idea of how to run your pool :goodjob:

Ree said:
I am wondering how to get the glass off the pump it seems to be too tight. I am thinking that is the only thing I have not done. I'm tiny and not very strong so I have resorted to strap wrenches to untighten things in the past.
Click to expand...
Sometimes they are easier to turn while the pump is running. If that doesn't work then carefully "helping" it open with a rubber mallet can sometimes work. A large strap wrench might also do the trick.

Ree said:
My DE filter and pump were working great but I am finding that the water that goes back into the pool isn't as strong. I have back washed... and bumped... a lot.
Click to expand...
What is the clean pressure on your filter and what does the gauge read when the pump is off? Sometimes even the bump type filters need a deeper cleaning. See: http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/cleaning pool filters
 
Hi, welcome to TFP! I used to have one of those husbands too (except he rarely helped out around the house), so I know where you are coming from. You can only backwash and bump a DE filter a few times before you need to open it up and hose off the grids or fingers to get rid of all the old DE.

If you could go to the user control panel button on the upper left corner of this page and edit your profile to include descriptions of your pool equipment it would help us tell you how to maintain it. Please include pool type (above ground or in ground), surface (vinyl, plaster, or fiberglass), size in gallons, pump brand and horsepower, filter type (sand, DE, or cartridge), and filter brand and size.
 
It took me a minute to figure out what you meant.

I think the term you're grasping for is pump strainer lid. If it's the type with ears, a mallet or a block of wood works. If it's got a crossbar on top.. http://www.troublefreepool.com/can-t-remove-pool-pump-lid-t39958.html?hilit=pitchfork

pitchfork-pool-filter-pump_zpscde79e83.jpg


If you mean something else, keep asking.

And welcome :wave:
 
Welcome to TFP :wave:

When is the last time you cleaned out the grids inside the DE filter? Backwashing is fine but a thorough cleaning the girds ( At least once a year).This may improve pressure/flow the process is slightly involved though. it involves using a spray nozzle with a cones shaped head (some times referred to as a driver way sweeper nozzle). Cleaning the O-ring,gland and greasing with silicone grease not shown in video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fUTz4ZUaro There may be a better u-tube on how to but this one is simple enough for a DIY person

Maybe other can add to the possible problems with you system :)

:cheers: Kirk
 
Hi again... I'm sorry it took this long to respond back... I have been working on my pool non stop to the point of getting nothing else done...lol

Yesterday the pool was getting blue. I could see the bottom but the water was cloudy... Today its green again... I'm spent. I have taken my pool water to the store... they said it was my stabilizer... I'm thinking that the flapper thingy on my filter may not be working. I deep cleaned the filter and put the DE back in, then I came in the house. Well I got the pump cranking, and a hose popped off while I was in the house... you can guess the rest. Sooooooooo now I am in the process of putting the 4 or 5 inches back in the pool...Im hoping the little bit of new water will help?

If the filter is still not filtering is fixing the flap something that I can do??? I'm pretty proud of myself. I can use ratchets now... haha

ps thanks for all the responses...
ree
 
Ree.. If you don't have yourself a good test kit, that would be where I would start. It will be your best friend to get your pool clear again. The favorite around here is the TF100... you can find information about it in the pool school section.

If you haven't read pool school, the section on "the shock process" is where you may want to start. It might seem overwhelming at first glance, but once you dive into it and follow it, you will see results.

You can do it! My hubby handles the mechanical things at opening and closing, but last year when our filter broke.. that was all me baby! I do all the chemical maintenance to. Once you've been doing it a short time, it all comes together... you just might have to ask a few favors for the things that use a little extra strength from time to time.
 
Hi Ree! I don't know if you've read Pool School yet but it's there to help you clear the pool. The articles are not hard to grasp and before you know it, you'll have a sparkly pool! You should definately look into the TF-100 as your main test kit as it will get you through the shocking process and make maintaining the pool a breeze. :goodjob:

Good Luck Ree! Strong women ROCK!!! :cool:
 
Hi again... my ph is at 7.2 Chlorine is at 2.4. It seems to be holding the chlorine but the green isn't going away before I shocked it this last time I went in and moved the water around and scrubbed the sides. Other than the filter I can't imagine whats up with the pool. How do I upload a pic???


ree
 

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Ree said:
Hi again... my ph is at 7.2 Chlorine is at 2.4. It seems to be holding the chlorine but the green isn't going away before I shocked it this last time I went in and moved the water around and scrubbed the sides. Other than the filter I can't imagine whats up with the pool. How do I upload a pic???


ree
Click to expand...
Even if you had zero stabilizer, 2.4 FC is not shock level. That's why the pool isn't clearing.

"How high does the chlorine need to be?," you will no doubt ask....the answer is "we don't know." Without knowing the CYA (stabilizer) level, there's no way to determine what shock level is.

And it is a PROCESS, not a one time set-it-and-forget-it thing. Killing the algae means raising the FC high enough to kill the algae faster than it can reproduce and keeping it up there for days or possibly weeks. Kill kill kill until there is none left. The good news is, armed with a test kit and the pool calculator, you may never have to endure the process again.

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Hi again... though yes my pool did become blue and stayed that way for about a month... I am dealing with some clouding due to rain and quite frankly I don't think the stabilizer is working anymore. Is stabilizer something that has to be put in regularly during the season or just in the beginning. Also what caused my pool to finally agree in July was the fact that the guy at the pool store told me to ignore the hardness factor. Once I got the stuff to make my water harder it was great. Could that be the problem again too?

Ps thanks you guys are great!!!
 
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