JohnT said:
Your pool dealer is lying. The trichlor at Walmart is the same as his.
Maybe not--at least in part. WalMart sells HTH products and HTH has been pushing its "Dual-Acting" tri-chlor tabs. And these contain copper as an algaecide, which, as we all know, is generally a really bad idea. So... as troublesome as tri-chlor tabs can be (especially if you don't test all the time and at least once weekly for stabilizer/CYA), the WalMart HTH "Dual Acting" tabs are much, much worse.
Beanie, you will LOVE discovering how much money you save on B-B-B. I discovered it (before it was called that) about 8 years ago. Bleach, Borax and Baking Soda. I found one pool store selling "Total Alkalinity Raiser" for $12 for a 4 lb container. That DAY I saw a 12 lb bag of Arm&Hammer Baking Soda at CostCo for $3.50--and they are the same chemical--exactly the same. From the pool store that $3.50 12 lbs would have cost
$36 DOLLARS! Yes, these methods are very real.
Pool stores sell "pH Up!" and other products for raising pH. We use Borax which is FAR cheaper and actually better than what's in their products--Soda Ash (Borax doesn't raise Total Alkalinity). But the Soda Ash story is the same as Total Alkalinity Raiser--it's sold in the laundry section of your grocery store as Arm&Hammer Washing Soda (in the yellow rather than orange box). Same chemica--Sodium Carbonate (as opposed to Sodium
BIcarbonate), but at less then $.70/lb! Really! So if you need to use Soda Ash (good if both pH and Total Alkalkinity need to be raised), it's as close as your supermarket.
Bleach is simply the best way for a homeowner to chlorinate. It has the fewest side effects and is easiest to calculate how much to use. Liquid Chlorine from pool stores is the same stuff, usually just in higher concentrations--double strength. Sometimes it's cheaper to buy that, sometimes cheaper to buy bleach. I like the LC because it's more compact, comes in 5 gallon containers and, at least for the moment, is competitive with bleach. Plus I recycle bleach bottles to use with it. Right now, at $17/5 gallons of nominal 12% it's the same as paying $1.70/gallon for 10 gallons of Ultra (6%) bleach--a very, very good price. You can get it cheaper but I have reasons I buy it from this place.
The pool store I buy it at is the best by far of the 9 or 10 I can choose from and I like to give them any PS business I can. They also sell SO much of the LC that it's always fresh. Every time I test it, it tests at 14.5% to 15%--stronger than the 12 it's listed and sold as.
As you learn more, you'll find, paradoxically, that you don't need to know that much--because so much is hype and so little is fact. Here, at Troublefree Pools, and at PoolForum.com, you'll get the straight info you need. You'll save money, your pool will be far cleaner, and, you'll find you do NOT have to work very hard or put in as much effort to maintain your pool. I, for one, cannot possibly see what advantage I would get from a pool service. Chems? Got that covered! Testing? My kit is better than theirs. Vacuuming and brushing? I have a robotic cleaner that one season's service would pay for. It does it all.
Information substitutes for money--and it's a GREAT bargain!
I'm not a pool dealer--I'm a home-owner. Most of the folks here are just that too. We trade information and it works. The few pool dealers at either forum all pledge not to "pool store" their fellows and are excellent sources of TRUE industry information.
