new in west central MI

[TerriS]

Hi Everyone,

I was thrilled when I found this sight. I have been reading for a while and have to say thanks for all the wonderful information. BBB also makes perfect sense.

A little history. Purchased this house with in ground pool 3 years ago. Fortunately I have been fairly successful(I think) in maintaining the water-which is a good thing because my husband does not like the pool or the expense and time associated with taking care of it. He would just as soon fill it in although that would break our children's hearts. It is on the bottom of my list of things to take care of. I am a stay at home mom and farmer who has a very large garden to maintain, animals to care for and house and grounds that were in disrepair when we moved in, etc. etc. There is never a shortage of things to do. We have a fairly short swimming season so to my husband it just doesn't seem worth it.

Back to the pool I called it a rectagon because the corners of the rectangle are "chopped off" for lack of a better description. It also has fiberglass steps in one corner of the shallow end. I estimated the gallons because I am not sure how deep it is.
Here are my most recent challenges:

1. I know the vacuuming is slow going, but I was making good progress until yesterday. All of a sudden the vacuum became impossible to move-it was like it was glued to the bottom. Any suggestions? Thanks.

2. I have black looking stains on the fiberglass steps and vinyl liner at the water level surface or slightly above. I have scrubbed with Baquacil (last year-too expensive), and bleach even to where some of the pattern was coming off the liner. Any suggestions? Thanks.

FYI I just bought 182 fl. oz of 6% bleach at Dollar General Store for $2.25. I also noticed that some of the store brands do not list the %'s of ingredients.

Thanks for listening.

Terri

p.s. I am not computer illiterate but am new to bulletin boards so forgive my learning curve

 

[JohnT]

Hi Terri, welcome to the forum.

Your pool shape is called "Grecian"

Check the brushes on your vacuum head. When they wear out, the vacuum will stick. Some vacuum heads have replaceable brushes, and some are cheap enough that you just buy a new one.

 

[TerriS]

Thank you John.

Grecian sounds much better than rectagon.

Terri S

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

You can test stains with a vitamin C tablet, rubbing it or holding it on the stain, if the stain dissappears it's likely a metal stain, which can be treated. It could be an organic stain, which will fade overtime with proper FC levels, after shocking. You can tell if it's an organic (Algae-type) stain by setting a chlorine tablet on the stain and see if it fades.

I'd be careful buying the dollar store bleach, not sure if you can trust the strength. There was a gal recently on here who was using dollar store bleach and her pool was not clearing. Once she switched to clorox or Wal-mart bleach it cleared right up. Some non-brand bleaches are very low %, 3.25, 5.25% if it doesn't give you at least 6% I wouldn't bother. I have used Clorox, Aldi brand, Target bleach, and wal-mart bleach, I trust their strengths. Be careful buying dusting bottles of bleach, who knows how long they've sat and the will lose strength if left a long time.

Did you get a good test kit? That's the best investment for maintaining your pool, gives you complete control and takes out all the guesswork. Will save you time and money in the long run, for pool maintenance....

Welcome!