Baking soda DETERGENT! Not sodium bicarbonate

[Ldecicco]

My kid wanted to help with the pool so I told him to get a scoop (1.5 cups) of baking soda from the laundry room and sprinkle it in the pool. I came back to find my pool bubbly. Sure enough he grabbed the baking soda detergent which I didn't even know we had - my fault I suppose. I just drained and refilled the pool 2 weeks ago and I really don't want to again. What should I do? He only poured one and half cups in. Also important to note, we don't plan on swimming in the pool til april/may so does have time to dillute right?

ingredients on box: sodium carbonate, sodium laureth sulfate, water, potassium chloride, c12-15 alcohols ethoxylated, sodium bicarbonate, sodium sulfate, modified acrylic copolymer, disodium distrylblphenyl disulfonate, sodium carbonate peroxide

 

[JJ_Tex]

I would raise your chlorine up to SLAM level and let the filter do its job. Do you have a latest set of test results you can post?

 

[Ldecicco]

Thanks for the response @JJ_Tex You think I should throw shock in too? I plan on running pump for 24 hours.

My latest results from pool store were 2 weeks ago after i filled pool are below. However, we've had tons of rain since then so my pH was at about 7 this AM, hence why i was going to throw a cup of baking soda in. My chlorine is low below because it was new water but its back to being at 3

Free Ch: .64
pH: 7.9
alkalinity: 78
hardness: 250
cyanuric: 35
iron: .1
copper: .3

 

[JJ_Tex]

Frist of all, welcome. TFP is all about testing your own water, and keeping the correct levels, including the Free Chlorine to CYA ratio (see my signature for the link to the FC/CYA chart).

I'm assuming the above are from a pool store, which we typically do not trust as they can be wildly inconsistent/inaccurate. Assuming they are correct and this is a non-saltwater pool, I would bump your FC up to SLAM level, which is 16 for your CYA (40, rounded up). That will help break down the detergent and keep anything nasty from brewing in your pool.

Hopefully you will stick around. If so, I would consider the following:
1. Update you signature with your pool and equipment details
2. Research your own test kit, including the TF100 (see my signature)
3. Read up on pool school articles
4. Post away for any questions you might have. We are a great community and nobody here is trying to sell you anything, which is very rare in the pool world.

 

[Ldecicco]

Thank you!

Yes, it is from a pool store. I have a 25k gallon pool. So just to be sure, you're saying to throw cyanuric acid in to get it to 40 and then throw shock in?

 

[Ldecicco]

also, this is my test from right before the baking soda detergent was put in.

 

[JJ_Tex]

No, I would leave your CYA alone and add chlorine to get it to 16. Liquid chlorine is the best, since it only adds chlorine, but a little cal hypo (adds calcium) or trichlor (adds CYA) will be fine assuming the numbers above are correct. Just do not use those products long term as the calcium and CYA can build up and cause issues down the road.

 

[Ldecicco]

Okay. Thanks. I only have shock powder on me so I’ll throw some in. Do we think the suds will go away after continuous pumping and chlorine adding? or should I get some defoamer? @JJ_Tex I appreciate all your help. I'm a new pool owner as well

 

[JJ_Tex]

No problem. I've never dealt with that issue, but I've seen a few threads on here with people doing the same thing you did and that seems to be the case:

Laundry Detergent - I swear it wasn't me.

Shortly after testing my chem levels today, I directed my dad to dump 7lbs of baking soda into the pool. As I was getting around to testing CYA, that smell wafted over to me. You know, that 'I'm running through a field of flowers and pine trees' smell. Yes, indeed, he had poured in Arm&Hammer...

www.troublefreepool.com

Will Alum help to remove Laundry Detergent

Yesterday so many responded to my use of Arm&Hammer detergent instead of bicarb. Got some great advice as well as some sympathy. Today, I am remembering the use of Alum some years ago to help clarify my pool. Could this be used to remove the detergent? I am following the advice to Shock and...

www.troublefreepool.com

Laundry Detergent

Hello, I have been doing the BBB for three years now and have a friend trying it. Like a dumb arse he put armor hamor laundry detergent into the pool this morning (10 pounds). Is there something he can do to get the levels back to normal? Or should he just remove water and start over...

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Ldecicco]

haha funny memory nonethess, its slowly going down. Thanks again

 

[mgtfp]

So just to be sure, you're saying to throw cyanuric acid in to get it to 40 and then throw shock in?

When JJ said:

I would bump your FC up to SLAM level, which is 12 for your CYA (40, rounded up)

He meant that he rounded up your test result of 35 to 40. Since the CYA test can only be read with a resolution of 10ppm, we always round up to the next 10. Then we adjust the chlorine level according to TFP's FC/CYA Levels.

And welcome to TFP! As JJ already mentioned, one of TFP's cornerstones is to do your own testing with a TF100 test kit (or an equivalent Taylor kit that includes the FAS/DPD chlorine test. Only that ensures reproducible test results that the TFP community can trust, and enable them to give advice without actually having a sample of your water.

Best to start reading through ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry and Test Kits Compared and all the other Pool School articles.

 

[Ldecicco]

@mgtfp Got it. I only had shock powder on hand so I shocked the pool and have kept the pool running since. The suds/soapy film is now gone besides when I splash the water, a little comes to the top and goes away fairly quickly. I'm going to keep the pump running over night as well but seems that time should do the trick. Luckily it was only one cup worth, and not the whole bag.

Won't be swimming in the pool til May at the earliest so won't have to worry about sapy irritated eyes in the near future. Any other advice/insight is welcomed.

 

[markayash]

I had a water leak and had to shut off water to my house and had a doctors appt so took a "bath" in my spa and only used a little shampoo..It bubble up for a few days but went away over time with nothing special done.