Bought a home and over my head

[mguzzy]

I want to thank the member who told me to get to know my equipment. You made me realize I couldn’t trust the pool guy said my filter was clean. That does not look clean. Besides the one white one I’ve been spraying

OMG! If THAT is clean I'ma uh uh.. Monkeys Uncle.. wait.. I AM a monkey.

Those look nasty enough that you might want to give them a TSP bath and an Acid wash... Here read this:

Cartridge Filter Use and Care - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

I bought some BIG plastic bins and I was able to submerge my cartridges in them. I've also seen people use plastic garbage cans.

 

[BassPlayingDude]

Once we have your water sorted, we will get that skimmer working...

 

[BassPlayingDude]

Please someone else look at those skimmer pics and offer suggestions ... I'm at "nuke it from orbit, it's the only way to be sure..." .. That is by FAR the most neglected skimmer I have ever seen.. looks exactly like Satan's bung hole No reflection on OP of course .. we play with the hand we are dealt

 

[BassPlayingDude]

@TatianaP If I were you, I would shut off your pump for a bit, pour some 12% bleach down that skimmer, let it soak for a while, put on goggles and rubber gloves, get a bristle brush and scrub the heck out of that thing! You are NEVER going to get your pool sanitary with a skimmer that looks like that... I am horrified to even think what the inside of those pipes must look like ...

 

[wireform]

@TatianaP If I were you, I would shut off your pump for a bit, pour some 12% bleach down that skimmer, let it soak for a while, put on goggles and rubber gloves, get a bristle brush and scrub the heck out of that thing! You are NEVER going to get your pool sanitary with a skimmer that looks like that... I am horrified to even think what the inside of those pipes must look like ...

I'd go one step further and put a plug in there so whatever detergent you work with stays right there. There's a product called krudd kutter Amazon.com: Krud Kutter Cleaner & Degreaser (1 Gallon): Health & Personal Care which does wonders.

 

[BassPlayingDude]

OP will need the chemical equivalent of a Samauri Sword to cut THAT crud!

 

[setsailsoon]

Tatiana,

I would focus on completing your SLAM asap. Once you get that completed you'll have a much easier time with the pool. As to your filters, I use an attachment to the hose that looks like this:



You can get them at pool stores and Amazon. If that doesn't get the filter pretty clean it may be a good idea just to get new elements. You have no idea what has been done (or not done) in the past. This way you'll start fresh and with decent care many pool owners get years and years of service from them.

So get that SLAM well underway. Start by testing several times per day and adjust to SLAM level each time. Soon you'll be able to test once or twice per day and top off. Then pretty soon your pool will be crystal clear and you'll pass the SLAM test then get to normal maintenance. Along the way you'll get your filters cleaned or replaced and you'll have a true TFP.

Chris

 

[mguzzy]

@TatianaP If I were you, I would shut off your pump for a bit, pour some 12% bleach down that skimmer, let it soak for a while, put on goggles and rubber gloves, get a bristle brush and scrub the heck out of that thing! You are NEVER going to get your pool sanitary with a skimmer that looks like that... I am horrified to even think what the inside of those pipes must look like ...

I agree.. it needs to be cleaned out.. but I bet its the accumulation of deposits of all kinds of chems and stuff from years of pool chem craziness. I was going to mention it but didn't want to overwhelm you with more than what is already on your plate. I would be more selective with cleaning it to figure out what is down there. Part of the problem will the you can't climb into the pipes to clean the deposits off inside manually.
1) Does it come off with a scrubber sponge? Then it just needs elbow grease
2) If you put some Chlorine or a Tab on it does it turn white? then its likely organic. and getting the FC to a reasonable levels will eventually remove it/kill it. If its organic and those kind of deposits are lining all your pipes, you maybe SLAMing for a while to get the organic residue off the inside of your pipes.
3) If you put some vitamin C on it and the stains go away, then you have metals, likely iron. In that case there is a whole procedure for getting iron out of your water and the stains off the surfaces.

So keep chugging along your are doing great. If you get those cartridges as clean as you can I think you will make a big step, and look toward getting new ones. in the near futures.

 

[superuser]

You're doing a great job! It takes some effort, but I was in a similar situation with my filters. Worse, perhaps. The previous homeowner may never have cleaned them after installation. You couldn't tell the filters were pleated they were so packed with gunk, no exaggeration. I should have taken a pic then. Cleaned them "pretty well" shortly after moving in, got the pool right, then cleaned them again a week and a half ago.