Can't get my pool to clear

[RobynA]

I have been working on trying to get my pool clear for over a week now. Part of it is my own fault as I didn't read as deep as I should have before starting out!

Usually when we get our pool ready, we drain it, scrub it, and refill it. This time I decided to try and just fill it and chemical away the algae. My first problem was that I didn't know about CYA turning to ammonia, which is probably what happened in our pool (hadn't added bleach during the winter). Then I wasn't really on top of the SLAM for the first days. I did adjusted the ph before I started Slamming and added borax to raise TA and added CYA. I've gotten more aggressive about adding bleach in the last couple of days. We tried to vacuum yesterday and the vacuum broke (a suction one that you push across the bottom) so now we have no way to vacuum. We compensated by one person brushing and the other skimming out what came up. At least it seems we are bringing fewer pieces of leaves up.

For the last 5 days, I've just had a cloudy pool. When we took out the filter to spray wash it, there was a lot of little white dots of something in the filter water and lots of gray water came out of the filter. This morning the OCLT had only gone down 1.5. The pool looks the same. This afternoon the chlorine level was down to 7 from 16. I will continue slamming.

The question, do I just keep on as I have (I'll keep slamming, brush and skim tonight and spray wash the filter again - the pressure has not gone up on the filter during this time)?
Or should I have patience for a few more days? We're about ready to just drain it and start over.

The last few days I've been going higher on the bleach I add, just to try and make sure I keep everything off. I'm not too worried about damaging the pool, because it is a very old pool and I don't think it will last past this season (probably 30 years old).

Here are my pool math readings since I started.

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Test Results 08-08-2022 @ 01:57 PM
Free Chlorine: 7.0
Combined Chlorine: 0.0
Temperature: 72°F
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Test Results 08-08-2022 @ 05:55 AM
Free Chlorine: 16.5
Combined Chlorine: 1.0
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Test Results 08-07-2022 @ 08:45 PM
Free Chlorine: 18.0
Combined Chlorine: 0.0
Temperature: 72°F
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Chemical Addition 08-07-2022 @ 05:30 PM
+ 60 Fluid Ounces of Bleach
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Test Results 08-07-2022 @ 05:24 PM
Free Chlorine: 9.0
Combined Chlorine: 0.0
Temperature: 72°F
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Notes 08-07-2022 @ 05:00 PM
spray wash filter, brush bottom and hand skim what comes up (not as much as earlier)
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Notes 08-07-2022 @ 04:30 PM
vacuum half of pool, vacuum breaks
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Notes 08-07-2022 @ 02:30 PM
spray wash filter, brush bottom, hand skimmed what came up
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Test Results 08-07-2022 @ 11:45 AM
Free Chlorine: 17.0
Combined Chlorine: 0.5
pH: 7.5
Total Alkalinity: 90
Calcium Hardness: 50
CYA: 30
Temperature: 72°F
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Chemical Addition 08-06-2022 @ 08:35 PM
+ 81 FluidOunces of Bleach
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Test Results 08-06-2022 @ 08:34 PM
Free Chlorine: 8.5
Combined Chlorine: 0.0
pH: 7.2
Total Alkalinity: 50
Calcium Hardness: 50
CYA: 30
Temperature: 70°F
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Notes 08-06-2022 @ 02:47 PM
brushed bottom of pool
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Chemical Addition 08-06-2022 @ 02:30 PM
+ 40 Fluid Ounces of Bleach
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Notes 08-06-2022 @ 12:00 PM
tested tap water 8/6/22 11:30 am
chlorine .5
ph 7.5
alkalinity 40
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Test Results 08-06-2022 @ 11:05 AM
Free Chlorine: 6.0
Combined Chlorine: 0.5
pH: 7.2
Total Alkalinity: 50
Calcium Hardness: 60
Temperature: 70°F
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Test Results 08-05-2022 @ 09:45 PM
Free Chlorine: 9.0
Combined Chlorine: 0.0
pH: 7.3
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Chemical Addition 08-05-2022 @ 06:45 PM
+ 85 FluidOunces of Bleach
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Chemical Addition 08-05-2022 @ 06:38 PM
+ 12.2 Ounces of Borax
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Test Results 08-05-2022 @ 12:32 PM
Free Chlorine: 4.0
Combined Chlorine: 0.0
pH: 6.8
Total Alkalinity: 50
Calcium Hardness: 60
Temperature: 70°F
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Chemical Addition 08-03-2022 @ 09:14 PM
+ 100 Fluid Ounces of Bleach
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Chemical Addition 08-03-2022 @ 12:42 PM
+ 82 Fluid Ounces of Bleach
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Test Results 08-03-2022 @ 12:23 PM
Free Chlorine: 0.5
Combined Chlorine: 0.5
pH: 7.2
Temperature: 70°F
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Chemical Addition 08-02-2022 @ 07:05 PM
+ 25 Ounces of DryStabilizer
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Chemical Addition 08-02-2022 @ 06:52 PM
+ 121 FluidOunces of Bleach
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Chemical Addition 08-02-2022 @ 06:21 PM
+ 34 Ounces of BakingSoda
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Chemical Addition 08-02-2022 @ 05:54 PM
+ 4.9 Ounces of DryAcid
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Test Results 08-02-2022 @ 12:03 PM
Free Chlorine: 0.0
Combined Chlorine: 0.0
pH: 8.0
Total Alkalinity: 30
Calcium Hardness: 60
CYA: 10
Temperature: 72°F
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Chemical Addition 08-01-2022 @ 10:02 PM
+ 128 FluidOunces of Bleach

 

[Texas Splash]

It looks like your most recent CYA test was 30, so be sure to only maintain an FC SLAM level of 12. No need to go higher. Other than that, if you following the SLAM Process page carefully you should do well. Just have to be consistent as best as you can and inspect/clean every inch of that pool.