We are getting ready to go on vacation for 4 days and need some advice on what to do with our pool while we are away since the trees that surround our pool are dropping leaves like crazy right now. Yesterday our pump lost prime because the skimmer got clogged with leaves while we were away for 6 hours and now the pool is a bit cloudy as a result. There is no time to do a SLAM. I'm worried about leaving the pump on while we are away because I worry that the pump will lose prime again and damage the pump. I don't know anyone who can come over here 3 times a day to dump out the skimmer like we've been doing while we are home, but my son said he could come over after work to add chlorine and get leaves out of the pool if needed. If I offer to pay for his food and gas, I could probably convince him to stay for an hour or two after adding the chlorine if this would help.
What should we do to prevent coming home to a swamp since the pool is already a bit cloudy and we can’t do a SLAM now or run the pump for 4 days? Should we just leave the pool at shock level, turn off the pump before leaving, have my son add a day’s worth of chlorine (2 quarts) to the pool everyday and hope for the best? Would it help to put the solar cover on the pool or could this make the situation worse since there will be leaves on the surface of water that my son won't be able to remove, leaves could potentially still get in, and it will be difficult to add more chlorine without removing the solar cover? I know that putting our winter loop lock mesh cover would be the best solution but it is simply too heavy and difficult to get on and off without help.
What should we do to prevent coming home to a swamp since the pool is already a bit cloudy and we can’t do a SLAM now or run the pump for 4 days? Should we just leave the pool at shock level, turn off the pump before leaving, have my son add a day’s worth of chlorine (2 quarts) to the pool everyday and hope for the best? Would it help to put the solar cover on the pool or could this make the situation worse since there will be leaves on the surface of water that my son won't be able to remove, leaves could potentially still get in, and it will be difficult to add more chlorine without removing the solar cover? I know that putting our winter loop lock mesh cover would be the best solution but it is simply too heavy and difficult to get on and off without help.
