Delay pool opening?

[Lynn5707]

Hi,

I am in Indiana, plan to open pool 4/15. Anyone delaying opening due to possibility of not getting bleach? I have five gallons of pool sanitizer from last year, which I know is not as potent as when fresh, but at least have that. I do have chlorinator which we could add pucks, but I would assume no guarantee they would continue to be available?

I know this is all new territory, as I am NP and change is constant. I just don’t want to open pool then have it turn nasty and have to deal with all that. I initially moved date up since we were home, not thinking about the chemicals needed to maintain.

just curious what others are doing. Also, if people have kept pool closed after warm weather starts, or even a full season, depending on how this all plays out, how horrible is the pool when it is open?

Thanks!

Lynn

 

[Shirker]

I would open and risk it.

 

[bmoreswim]

I would buy a SWCG before I kept my pool closed. Or of corse pucks. You get a good amount of rain like we do so CYA increases more slowly.

 

[jseyfert3]

Keep in mind I've never opened a pool before.

That said, a question. Is your water clear right now? If so, I would not wait and get on opening the pool.

The way I see it, you can open and use, and if you can't get liquid chlorine, and pucks add more CYA or CH then you can handle, then you stop adding and you end up with a nasty green pool.

Or you can not open and have a nasty green pool right from the start.

I'd rather open and risk not being able to get liquid chlorine later on then just let the pool go bad right from the start anyway. One way is sure to be bad, the other way might be bad.

And as mentioned, you can get a SWCG and not worry about chlorinating supply availability.

 

[Shirker]

My kids are stuck at home right now. Looking forward to the water getting just a tad warmer so they can jump in. I think the pool is going to give them some much needed entertainment.

 

[Lynn5707]

I don’t know how my pool looks as winter cover on pool. Usually when we open it it has been fine. Since we are home that is why we are opening a little earlier than originally planned. Going with SWCG not in the budget right now, maybe in the future.

Thank you all!

 

[Leebo]

What’s your calcium level normally?

 

[Newdude]

My $.02 is if you delay and turn into a swamp when the weather warms up, You could need 100+ gallons to SLAM.

 

[Lynn5707]

What’s your calcium level normally?

The last calcium level I checked last fall was 200.

 

[Leebo]

During these times I’d suspect a dip in the pool will do great things for your mind. It appears your calcium level is low and I’d suspect you’ll be fine using Calcium Hypochlorite for a few weeks. Hopefully by then all this will have past and life will return to normal.

 

[Lynn5707]

Thanks! That was my thought on moving up opening date. Since that time, and since I work in healthcare and shortages there I was worried I would be fighting that battle too if I couldn’t get chemicals.
thank you all for your help.,

 

[Leebo]

Truth is, that’s my plan. We have rather low calcium levels in our water and frequent rains so the increase can be dealt with. You will need to be rather diligent testing your CH levels, but it can be managed.

 

[crushkittykitty]

so far here there is plenty pool supplies aka whisper the word walmart pool essentials 10% and old ch has a shelve life, but use it first prolly just really weak

 

[Leebo]

Seeing you’re in farm country I’d also start to keep my eyes open at stores like Rural King, Meyers, or Tractor Supply. Often in our area I’ve found them to have very cheap prices on liquid chlorine. It may just be a tad bit early or it may have been delayed due to the virus.

Liquid Shock 4 Gallons LC4 - POLY63004

Product Features: Shock treatment and Super chlorinator for swimming pools Active Ingredients: Sodium Hypochlorite - 10% Inert Ingredients - 90% This item comes as a box of 4 - 1 gallon bottles of liquid shock!***Manufacturer/packaging may vary

www.ruralking.com

 

[jseyfert3]

Seeing you’re in farm country I’d also start to keep my eyes open at stores like Rural King, Meyers, or Tractor Supply. Often in our area I’ve found them to have very cheap prices on liquid chlorine. It may just be a tad bit early or it may have been delayed due to the virus

That's a good point. It made me remember seeing sodium hypochlorite sold for farm sanitizing purposes a year ago at our local Blain's Farm and Fleet. I looked it it and it should have been usable for pools, just the price per concentration wasn't good compared to bleach or pool chlorine. But it's another source if neither of the first two are available.

It will probably survive the panic shoppers for at least a bit even after the pool stuff is gone. Though I also wouldn't be surprised if they started making you prove you had a farm if panic shoppers start buying it and the farmers complain. Lol

 

[wireform]

We really don't know how long this pandemania will last and it'll probably surpass the virus by a good piece of time. Something tells me that SWCG will be hard to come by in the very near future as demands for them will be much higher this season. My advice, go for it as it's merely an outlay upfront if you're going to by the liquid chlorine for the next few years anyhow.

 

[Steve_in_C]

You should not delay opening your pool. A SWG is the best unless you have a reason you can't use one (such as rules against discharge of salt water, pool made from corrosion prone materials, etc). For bleach, you should call Hydrite, a Wisconsin bleach manufacturer, and ask for one of their vendors in your area. You may be able to buy 12.5% bleach in 5 gallon carboys.

Hydrite Chemical Co.: Brookfield, WI 53045

Hydrite Chemical Co. is a leading supplier in Brookfield, WI 53045.

www.thomasnet.com

 

[Lynn5707]

Hi,
I am actually in Indianapolis, although we do have farm supply stores. ? I usually purchase our supplies from Meijer’s, Menards or Rural King. I think I also have some of the chlorine tablets left from a while back before we stopped using them. We have talked about switching to SWG in the past, are they fairly easy to install as DIY?

Thanks for all the input!

 

[wireform]

Hi,
I am actually in Indianapolis, although we do have farm supply stores. ? I usually purchase our supplies from Meijer’s, Menards or Rural King. I think I also have some of the chlorine tablets left from a while back before we stopped using them. We have talked about switching to SWG in the past, are they fairly easy to install as DIY?

Thanks for all the input!

I'd go with a Circupool RJ-60plus. If you're a DIYer then it's straight forward. I've installed a few of them, easy install, good customer support, ease of use...... Don't forget you need to buy a SWCG minimum 2x pool capacity. If you go for it you'll need the Taylor K-1766 salinity test kit.

 

[jimim]

I’m opening. Like others said better open and going green then not open and deff going green. Stock up on liquid now since wal mart has it. I just bought 20 gallons to hold me till it gets warm enough for my swg. Worse case like others said pucks. Wall mart always has tons. Doubt there will be a hoarding problem with those but hey what do I know cause I still don’t understand the toilet paper thing.