Do it on my own or leave it to the professionals?

[Crysalize]

My filter

Click the link above to see my cartridge filter...... I cleaned it with TSP last night. Gonna wait a few more hours while it sits in the sun for a little bit. Then put back in and see if my suction returns. But do you guys think it might needed to be replaced? Before the TSP soak. I would rinse it clean as really good as I could and put it back in it's housing.....my suction would go down tremendously. I think it needs replacing? Lets see what happens this afternoon when I try again I guess.

 

[bmoreswim]

Your filter cartridge looks average. But it's always hard to tell how much oil and contaminants are contained within it possibly gumming up the works. You are doing the best thing which is the TSP soak and rinse. If that doesn't bring the pressure down, I would purchase a new cartridge element. Can you place the model number of the filter in your signature? Does it have one or four cartridges?

 

[Crysalize]

Your filter cartridge looks average. But it's always hard to tell how much oil and contaminants are contained within it possibly gumming up the works. You are doing the best thing which is the TSP soak and rinse. If that doesn't bring the pressure down, I would purchase a new cartridge element. Can you place the model number of the filter in your signature? Does it have one or four cartridges?

Pleatco PA 120 Cartridge Filter Hayward Star clear plus is added to my signature now. It takes only one cartridge.

 

[kimkats]

For those that have fiberglass........what is safe drainage level or the max you can drain without making the pool pop out of the ground?

Do you have any idea how high your water table is? Do you have any streams, river, pond or such by your house/neighborhood?

You do NOT want to drain it 100% for sure! We will dial it in with your answers above.

Kim

 

[mknauss]

When you exchange the water, you keep the pool full the entire time.
Have you read what was linked in the posts above?

 

[Crysalize]

I bought the TF-100 kit today. I'll get it sometime next week in the mail. I'm slowly buying everything I would need b/c I just don't have all of it in budget right now. I'm keeping the pool guy for right now as I don't have all the chemicals just yet just in case something goes out of wack. Once I've got everything, I will let him go. @mknauss I read the link last night. I understand now what you mean. I'm gonna be on a lookout for a submersible pump. I'm gonna research if I can find one second hand somewhere's. Trying to keep the cost down of doing this whole process.

 

[kimkats]

You can rent them from Home Depot or buy one for about $50 from Harbor Freight. OR put a call out on Next door or such asking if anyone has one you can use.

 

[JJ_Tex]

I'm keeping the pool guy for right now as I don't have all the chemicals just yet just in case something goes out of wack. Once I've got everything, I will let him go.

Hi Crysalize - What costly chemicals are you buying? Until you get your test kit, the only thing I would worry about is chlorine. Liquid chlorine (bleach) is cheap and should be under $5 a gallon.

After you get your test kit, the main thing you may have to adjust would be PH (Acid is ~$5 a gallon, baking soda is even cheaper).

I get that the test kit is pricey, and you may have to drain some for a water exchange, but as far as chemicals go they should be a fraction of what you are currently paying for your pool service. Below is an article with more detail.

Recommended Pool Chemicals

Which should I buy? TFP's recommended pool chemicals are cheap, easy, and won't unbalance your pool water.

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Crysalize]

Hi Crysalize - What costly chemicals are you buying? Until you get your test kit, the only thing I would worry about is chlorine. Liquid chlorine (bleach) is cheap and should be under $5 a gallon.

After you get your test kit, the main thing you may have to adjust would be PH (Acid is ~$5 a gallon, baking soda is even cheaper).

I get that the test kit is pricey, and you may have to drain some for a water exchange, but as far as chemicals go they should be a fraction of what you are currently paying for your pool service. Below is an article with more detail.

Recommended Pool Chemicals

Which should I buy? TFP's recommended pool chemicals are cheap, easy, and won't unbalance your pool water.

www.troublefreepool.com

It will all come in due time. Do you not have other expenses that you have to prioritize? Let's just say I have a bathroom shower leak going on right now that takes the number one spot on our household budget right now. So yeah every dollar counts. Don't pass judgement and the pool service has already been paid for the month. This will give me till the end of the month to phase out the pool guy. I should have all I need by then.

 

[JJ_Tex]

Wow, my intent was not meant to criticize or pass judgement.

I just read that you were buying a bunch of chemicals, and was worried you were spending lots of money stocking up on chemicals before ending your pool maintenance contract. My point was that most of the chemicals you will need are cheap and available from places like Walmart vs high dollar pool stores and at a fraction of the cost of your pool service.

Good luck with your pool and whatever else you have going on.

 

[setsailsoon]

Crysal,

Tight budgets are tough and I think we're all there or have been. Let's see if we can come up with some ideas to help you reduce the cost. Here are a couple:

• sure if you've paid the pool guy - makes sense to give yourself a couple weeks. If you're in for a water exchange he can't hurt much.
• Your #1 priority should be chlorine. This will keep your pool safe and trouble free. Look for sales now as you'll need some soon. Best source for me is refillable containers at Leslies but you have the up front cost of the jugs. 2nd best is Walmart gallon at a time. Save for a jug and get it as soon as possible. Then get another. 10.5% ends up being less thant $1.50 per gallon this way.
• Don't short chlorine as an algae bloom will consume a LOT and get costly.
• You'll need some MA soon also. You can get this at big box stores for $11/2 gal.
• It's winter so CYA can be secondary to give you some time to purchase it. Look for sales at the big box stores during spring and buy at the best price. We can help you figure out how much you need in time. CYA lasts a long time and more than pays for itself by reducing FC loss. So get it as soon as you can.
• Consider renting a pump as cheap as you can. But sometimes you can buy one for almost the same price as rental. It will be slower but will get the job done. The right answer on this just depends on what's available in your area. If you do TFP right you'll never have to change again so if you buy try selling it on eBay after you're done. I'm on year 7 with the same water... still looks fabulous
• After you change your water out and start testing one of our experts will talk you through balancing. Try to run low on TA this should help stabilize your pH so you won't need as much MA.

On big advantage of TFP is it is absolutely the lowest cost way to care for your pool. Stay diligent with it and you'll reap this reward.

I hope this is helpful.

Chris

 

[markayash]

I was debating hiring a pool guy but bought a saltwater generator and a robot cleaner instead

 

[mas985]

There are ways of draining and replacing the water at the same time while minimizing the mixing. This works well in the winter if you can add water farthest from the deep end near the surface while removing water in the deep end at the bottom. Don't run the pump during this process.

 

[FlaPoolGuy]

There has already been much said, and I agree with just about everything. My situation was similar to yours, except I bought the house with copper stained pool last year. I had no prior knowledge of anything about pools except how to swim in them.

If you have time, please review my first thread on trouble free pool "the un-poolstorification" where I narrate nearly the same experience, except my copper was from algaecide.

If you don't have time, here are a few quick things I can add:

1. Your stabilizer is likely substantially higher than 100. I used to go the the pool store, and their test stops (maxes out) at 100. They do not tell you this however. So your cya could be 200, 500 or more.
2. To do the process to get copper off the pool's surface you will need specific, different chemistry values (cya should be as lower than 40, for example). Also I've read that the reaction to bind the copper works better in warmer water so I've done the process twice so far, but stopped when the weather cooled off. I'll resume in springtime.
3. Most pool store chemicals are either overpriced or useless. Get the liquid chlorine reusable jug though. This is likely a "loss leader" for them. For example, I was in a hurry last week, so I bought some "alkalinity increaser" - 10 lb for $20. This was literally 100% NaHCO3 aka "baking soda" - it said it right on the front of the bag. 10 lbs of baking soda at Walmart is $6.16. Once you get the copper out and stop buying non chlorine chemicals at the pool store, the price of pool maintenance drops quite dramatically.

I hope this helps!