going away for 10 days--help?!?!

[Celkins0901]

Hello. I am about to leave for 10 days and won't be able to add chemicals while away. Here are our current readings:

FC 5 (We usually keep between 7-9)
CC <0.5 (usually stays at 0, but we had a LOT of people in there for over 5 hours Monday, plus rain since then)
pH 7.5 holding steady
TA 130 (haven't lowered since pH is not bouncing around--is this ok?)
CH 250
CYA 60


I just added 3 Gallons of 10% chlorine which should raise it to 27. It seems to go down faster when there is more FC. Is there a ratio or something? Will this last me 10 days? Or will someone need to add some more Tues/Wed? I don't really want anyone else messing with the chemicals, but I can have someone add once or twice while I am away if needed. I know we will need to brush and vacuum when we return, but I don't want the green mess. Looking back over the last couple weeks, it looks like we've used around 2-5 per day. It looks like we definitely use more on sunny days than cloudy, and more when lots of people are using it.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

 

[spinPHD]

How soon until you leave? If you have enough time, get your pool to shock level (which looks like you already have) check levels each day until you're FC drifts down to low end of target. Let's say it takes 4 days, then have someone come out every 4 days to bring it back up to shock level. You can pre measure how much chlorine that will take, so all they have to do is turn on pump and add. While they are at it, have them clean skimmer basket so it's not blocked. Should take them 5-10 minutes

 

[Razorhog]

Do you know how much and when you typically add? When I was away for a while I had a buddy of mine come over every other day and pour in a gallon of bleach and clean out the skimmer basket. He was also more than welcome to use the pool and did bring his wife and kid over several times. I would just ask a neighbor or friend to come over and pour in some every other day or so. It'll be fine.

 

[Celkins0901]

We are leaving later today. I got it up to shock level just a bit ago. I'll check to make sure it is there before we go.

- - - Updated - - -

Do you think adding a gallon on Monday and again on Thursday would be enough, without overdoing it? I don't like to add without testing, but I am thinking this may be my best option...

 

[waskydiver]

A few things...

The only real practical consequence of overdoing it with bleach is the cost and if the CL level is too high, you can't swim in it. I wouldn't sweat that.

If you leave your pool at shock level (or even higher), and just allow the water to circulate, while your are gone, I doubt that you will have much of a big deal to contend with when you return. You'd probably just need to SLAM.

Then, there are pucks. I know it's a bad word around here. It will raise your CYA level, which is already a little higher than ideal. But... you could use some pucks in a floater while you are gone... test your CYA level when you return, and do change some water when you get back if you like. (And if it rains while you are gone, it may offset the CYA levels).

Here's another thing I have thought about doing, but never tried: Punch some holes in a a couple gallons of bleach and drop them in the pool before you leave. Feel like being a guinea pig?

And as to your parenthetical question about your TA: Main reason to adjust your TA is to establish equilibrium with your pH. Sounds like you are there. I wouldn't mess with it.

 

[Celkins0901]

Thank you! That's what we will do

 

[spinPHD]

Not sure how strong bleach you use, but that will raise your pool by about 7-8 each time if you're using 10-12%. For me, I would error on the side of overdoing it so I would pour in 2 gallons each time if the come every 3 days The few times I've brought my pool to shock level, I was back in range within a day or two. So it doesn't hold long at that high of level

 

[Celkins0901]

I'm thrilled to announce that we were able to jump right into a clear pool upon returning home from vacation! We ended up raising to SLAM level and then on the 3rd and 6th day my friend added a gallon of 10% chlorine. FC read 9 on day 10 and CC was 0. We just had to empty skimmer and get some leaves out. We do the same week of vacation most years and this is the first time I can remember that we were able to just jump right in without a lot of adjustments. Coincidentally, it's also the first time using TFPC methods.

 

[beemer]

Congrats! That's awesome news. We've been playing with the chlorine dosing as well in preparation for vacation. I've been playing with dosing on Sunday night, and letting it drift down over the week (just slightly more than I'd add during the week doing it daily) and thus far it's been great. If I could just get the PH happy we might move to this once or twice a week option from here on out just so I don't have to get my bleaching clothes on every day if nothing else.

 

[Tsudduth]

I, too, will be going on a week long vacation soon. I was considering loading up the floater with pucks since my CYA level is between 30 and 40. Does anybody know how much CYA is contained in the pucks?

 

[spinPHD]

I, too, will be going on a week long vacation soon. I was considering loading up the floater with pucks since my CYA level is between 30 and 40. Does anybody know how much CYA is contained in the pucks?

If you go to Pool Math, and scroll to "effects of adding chemicals" you can find out how much cya each contain.