There has been almost no progress in my SLAM since Sunday evening. I am testing morning and night, and adding chlorine to get to or above my shock level of 12 with a CYA of 30. I'm testing at approx 7:30 AM and 8 PM each morning and evening. The FC typically registers between 5 and 8 12 hours after my previous chlorine addition.
I read some posts regarding using my Polaris during SLAM, and the consensus seemed to be that it would do more good to the process than harm to my equipment by using it, so I put it in Sunday evening. It did pick up a lot of small stuff off the bottom of the pool, but is now picking up very little, so I think I've gotten most everything out.
I'm still having the water flow problem. I only have time to clean the filters once a day at night after work. They don't seem to be that dirty. When I hose them down, a fine grayish sediment comes out at first, but clears up pretty quickly. After replacing them the water flow improves a bit, but within 30 minutes it starts slowing down. After dark, when I shine a flashlight into the pool I can see the tiny particles floating in the water. It's incredible how thick they are. Also, the flat surfaces within the pool (steps and sun deck) collect this gray powder in between brushings. There is a significant thin layer of this sediment completely covering these horizontal surfaces.
It seems as though at this current rate that it is going to take weeks to filter out all of this sediment. Is there not a product that can clump it all up and make it settle to the bottom where I can vacuum it up with the Polaris?
Only three more days until Saturday. I guess my plan is that I will clean the filters (takes over an hour) and then run them for about two hours, then repeat as often as I can all day long, or as often as my back can handle it. Then do it again a couple of times on Sunday. If I don't see any progress by Sunday evening, I'm thinking that I will be left with two options -fill in the pool and start a garden, or sell the house!
Any other suggestions will be greatly appreciated.