Is the SLAM method right for you?

[Sybrash]

I agree with Woody's post. How did you close your pool this past winter to even get into this situation? Many people on this site posting about swamps are new owners who inherited swamps from previous owners. Simply putting a tarp over your pool during winter and basic chemicals gets you to a point of running your pump for 3 days in March/April to get it clear. The people in the South who don't actually close/cover their pools will run the pump and maintain chemicals all winter. You said you had the same situation last year when you decided to drain the pool vs. SLAM. Seems like the root cause is the lack of preparation for the winter, not the SLAM method.

I wasn't questioning how I got to where I am. I know how I got here. Just questioning the best way out of a situation. I reiterated that the method DOES work - I'm not saying it doesn't. Just saying, if you find yourself in this situation, it may not always be the best method. In my case, it probably wasn't and other people may find themselves in similar situations. Can't un-ring a bell. And, yes, we've had 2 bad years in a row. 2013-2017 were all good though. Life happens!

 

[Sybrash]

On the contrary, what you did was burn off 35 ppm Cl2 instead of 11 ppm. In other words, you wasted 24 ppm chlorine.

I still think you will have better luck by testing your CYA and then SLAMming with the appropriate level of chlorine. Not several times the appropriate level.

Claiming a procedure essentially doesn't work just because you didn't do it properly doesn't have legs.

I truly appreciate the advice - but I NEVER said it doesn't work. On the contrary, I said "With patience, rest assured, the SLAM method DOES work." And, yes, I did have to waste more chlorine in order for the FC level to not fall down to 5. As I stated in one of my comments earlier, I couldn't find anything that tells you if doing that would be good or bad so I had to go off what I did know to be true and that was, if I only brought it to 20, it would be back down to 5 by the time I got home from work. Whether my thinking was correct or not, this is supposed to be a learning site and hopefully this conversation will help others. I'm sure there are a lot of people who don't have the luxury of properly performing the method by checking their water every couple of hours every day until they get their pool cleaned up. I've received some good suggestions.

 

[Donldson]

Yep, this is a learning site. And part of that is properly curating information so that those just learning are not led in 10 different paths while just trying to clear their pool. As such when bad information is posted we counter it. When someone continues to push that information we continue to counter it. It's as simple as that.

 

[Sybrash]

As you should. Have I ever suggested otherwise? I truly don't understand
where all the negativity is coming from. I never posted anything suggesting anyone

should do anything in any certain way. I always explained my reasoning/way of thinking so that others reading the post who may have the same types of issues/questions would have those questions answered. If all that information was easily found, I would have not had to voice my concerns/ask for help. I have not discounted anyone's advice other than those who had nothing more to contribute than the obvious -that I wouldn't be having the issues had the pool been closed properly. I was asking help moving forward and, quite frankly, only 2 people actually offered possible solutions rather than judgments. Sometimes in life things happen that are more important than closing your pool for the winter. Sad
some feel the need to rush to assumptions and judgment. On a positive note, I am almost there! I will take someone's suggestion of increasing my CYA to see if that doesn't keep me from having to use so much chlorine! Which, incidentally, was my original concern and one that the "curators" never really addressed. Well, tried to load a photo but I guess it's not happening. :/