Just fired the pool guy

[kotuku]

First time pool owner. My family moved into a townhouse with a pool and I started using test strips two months ago, because my families eyes would hurt for hours after being in the pool. Chlorine levels were extremely high. I sent photos of the test to the owner of the pool company and he said not to worry, the pool was fine... I finally had enough last week and purchased the TF-100 Test Kit for peace of mind that the pool was safe for my family. Turns out the Chlorine levels are through the roof!

FC 44.5
CC 1.5
pH 7.5
TA 160
CH 275
CYA 50
81 degrees



Any thoughts and advice are welcome. Thanks so much!

 

[mknauss]

Welcome to the forum!
Great job on getting a quality test kit!
I would not suggest going into that pool water right now. Once the FC gets below SLAM level (see FC/CYA Levels) then you can see what the CC is and things may be OK. Do not mess with anything else as the high FC messes with the pH and TA test.
The FC should drop over the next few days. Be sure to remove all sources of chlorine. How have you been chlorinating?
I suggest you read ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry.

 

[Texas Splash]

Welcome to TFP! Something seems odd to see such a high FC level with an also elevated CC level. For the FC test, did you use the 10 ML sample, one scoop of powder, mix until clear, and divide the number of drops in half? Example: 40 drops equals an FC of 20. In your case, it would've taken over 88 drops. Is that right?

 

[kotuku]

@mknauss Wow! Thanks for the quick replies! I am reading the ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry now. I have not been chlorinating. The pool guy was using the yellow chlorine jugs, but the last time he was here was Thursday...

@Texas Splash - yes, I did the 10 ML sample, one scoop of powder, add drops until clear, and divide in half. I did the test four times, because I thought I had to of done something wrong to get such high levels. (To tell on myself, I actually did two of the tests wrong... I used the wrong end of the 'scooper' and put a huge amount of powder in the graduated cylinder.) The results were: 79, 115, 99, 89. I threw out the first two because of the amount of DPD Powder I used...

 

[mknauss]

Is your pool in an enclosure?
You are sure there are no pucks/tablets in a chlorinator on your equipment pad?

 

[kotuku]

@mknauss I attached two photos. No enclosure, no chlorinator. I'll run levels tomorrow and repost.

 

[mknauss]

Interesting. So the pool service was raising the FC level to very high levels hoping it lasted for a week. Where they adding algaecide?

 

[PoolGate]

following as I've never seen chlorine this high....

 

[kotuku]

@mknauss no clue on what else they were adding... if anything.

 

[RDspaguy]

Yep, I'd have fired him, too. And I AM a pool guy.
That is a very small pool.
I used to work for a big commercial outfit. We had 8 trucks running service on commercial and residential when I started as assistant service manager. After I learned that those 8 trucks all always added a 5 gallon carboy of liquid and a gallon of acid to every pool they saw, on the orders of the service manager, I sat them all down for a chemistry lesson. Sounds like these guys have a similar method.
Shortly thereafter, we sent them all to CPO class. We discovered then that the "lead" maintenance tech was colorblind, and did not have a test kit he could read. Of course, he was in charge of training the others before I arrived. He was afraid to tell anyone because he thought he would lose his job.
Surprisingly, the manager who advised the 5 and 1 method was already certified. Guess he had a little alzheimers setting in or something...

 

[mknauss]

Great.
Are you using a Speedstir for your testing?

 

[clambert1273]

following as I've never seen chlorine this high....

when we moved in to our new house in Feb mine was pushing like 90+ AND they bottomed out PH andTA, they CYA was well over 800 so since it was obvious they didn't take care of the pool, we drained it completely, filled it and I started from scratch.. now I have ripped out all the plumbing and adding a SWG as well as a VS pump, I replaced the DE filter grids too (I trust NOTHING) these people took care of lol my point is no matter what someone leaves you, it can be fixed with time and patience

 

[ajw22]

Welcome to TFP. This may have other tips to help you...

DIY Pool Care: The Benefits of Taking Charge of Your Pool Maintenance - Further Reading

(Redirected from Phasing out the Pool Guy)

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[JJ_Tex]

Wow, I've seen orange before on the testers, but it is usually yellow/orange. That is full blown cheeto orange! Good job taking matters into your own hands and firing him.

 

[kotuku]

@RDspaguy what a story! Glad you set it straight!

@mknauss Yes, using a Speedstir. I went all-out when ordering the test kit! Hah!

@clambert1273 wow.. just wow.

@ajw22 thanks for the read!

@JJ_Tex i was going to say Nacho Cheese Doritos, but Cheetos it is!

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

That's enough chlorine to scare the algae out of all pools within a 5 mile radius.

 

[RDspaguy]

Bet you can see it at night from the space station.
Houston, we have a problem...

 

[wireform]

With that amount of FC you can sanitize your air rights.

 

[djdonte]

I've found that during periods of high FC such as when SLAMing, the CC doesn't often read right. Let it drift down to normal level then check again and perform an OCLT to be sure. Looks like he was just dumping a ton of bleach in your pool each week.

 

[kotuku]

The more I have read, the more I find wrong. The way the returns were setup causes signification surface agitation. There are 3 returns, and each one is faced upward breaking the surface of the water. I was none the wiser before, but now have them pointed horizontal to slightly down (slight ripple if any at the surface) and moving the water in a clockwise motion around the pool.
Here is a little video (photo below) : Pool Return Agitation

New levels to come later today.