Just got test kit...feeling overwhelmed

Jump to latest Follow Reply
In the process of draining my pool and the hose method is taking forever lol. My boyfriend and I have a bet and I wanted to see if someone could tell me if I'm gonna win or not lol

He's not much into the pool and says he doesn't understand why you have to worry so much about balancing the water because lots of people used to swim to rivers and ponds and all that and that draining it and refilling it is a waste of time and money because since our pool has trees around it and stuff gets in it everyday that within a week or two it will be back to the way it was before I drained it.

What do you all think. Whit all the debris that falls into it could he be right???
 
You should be removing the debris daily. You should be maintaining your FC above minimum at all times and thus the debris will not matter.

Lakes and rivers are continuously moving and changing over water. You will have XXXX amount of gallons sitting there. If you do not maintain it, bacteria can grow and make you sick.
 
Soooooo in a way we're both right huh???

Okay. Draining is done I think I have taken about half he not a little more out so hopefully that will be good enough. I don't wanna go through that again. Will refill tomorrow and hopefully have better tests results tomorrow evening.

One more question. While the water level is really low any suggestios on getting really little debris out before I start filling it back up? Earlier while it was draining I got most of the leaves and bigger things I could but it seems there's still some amount of dirt/sand that I can see on the bottom....any suggestios?
 
TamithaSue50 said:
One more question. While the water level is really low any suggestios on getting really little debris out before I start filling it back up? Earlier while it was draining I got most of the leaves and bigger things I could but it seems there's still some amount of dirt/sand that I can see on the bottom....any suggestios?
Click to expand...
I use a self contained mini-vac similar to this one. I think of it as a DustBuster and my Polaris as a Roomba.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Pool-Blast...Ps_TPJc-FttmJpG9NI8hfGGPy1CROmBMaAh8aEALw_wcB
 
We very rarely advise draining. It is almost always avoidable. The most common exception is CYA being over 100 because it just never breaks down and takes forever to lower due to splash out/backwash. The negative logistics of ensuring a sanitized pool with CYA over 100 outweigh the benefits assuming a swim season of more than a week or so.

The natural bodies of water have entire ecosystems that have developed over the millennia to make it safe enough for us to dip in. Even then, you definitely don't want to drink it straight up.

If the debris is the kind of stuff that normally vacuums out just fine, no need to worry about it at all.

Options if it really bothers you:
- Wet/dry shop vac (with the main filter removed I think?)
- Pool vac designed to be used without pump (often battery powered with it's own fine mesh filter)
- Manually using the skimmer net (being careful not to drag the plastic frame against the liner.
- Manually getting in the pool and using cheesecloth, stockings, hairnets, pillowcase, fine mesh, etc.

You have some regular bleach or chlorine avail for refill water?
 
UPDATE on CYA after refill....I did probably a 50-60% refill and just checked the CYA the normal way (not diluted) and it now reads 60. If I understand correctly that's still high but way better than 130 to 150 right?

But I got to wondering should I have let the water circulate for awhile after adding the new water before I tested it or does that matter??

And now what? Where do I go from here. Do I need to lower it some more and do I need to redo all the other tests to?
 
With your pool size the addition of the fresh water most likely mixed it pretty well. You can test CYA again in a few days to confirm.

You SLAM with a CYA of 60. Use [FC/CYA][/FC/CYA]. Check your pH first and lower to 7.2 using acid. Test your TA to calculate how much acid will be needed to lower your pH, if necessary.
 
Use muriatic acid to lower pH to 7.2. Add chlorine. Maintain it at SLAM level every couple hours.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You can get muriatic acid at Home Depot, Lowes, Ace, paint stores, pool stores.

You can use plain bleach. Better is 10% liquid chlorine from Walmart, Home Depot, Lowes, some pool stores.

SLAM -- Shock Level and Maintain. You Maintain until you pass the three criteria. Read SLAM Process

- - - Updated - - -

Please read Trouble Free Pool School.
 
mknauss said:
You can get muriatic acid at Home Depot, Lowes, Ace, paint stores, pool stores.

You can use plain bleach. Better is 10% liquid chlorine from Walmart, Home Depot, Lowes, some pool stores.

SLAM -- Shock Level and Maintain. You Maintain until you pass the three criteria. Read SLAM Process

- - - Updated - - -

Please read Trouble Free Pool School.
Click to expand...

Oh yeah okay. I have read it before. Just forgot about the 3 things you have to pass before being done.

Thanks.
 
After you use PoolMath to determine how much Muriatic Acid (MA) you need, then SLOWLY pour that in the pool right in front of the return jet so it gets diluted real fast. Give the pool floor a light brushing to "stir" any acid that sank to the bottom before dilluting completely. When pouring MA, avoid getting it on yourself, minimize splashing, don't submerge bottle, and avoid breathing the fumes. More safety information on the bottle. Not nuclear waste or anything, but does demand your full attention and respect.

Then wait 20-30 minutes after you finish brushing the floor and retest PH only to verify.

If 6.8-7.2 - you did it! go ahead and add the bleach.
If you are still higher than 7.2, plug the new PH into PoolMath with your previous TA and see how much more acid to add to get to 7.2. slow pour, stir, wait, retest
If lower than 6.8 - let us know and tell us how much MA you added.

Please note - we always space MA and bleach 20-30 minutes apart, never add both at the same time, even with pump on.
 
BattleOfYakima said:
After you use PoolMath to determine how much Muriatic Acid (MA) you need, then SLOWLY pour that in the pool right in front of the return jet so it gets diluted real fast. Give the pool floor a light brushing to "stir" any acid that sank to the bottom before dilluting completely. When pouring MA, avoid getting it on yourself, minimize splashing, don't submerge bottle, and avoid breathing the fumes. More safety information on the bottle. Not nuclear waste or anything, but does demand your full attention and respect.

Then wait 20-30 minutes after you finish brushing the floor and retest PH only to verify.

If 6.8-7.2 - you did it! go ahead and add the bleach.
If you are still higher than 7.2, plug the new PH into PoolMath with your previous TA and see how much more acid to add to get to 7.2. slow pour, stir, wait, retest
If lower than 6.8 - let us know and tell us how much MA you added.

Please note - we always space MA and bleach 20-30 minutes apart, never add both at the same time, even with pump on.
Click to expand...

So if I'm understanding this right it could take all day to do this. Correct? If so I'm thinking it's going to have to wait til next weekend to do it
 
TamithaSue50 said:
So if I'm understanding this right it could take all day to do this. Correct? If so I'm thinking it's going to have to wait til next weekend to do it
Click to expand...


You can check pH after 20-30 minutes of adding the muriatic acid if it was added into the return jet stream, and the pump was left running. Even if you had to check it three times that’s less than 90 minutes, far from all day.
 
domct203 said:
You can check pH after 20-30 minutes of adding the muriatic acid if it was added into the return jet stream, and the pump was left running. Even if you had to check it three times that’s less than 90 minutes, far from all day.
Click to expand...

I was actually meaning the whole SLAM process, not just the process of lowing the PH......lower the PH as you said probably wouldn't take a couple hours but from what I have read sometimes you have to put alot of chlorine in and that can take awhile, correct? Reason I ask is because during the week I work til at least 5 or 6 so I wouldn't want to start the whole SLAM process and not be able to finish it that evening and have to start all over again......
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply