New Pool Owner in Mesa, AZ

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Good morning, Bonnie!

Please don't go to extra expense if you're comfortable your FC calcs have been reliable ;) You sound like you've verified your additions consistently enough...it was just worth checking.

Of the products you mentioned, Green to Clean is one that can cause a high chlorine demand and artificially elevated ccs -- it's actually a form of ammonia. Eventually it wears off, and is likely close to oxidized now, but that might explain your earlier trouble holding FC for a spell.

I feel that some of your struggle this summer maybe has been in part the mixture of pool store elixirs -- we see this happen all the time, so don't feel bad. I'm just sorry you missed the season!

So, you haven't seen algae or cloudiness for 24 days now, right?

Your ccs are ranging from 1 to 1.5, and on average, are you losing more than 30% of the chlorine you're adding each day?

If not, by this weekend it might be time to consider taking a rest from constant slamming to see how your FC at normal range behaves for a few days. Eg. dose to 8, don't let it drop below 5, check ccs daily, see if the chlorine holds and water stays clear. Report daily FC usage.

If you chose to try this scenario, If the FC doesnt hold, but the water stays clear, a partial water change to reduce some of the unknowns a little and regain balance might help you get Er on track. If it starts to go cloudy or there are any signs of algae, then likewise, back to slam with a rounded up CYA level but even in that case a partial water change might help give you a cleaner slate to work with.

I'd like to hear what others think, but if I were in your shoes, that's what I might try, because there's a chance that some of our usual "organics indicators" are being skewed -- eg. the behavior of ccs, the erratic chlorine consumption. Our indicators are reliable 99% of the time, but "product swamp" occasionally renders the odd outlier ;)

Whether you clear the final slam parameters by the weekend, try a rest or a partial water change, I want to let you know that once you get this squared away, POOL CARE will never be like this again! ;)

I used TFP principals to clear a foreclosure swamp in 2012 and have not had to slam since!

I promise it will be easy so long as you maintain your FC per the cya:FC chart daily and periodically do a full test ;)

In the mean time, please keep us posted on whichever way you decide to proceed.
 
rustyandbonnie said:
We have not been in our pool at all since we started the SLAM.
Click to expand...

Let's start off by changing this one "issue." Let's be honest......what good is a pool you can just look at. :D Your water looks amazing and you can clearly see the bottom of the deep end. Safety wise there is no reason why you can't enjoy the water as long as your chlorine levels are under the Shock Level of 20. Let the chlorine drop just a tad.....and get in and enjoy it! Bump it back up to 20 once you're done.
 
So yesterday turned out to be a good day. It started out bad, losing 4 overnight, but that included a few hours of bright sunlight since we slept in longer and didn't test until 8:30 am. After that we tested at 12:45 pm FC 18.5 (with a loss of 1.7), bumped it up to 20.5, tested again at 6:30 pm FC 18 (with a loss of 2.5), bumped it up to 20.

Then we we tested again sometime after dark (I forgot to write down the time because I was dealing with a sick 3 year old granddaughter). Our result was FC 19 CC 1. After that test, Rusty added about an inch of water. He never got around to testing it again because of taking our granddaughter to bed and falling asleep himself. He had to be to work at 5:30 this morning, so he retested about 4:45 am, still dark, FC 19 CC .5. No idea how we could add water and not lose any FC and lose .5 CC, but those were his results.

swampwoman's last reply sounds a lot like the conversation Rusty and I were having last night. We were thinking about just letting the levels drift down to see what happens, keeping them at your recommended levels. We were also talking about possibly doing a partial drain, but would rather wait to do that closer to the end of our season is we can keep the pool under control until then. Yes, the pool has been clear for more than 24 days. If everyone agrees we think we will let it start drifting down with the goal of keeping it between 5 and 8 and never falling below 5. We will continue to report our numbers. How often throughout the day do you recommend we test the levels? And do we just continue testing FC and how often CC? How often should we test everything?
 
Hi Bonnie, the low overnight loss, and the CC drop last night is exactly what we've been waiting to see this entire time. Since a bedtime level wasn't checked but the level remained the same appears that it held overnight and the CC drop to .5 is awesome.
You are finally seeing what we've been hoping to see all this time because before either the high overnight drops, the high CC level, or both was causing you to need to continue on.

I will let the Experts advise you on letting the FC go ahead and drop down now, and also about whether to drain any or not either now or later, but I'm pretty sure I know what their answer is going to be. :)

I do want to say how very proud I am of you and Rusty for sticking with this as diligently as you have. Keep up the great job, and Have a wonderful day.:)

Also I am so sorry your granddaughter is sick. I hope she gets to feeling better soon.
 
Congrats on the happier news! I think if you just test a few times a day so you don't let it drop too low and check your ccs one a day that may be enough to keep an eye on it for now.
I think a the VERY least you've earned a good float!

Enjoy! In my neck of the woods, its way too cold for a swim ;)
 
Bonnie

I sent you a PM earlier. Did you receive it? If not - on the top of the page here, click on the 'Notifications' to read it. To reply to me, while viewing the message, click on the 'Reply to Private Message' near the bottom right.

CJ, Swampwoman and Leebo are aware of the content of the PM. :D

Please do NOT post any private information in this message thread - as everyone can see it.
 
Hello Bonnie,

I'm thrilled to hear things are going better, and that another hiding area was discovered/cleaned out yesterday, so hopefully that was the one we've been searching for, and it will finally put an end to FC levels bouncing so badly, and the CC level jumping up on you.

If you don't mind would you please post today's FC and CC levels for us, so we can be sure the numbers are where they should be still today.That way we can know for certain that everything that's been causing you guys to have this problem up to this point has now officially been located, and completely taken care of. :)

By the levels the past couple days, and yesterday's findings, it sounds as though your SLAM has been completely completed, which is what we’ve been waiting and hoping for the entire time. All the work you’ve put in should make it much easier for you fine folks to be able to Maintain your beautiful pool from this point forward. We know it’s been a long time coming, and has taken some time, and hard work to get there, but you and Rusty stuck to the task at hand and got it done.

Here’s a few pointers to help you continue to maintain your pool once your levels drop down to the recommended levels for you current CYA level. If you guys at any time notice the chlorine is Not holding like it has been, and you again start seeing more FC drops than usual, or the CC level again increasing, and remaining above .5, be sure, and again check an OCLT to confirm http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/136-perform-the-overnight-fc-chlorine-loss-test-oclt,as that will give you a more exact picture of a potential problem trying to reoccur on you again. It will allow you to hopefully be able to catch a potential problem early, before it becomes a major issue.

The most important thing to remember is to always keep your FC level above the minimum level for your current CYA level, At All Times, and algae won't grow. Right now your CYA is at 50ppm so the recommended FC level for that is 4-6ppm, per the chlorine/cya chart http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/128-chlorine-cya-chart-slam-shock
(I maintain mine, due to being unable to check it as often due to my disabilities, at a Target FC level of 1-2ppm above the recommended Target for my current CYA, which helps me prevent it from ever dropping below the minimum when I am unable to check the levels as often as I’d like to). When Rusty is having to work long hours, if there are a lot of people swimming, with your hot AZ sun, should it be raining a lot, etc. this might work well for you too).

As far as the testing itself, be as precise as possible on every test performed. Continue to test the FC/CC levels daily, retest the levels 30mins after adding chlorine should see that you are having any issues at all reaching the anticipate level because this will confirm the exact level reached. Always be sure to retest 30mins after adding any chlorine when performing an OCLT, and all should go well.

As far as a Routine Maintenance Schedule: Of course try to continue to brush/sweep the pool daily, vacuum every couple days to weekly,and as needed. For my schedule, I check my FC/CC daily(adjust chlorine as needed), check my pH weekly, and my other levels monthly. Some check their FC/CC daily, and all their other levels weekly, so that's entirely up to you on when, and how often you choose to check the other levels, but please do check FC and CC daily, and add chlorine as needed. (LOL feel free to Multiply or Divide to get those readings, which ever works best for you LOL). Also a lot of folks like to do a monthly OCLT just as a safety precaution which might be a great option for you guys to add to your maintenance schedule considering all the issues you had to battle this go around?

If you have any questions, or additional problems along the way (which my fingers are crossed that we have it all resolved), but if you do, please don’t hesitate to ask. Others may offer you more advice on their schedules etc. too giving you even more options to maintaining your pool, and tips to keeping it algae free.

But I just want to say Congrats on a job well done. You and Rusty have done just awesome. Keep up the great job, and have a wonderful day :). :party: :whoot:

EDIT:I hope your granddaughter is doing better.
 

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Sorry i haven't posted numbers last night or today. My granddaughter gave me her cold and I was in bed all day with a fever, bad congestion and very sore throat. I finally got up a just little while ago. Last night when we went to bed FC 8.5. This morning FC 8, this afternoon FC 7 when Rusty got home from work, and he bumped it up to 9. Tonight it was still FC 9. So we did good today. Rusty was real happy with only losing 1 today and .5 overnight, and especially with only having to put in one quart of chlorine all day. I think he checked the CC level once today and it was at .5.

Thank you to everyone for helping us get through this.
 
Oh Bonnie, I'm so sorry that you're feeling bad. I hope you feel better soon. Please keep us posted on how you're doing.

The numbers look and sound GREAT!!! I'm so excited to see them holding for you all, and the CC remaining down where we want it to stay. Yelp, I think you guys have officially got it done. WHOOO HOOO!!! :party:

As far as your cold goes I have a sure fire way to help prevent getting a cold that you might can use the next go around, but now that your cold is full blown it probably won't do much, but it might prevent someone else in the family.

At the 1st sign of any cold symptoms be it a cough, sore throat, stuffy nose, etc.
Drink Airborne http://www.swansonvitamins.com/airb...0-tabs?SourceCode=INTL401&CA_6C15C=467669626a (Generic works fine), and take 1000 mg of Vit C at least twice the 1st day the symptoms begin, and they will usually disappear? (I'm not sure why the combination works so well, but for some reason it sure does. I've not been sick with a cold for years now doing this).

You take care of yourself, Bonnie, and please get well soon. Remember, we are just a message away should you need us.
 
7 am FC 8.5 CC .5. Only went down .5 last night and CC's held... Yay

Last year I drove to Chicago for my daughter's bridal shower. When I picked my other daughter up to go with us she was extremely sick with a fever, congestion, etc. I found Airborne everyday plus multivitamin at the store and started taking it. It's the first time i had ever used it. I was shocked that I didn't get sick the entire trip. She was still sick when we got back home about five days later. About a month ago, when school started up, I went to walmart to buy some more. They didn't have it in any stores around here. I liked that particular airborne because it was a once a day, swallow and done and included vitamins. I ended up buying the chewable form where you take two a day, but it didn't work. I found the others online today, so I'm going to order them and if I start getting sick again I'll take some extra vitamin C like you suggested. I was also taking the airborne when I watched three grand kids a few months ago for 3 nights. One after the other they got some kind of stomach flu. They were 3, 3, and 5 years old and each one ended up throwing up all over me. When I got home everyone in my family got it, again one after the other and my daughter and her boyfriend who were out of town got it as soon as they got home. I was the only one who didn't get sick. I think airborne is amazing.

Do you drink airborne everyday or just when you're getting sick or around others who are sick? How many times a day do you drink it? I never tried this form. When I looked at it, it seemed like you had to use it several times a day. I chose the other kind because it was once a day and seemed like it would cost a lot less.
 
Good Morning Bonnie,
I hope you are feeling better today. Yay is right on the levels still holding.:whoot: You and Rusty have done just awesome, so keep up the great job, and maintain that chlorine above the minimum for your CYA level At All Times, and all should be much easier on you guys.

To answer your questions on the Airborne. There is no scientific proof that it does what it claims to, but from personal experience I have found that it can certainly help. I have never tried the daily tablets, or the chewable ones, so I can't say how well those work. (But if the one daily worked well for you I hate to hear you can't find it there anymore :()

I use the effervescent form. I prefer the Orange flavor, the Lemon lime is alright but not my favorite, and IMO the Pink lemonade flavor is really gross LOL.

I have 2 different generics on hand right now 1 is the Walgreens brand, called Wal Born, The other I have here is a CVS brand, and it is called Air Shield, but there are several other generic forms around that appear to work as well as the original.
I personally do Not drink it everyday, I only drink it when I feel like I'm trying to get sick, or are around sick kids etc.. I take it once and if I still feel the symptoms at all, I take it and increase my Vit C, another time or 2 the 1st day Only to try to help boost my immune system a little more, and I then call it done from there.

Through the Fall/Winter merely just increasing the amount of daily Vit C intake does help too, be it from supplements, or from juice, or eating fresh citrus fruit. (LOL which we know you have some citrus hanging around there somewhere. :)) Just make sure you are getting plenty of rest, drinking plenty of water, eating right, avoiding stress, exercising, etc. because all of these help to keep you healthy.

The vitamins and minerals, etc. in the product, as like the CYA, etc. in your pool, It is possible to get too much of a good thing to where it becomes a bad thing, and to where it causes more harm then good, and can make a person very ill so make sure you use in moderation, and don't overtake it. This should be the rule to follow for any type of over the counter medications for that matter. Also as with anything always ask your doctor before taking any over the counter medications as they may react with your prescription meds or enhance your other medical conditions. Here is a link on Airborne, and at the bottom explains the side effects associated with vitamin and mineral toxicity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airborne_(dietary_supplement)

I hope this helps. You try to stay well, and have a wonderful day. :)
 
That is so wonderful Bonnie. I'm so proud of you and Rusty both. You worked hard, and finally got er did. I'm glad you guys are finally going to get see just how easy the TFP method is to maintain your pool. I bet it's nice to see chlorine to finally hold in there that well for you guys, isn't it? :).

Just be sure to keep it above the minimum at all times, even if you need to bump it up a little higher while Rusty is at work etc., and it should be smooth sailing all the way.

I hope you're feeling better today. LOL you better hurry up and get well because that pool has been waiting awhile for you guys to go swimming. Keep up the great job, and have a wonderful night. :)
 
We didn't get to test the pool until 2pm today, 18 hours since last test. I'm happy to report FC 6.5 down only 2. We're bumping it back to 8.5. Feels good to be using only one quart of chlorine a day. I know it's only been 2 days, but I'm hopeful that this will continue to be our norm.

I'm all sick. I got in the pool the evening before I got sick. The water seems to be getting colder every day. I don't know how much longer well be able to use it this year.
 
I love to see that report Bonnie. Whooo Hoo. :whoot: It is definitely a whole new world than you've had since May for sure.
I hate that it took so long to discover that missing link, and now the water is getting almost too cold to swim. Do you have a solar cover, or anything that may help you prolong your swim time? My sis in AZ added solar panels to hers, so they can swim longer, but those are pretty costly.

I have a solar cover here for mine, but with it getting down into the 50's at night, my swim season came to an end a few weeks ago. :) You guys have a wonderful day, and I hope you get several more hot days, so you can :swim:
 

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