I have the same issue with my sister in law. She has had a pool for 15 years and gets pool stored a lot. As a relative newcomer to a pool (this is our second season), I do not think my advice would hold much weight. I really want to offer advice.
Non-BBB pool owner's pool party. Ick
- Thread starter CaraR
- Start date
I have a friend that's had a pool for years. I don't recall how many, but I know it's over 10 years. They let a pool guy maintain their pool, and they think this is the only way to have a good pool. I have checked, the guy does use liquid chlorine, so at least he's not driving up their CYA. Anyway, they went so far as to tell me my water is green because I do my pool myself! Green? I don't think so!!! I get comments all the time from others that I have the clearest pool water they've ever seen, and I get requests to tell them what I do so they can do the same. Point is, people dislike being told how to do their pool on their own so much that they might even argue without you saying anything!!!
Funny thing is, they have to drain their water a lot due to "buildup". I've never looked at their pool chemistry, so not sure what their issue is.
Funny thing is, they have to drain their water a lot due to "buildup". I've never looked at their pool chemistry, so not sure what their issue is.
OK, I'll give my success story to balance out a bit. My neighbor was a puck user for 7 years. She finally couldn't get the green out. We have "cross-swam" for years as her pool is much cooler than mine (kids in hers, adults in mine). Anyway, I had gently told her about my SWG and minimal chemical use for years.
When she couldn't get the pool clear, she did come to me. I tested for CYA and FC, way high CYA, FC was too low for the CYA level. I explained the chemistry in as easy to understand way as I could and suggested that she might consider an SWG. She did so (couldn't get her to change water, but in NY we get a lot of water turnover during fall/winter/spring anyway). Now she is REALLY happy.
So, it can work. Took me about 5 years though....
When she couldn't get the pool clear, she did come to me. I tested for CYA and FC, way high CYA, FC was too low for the CYA level. I explained the chemistry in as easy to understand way as I could and suggested that she might consider an SWG. She did so (couldn't get her to change water, but in NY we get a lot of water turnover during fall/winter/spring anyway). Now she is REALLY happy.
So, it can work. Took me about 5 years though....
Some progress 
My friend had her water tested at a different store, and they confirmed her CYA was at 150. She has been fighting algae problems for 2 weeks now, and they were also buying Dollar Tree bleach which is only 3%, so it wasn't as effective. I plugged her pool size in, and it's saying to change 73% of the water. We are getting to the end of the season, so I don't think she's up to changing that much at this time, so I've sent her the info, and gave her steps she'll have to take in order to regain control.
We may have another convert yet.
My friend had her water tested at a different store, and they confirmed her CYA was at 150. She has been fighting algae problems for 2 weeks now, and they were also buying Dollar Tree bleach which is only 3%, so it wasn't as effective. I plugged her pool size in, and it's saying to change 73% of the water. We are getting to the end of the season, so I don't think she's up to changing that much at this time, so I've sent her the info, and gave her steps she'll have to take in order to regain control.
We may have another convert yet.
OK, so just so I'm clear, now that I've had a "toy pool" for 2 weeks it is not good form to test my buddy's water before getting in his pool?
:-D
:-D
Thinkly
Well-known member
To be objective, I would say that probably most of us have swam in less than pristine pool water for most of our lives, whether at a hotel, the local public pool, a creek,river or lake. But once you become a water snob, there is no turning back.
It's sort of like fine wine, or nice cars. Once you experience sparkling clear water why would you ever want to swim in junk? I too always find myself critiquing other people's water. I don't really have any interest in swaying other's opinion. I know this usually doesn't work out and most people just look at you with a look that basically says they think you are full of Crud. So why bother?
Just grin and bare it, and wait for the time when you can slip back into your own trouble free pool.
It's sort of like fine wine, or nice cars. Once you experience sparkling clear water why would you ever want to swim in junk? I too always find myself critiquing other people's water. I don't really have any interest in swaying other's opinion. I know this usually doesn't work out and most people just look at you with a look that basically says they think you are full of Crud. So why bother?
Just grin and bare it, and wait for the time when you can slip back into your own trouble free pool.
To follow up on my post above, she ended up draining all the water in her AF pool and found she needed to replace the iner because of holes, age.
So new water, new test kit, a swg, she's reaping the rewards of this new process.
My father in law couldn't get the chlorine level to stay, it would keep going to zero. I told him there must be a bloom getting ready to happen. He got a cya test kit, and it was 150. He changed out 70.% of the water and educated him on the difference between picks and bleach, baking soda and borax (he was using baking soda to raise ph), so he's starting to get on the right track.
My mother on the other hand won't listen, she has so many weird stubborn habits, she drives an hour and a half to get her water tested! I asked my dad, doesn't she realize by the time she gets 2 miles down the road, the sample is bad? He is open to the idea, but changing her will be like convincing her to change religions. Mothers day kids are swimming, the water is clear but foamy. I asked her if she put algaecide in, which she said yes.
So new water, new test kit, a swg, she's reaping the rewards of this new process.
My father in law couldn't get the chlorine level to stay, it would keep going to zero. I told him there must be a bloom getting ready to happen. He got a cya test kit, and it was 150. He changed out 70.% of the water and educated him on the difference between picks and bleach, baking soda and borax (he was using baking soda to raise ph), so he's starting to get on the right track.
My mother on the other hand won't listen, she has so many weird stubborn habits, she drives an hour and a half to get her water tested! I asked my dad, doesn't she realize by the time she gets 2 miles down the road, the sample is bad? He is open to the idea, but changing her will be like convincing her to change religions. Mothers day kids are swimming, the water is clear but foamy. I asked her if she put algaecide in, which she said yes.
x2rider said:
Sounds like you really have your work cut out for you. You know what they say though, you can lead a horse to water, and all that.
I was at the pool store on Saturday buying a bag of salt and another customer was being waited on. He was telling the salesman that his pool was still cloudy and all foamy. He said that he had added all that the pool store sold him last week (you know, those wonderful products called things like "Pool Clear" and "Easy Pool"), but he said it wasn't helping at all. The guy sounded so frustrated and had such a forlorn look on his face, I couldn't help but feel sorry for him. I really wanted to slip him a piece of paper with the web address for pool school.
I am in my 3rd season of pool ownership and have (IMHO) perfect water. I was lucky enough to have found this site before the pool was filled for the first time. This year, because of a very mild winter and somewhat late opening, I had some algae on the steps and slightly green water. With the help of my TF100 test kit, bleach and some daily brushing, my water became crystal clear within a few days and has stayed that way ever since. Now that the water is clear, I don't do much else other than test the water and brush the walls.
I watched my neighbor open his pool this spring to a green swamp. I have seen him adding some chemicals to the pool every so often and doing some cleaning but it is still green. I know that he is being "pool stored" but I don't want to butt in and cause a problem. If he eventually asks me how I do it, I will happily direct him to this site and help in any way that I can.
Like the others, I have become a pool snob and question the water quality of every pool that I see. I refuse to go in a hotel pool that has cloudy water and stinks of chlorine. It's only a matter of time before I bring my TF100 with me on vacation and check the water before my kids go swimming. However, I am just too spoiled by my water quality and will probably leave the swimming in hotel pools to my kids.
I watched my neighbor open his pool this spring to a green swamp. I have seen him adding some chemicals to the pool every so often and doing some cleaning but it is still green. I know that he is being "pool stored" but I don't want to butt in and cause a problem. If he eventually asks me how I do it, I will happily direct him to this site and help in any way that I can.
Like the others, I have become a pool snob and question the water quality of every pool that I see. I refuse to go in a hotel pool that has cloudy water and stinks of chlorine. It's only a matter of time before I bring my TF100 with me on vacation and check the water before my kids go swimming. However, I am just too spoiled by my water quality and will probably leave the swimming in hotel pools to my kids.
I read the story about that poor woman in Boston; how awful!
I'm a water snob now, too; when the kids' baseball season ended, the coach invited the team over for a pool party. (He even hired a lifeguard, which was a really great idea IMO). They have a 25,000 in-ground, and when I remarked, "With all these kids, your pH is going to be way off!" he gave me a funny look. Turns out he has it maintained by a company, and they come out to open it, close it, and maintain it twice a week during pool season. He and his wife skim it and know how to turn the pump off from the keypad inside the pool house.
The chlorine smell was really strong, and my middle boy's eyes were so red we had to borrow a pair of goggles for him to wear. Just goes to show; you can spend an arm and a leg for pool maintenance and it doesn't mean your pool water will be perfect.
Our neighbors put up a small Intex this year, which they bought used from a friend. The one sister is in charge of maintenance, and she admittedly knows nothing about pools. The previous owner told her to just 'add some pucks once a week' and so that's what she's been doing.
We had some bad storms in early July, and their pool turned green. Ours didn't, so she flagged me down at the back fence to ask me how come our pool didn't turn green. I told her about BBB, and tested her water for her, and gave her a paper with the links to Pool School, Pool Calc and TFT kits so that she could educate herself. She kept asking me how much bleach she should be using, and I kept telling her that she had to figure out her pool size and how much water she has and use pool calc, and she kept saying, "I don't have any manuals for the pool" and "I don't know how to measure it" and "I don't have a computer to look this stuff up."
So, just introducing someone to the BBB method -- even when they ask!-- doesn't mean someone is going to take initiative and learn to properly maintain their pool. I don't know if she expected me to do everything for her, but frankly, she's lucky I didn't tell her to just go to the pool store and have them help her figure it out.
I have to say, since then, she threw the solar cover on the pool, so I don't know what they're doing at this point.
--So says the woman who is taking a break from battling a minor algae bloom that's just cropped up, rendering my normally perfect water a bit cloudy.
I'm a water snob now, too; when the kids' baseball season ended, the coach invited the team over for a pool party. (He even hired a lifeguard, which was a really great idea IMO). They have a 25,000 in-ground, and when I remarked, "With all these kids, your pH is going to be way off!" he gave me a funny look. Turns out he has it maintained by a company, and they come out to open it, close it, and maintain it twice a week during pool season. He and his wife skim it and know how to turn the pump off from the keypad inside the pool house.
The chlorine smell was really strong, and my middle boy's eyes were so red we had to borrow a pair of goggles for him to wear. Just goes to show; you can spend an arm and a leg for pool maintenance and it doesn't mean your pool water will be perfect.
Our neighbors put up a small Intex this year, which they bought used from a friend. The one sister is in charge of maintenance, and she admittedly knows nothing about pools. The previous owner told her to just 'add some pucks once a week' and so that's what she's been doing.
We had some bad storms in early July, and their pool turned green. Ours didn't, so she flagged me down at the back fence to ask me how come our pool didn't turn green. I told her about BBB, and tested her water for her, and gave her a paper with the links to Pool School, Pool Calc and TFT kits so that she could educate herself. She kept asking me how much bleach she should be using, and I kept telling her that she had to figure out her pool size and how much water she has and use pool calc, and she kept saying, "I don't have any manuals for the pool" and "I don't know how to measure it" and "I don't have a computer to look this stuff up."
So, just introducing someone to the BBB method -- even when they ask!-- doesn't mean someone is going to take initiative and learn to properly maintain their pool. I don't know if she expected me to do everything for her, but frankly, she's lucky I didn't tell her to just go to the pool store and have them help her figure it out.
I have to say, since then, she threw the solar cover on the pool, so I don't know what they're doing at this point.--So says the woman who is taking a break from battling a minor algae bloom that's just cropped up, rendering my normally perfect water a bit cloudy.
This was the first I had heard of this, so I also Googled it.CaraR said:
I was wondering how in the earth you could miss a body for 2 days in a swimming pool. When I saw the pictures of the kids playing in the pool I understood how. The water looked like milk. You couldn't have seen a truck at the bottom of that pool. Makes you wonder what else is in that pool...