Pool Store... Advice?

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Winnie-the-Pool

Winnie-the-Pool

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May 31, 2018
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The Sandhills of NC
My local grocery store brand of chlorine dropped to 6%. So I was calling around to find a less expensive source of liquid chlorine, until we do our pool renovation and install a SWG. Through the years I've heard some questionable claims/advice from pool stores, but this was a new one:

PS: Hello ***** Pools
Me: Hello, Do you carry liquid chlorine?
PS: You don't want that you want dichlor, it works faster.
Me: I don't need it to work fast, I just need to maintain my proper FC level without adding CYA.
PS: Well ALL chlorine has CYA. Chlorine is very volatile, CYA is a stabilizer. If chlorine didn't have a stabilizer in it, it would explode.
Me: Ok, well thank you for your time. You have a wonderful day.
Click
 
It kind of amuses me on the rare occasions when pool store owners show up here and get in a huff about us bad-mouthing them ... but it is not like these experiences are rare :shock:
 
I actually had a pool store person tell me that liquid chlorine... aka bleach was hard on my liner, and that it would cause it to fade out within the year.
 
Of course! Here throw these acidic trichlor tablets and dichlor shock your pool once a week. That won't crash your pH and cause any problems :)

I think my default question if I ever encounter any pool store employees again is to ask them what kind of pool they have. I think the answer to that might be pretty telling
 
It's unfortunate, and it's the general rule as opposed to the exception. The far and few between "good" pool store owners must really have a tough time... but then again there are at least three or four pool stores in our area and they all seem to do just fine.

My mother uses a pool store that she has used for nearly 10 years. They recommend a FC of 1-4ppm with a range of CYA at 30-50. A FC count of 1 ppm is never safe really. They also do recommend that she tests using test strips "at least every other day".

The one pool store I went too, before finding this place and learning on my own, recommends a CYA of 30-200. Good luck with that. They also tested my hardness at very low (which it was, fresh fill water) and decided to suggest about 30 pounds of hardness increaser. They also suggested trichlor pucks. Wouldn't a 50 pound bucket or two of Cal-Hypo be a much better and cheaper route to take?

The icing on the cake though, was they recommended a product to remove metals in the water even though the test didn't show any metals at all... copper and iron were both 0 but yet they still wanted to sell me a product to remove the metals I didn't have?

They also recommended 11 oz weekly of pool life defend + algeacide and a clarity product.

Finally, they also recommended using a product with the name "TurboShok".
 
I got bad looks when I ask what do you do in you pool. Even worse when I ask how often does the testing machine have to get calibrated, with a bunch of people waiting in line. They have buzzers like when you wait at a restaurant for water testing.

The store where I get my LC uses test strips.

There's a Leslies near me too, just went in once for OTO refills while waiting for an XL to arrive after leaving my FC kit out for a day.
 
When anyone inquires about liquid bleach at my local pool store they get a dumbfounded look and ask why they would put laundry detergent in their pool.
 

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Maybe because he knows better than to argue with me my PB when I told him not to add any chemicals other than salt to my new pool said “ok what will you be using”. I said “liquid chlorine”. He said “no problem”

No pushback. No your pool will explode. No nothing. Thankfully because I really like him and didn’t want that opinion to change.
 
Thasista said:
Maybe because he knows better than to argue with me my PB when I told him not to add any chemicals other than salt to my new pool said “ok what will you be using”. I said “liquid chlorine”. He said “no problem”

No pushback. No your pool will explode. No nothing. Thankfully because I really like him and didn’t want that opinion to change.
Click to expand...

I told my pool guy, who's pool store is local family owned, exactly how I take care of my pool and he thinks it's great and wishes more people actually cared about their pool like I do. I use him for any hardware I need and for opening and closing my pool, because I'm too lazy to do that myself.
 
Things that pool store said and sold me. Me- my CYA is 350 what to do ? Sold me 40 lb of conditioner- found out conditioner is Stabilizer!!! Me- I have soft water and my CYA is high ? Can I start using cal-hypo will it stop adding CYA and start raising my soft water ? Store- No, cal hypo is a shock only and will not raise Hardness. List goes on and on.
 
RonsPlc said:
I actually had a pool store person tell me that liquid chlorine... aka bleach was hard on my liner, and that it would cause it to fade out within the year.
Click to expand...

I laugh because I did just that....... bleached liner because I did not brush and the bleach was concentrated in one area for too long. :hammer:
 
cantplay said:
Went to my Leslie's for first time to look for liquid chlorine because Lowe's was out. Ask the salesperson if they carry liquid chlorine he says "no, that's DANGEROUS!" I just said no it isn't and left.
Click to expand...

They clearly have no nationwide guidance. I get 2.5 gallon jugs of 10.5% at my local Leslie's for right around $5 each.
 
Winnie-the-Pool said:
My local grocery store brand of chlorine dropped to 6%. So I was calling around to find a less expensive source of liquid chlorine, until we do our pool renovation and install a SWG. Through the years I've heard some questionable claims/advice from pool stores, but this was a new one:

PS: Hello ***** Pools
Me: Hello, Do you carry liquid chlorine?
PS: You don't want that you want dichlor, it works faster.
Me: I don't need it to work fast, I just need to maintain my proper FC level without adding CYA.
PS: Well ALL chlorine has CYA. Chlorine is very volatile, CYA is a stabilizer. If chlorine didn't have a stabilizer in it, it would explode.
Me: Ok, well thank you for your time. You have a wonderful day.
Click
Click to expand...

I could see my conversation taking a slight turn .........

PS: Hello ***** Pools
Me: Hello, Do you carry liquid chlorine?
PS: You don't want that you want dichlor, it works faster.
Me: No I do not want dichlor, I just want to maintain my proper FC level without adding CYA.
PS: Well ALL chlorine has CYA. Chlorine is very volatile, CYA is a stabilizer. If chlorine didn't have a stabilizer in it, it would explode.
Me: Ok, can I speak to someone who knows what they are taking about?
 

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