Prepping for Vacation

[pzloo]

Hi All,

As of this morning, I just completed my first SLAM, which turned by once green>cloudy pool crystal clear. I am going away on vacation tomorrow and will be gone until Wednesday night. Is there anything in particular i should do to prep? When i tested the CYA 2 days ago is was in the 40 range. Here is my plan:

1. Bring water to shock level tonight using liquid chlorine.
2. Throw 3 3" chlorine tablets in a floater tomorrow morning and let it ride out until i get back.


i prefer not to use the cl tablets, but seeing as i don't have anyone to pour some bleach in the pool and my cya is 40, it's really my only choice.

a quick question i have is this - a few years back the woman at the pool store told me that you should never use a solar cover while on vacation as it will limit circulation and allow algae to start growing. what i've read on the forum this far suggests the opposite - that the solar cover will help maintain a higher fc level as it will keep the sunlight from burning it up...any advice?

 

[Donldson]

We often have advice that is opposite of the pool store. We take great pride in that

The cover doesn't limit circulation, your return is underneath the water so I don't know how the cover could affect that. It does keep the sunlight from burning off chlorine, but also any byproducts and CC. So your CC might build up a touch, when you return and pull off the cover you will likely smell a strong chlorine smell, that is the CC buildup. Once it has been off for a few minutes though that will burn off fairly quickly. Those 3 tablets are only going to add about 4 ppm CYA to your pool, no worries there and if you put the cover on you should come home to a clear pool. Make sure that your pH is not too low, aim for about 7.5, since the pucks are acidic. Other than that it is just routine, people go on summer vacations all the time. Come home, pull off the cover and test and go from there.

Have a great trip!