Record rainfall and pool chemistry

[Chad628]

Hello all,

Chlorine 4
PH 7.4
TA 70
CH 250
CYA < 20
Borates (need to test. I just read about the new drop test and may give it a try because I don't trust my strips)

I was amazed at how much the record rains in Northern California affected my pool chemistry. I admit that I did not keep up with my testing during this rainy season because every time it entered my mind it was raining outside so I let things go as far as testing. At the beginning of winter my CH was 550 and my CYA was 40 - 50. As you can see my CH and CYA dropped significantly over the winter. Also my TA got down to 40 ppm. I just dumped a bunch of baking soda into my pool to raise it to 70. My plan is to chlorinate my pool with chlorine pucks until my CYA rises to 40 ppm. I realize my calcium hardness is at the low end of the range but if the rain stops I know it will naturally rise due to evaporation.

Did anyone else in California have similar experiences with their water chemistry due to all the rainfall?

 

[Patrick_B]

You may not get to your goal for Cya fast enough with it being this low. You can try, but I would at least suppliment with straight Cya if it were me.

 

[Chad628]

I know you are right Patrick. I will check it in two weeks and if it has not increased very much I will try the method of hanging a sock with Cya in front of my return line. This would be the first time I have ever had to add Cya to my pool so I guess I better read up again on how to do that!!

By the way I have not visited this site in quite some time because I have been a happy pool and spa owner with few problems thanks to all I have learned here. I appreciate all the knowledge this web site provides and I am delighted to see that the group of people associated with TFP are still polite, helpful and responsive. At this point you guys have saved me thousands of dollars in pool maintenance by giving me the knowledge of how to do it myself since 2013.

I was also happy to discover that TFP has published a drop test for Borates because I never was comfortable using those test strips. I know my Borate levels are most likely no longer 50 ppm due to all the rain and would like to get an accurate read on them to get them back to that level. I just glanced at the test and it looks a bit involved and complicated but hopefully more accurate

Thank you all for your great work!

 

[Nursenini]

By the way I have not visited this site in quite some time because I have been a happy pool and spa owner with few problems thanks to all I have learned here. I appreciate all the knowledge this web site provides and I am delighted to see that the group of people associated with TFP are still polite, helpful and responsive. At this point you guys have saved me thousands of dollars in pool maintenance by giving me the knowledge of how to do it myself since 2013.


Thank you all for your great work!

TFP is wonderful! I'm so happy to see you have (like all of us) received the help you needed to have a Trouble Free Pool. Please consider supporting this great site with a tax deductible donation! So worth it!