I've done some research here and other places as I'm thinking of moving away from the expensive products sold at my local pool store.
Pool is IG-28K-Vinyl-Lazy L, in Southern New Jersey-15 Min from Philly.
Tired of over-paying for Balance Pak 100's 200's etc., though don't get me wrong they seem to be great products and have worked well in my pool for years... just expensive.
I will likely stick with my (am I allowed to say) SPARCO Chlorinator but am thinking of using Baking Soda (sodium hydrogen carbonate) for Alkalinity and Washing Soda/Broax (sodium carbonate) to increase PH and Muriatic Acid.
Several years ago I started buying a 50lb bulk bag of Calcium from another pool store that has worked just fine to keep my CH levels in the recommended range.
So my question(s) is/are any draw back, gotchas, etc. in using commercially available products like 20 Mule Team and Arm & Hammer.
As suggested I will likely invest in a quality test kit.
Any advice, lessons learned would be greatly appreciated.
Pool is IG-28K-Vinyl-Lazy L, in Southern New Jersey-15 Min from Philly.
Tired of over-paying for Balance Pak 100's 200's etc., though don't get me wrong they seem to be great products and have worked well in my pool for years... just expensive.
I will likely stick with my (am I allowed to say) SPARCO Chlorinator but am thinking of using Baking Soda (sodium hydrogen carbonate) for Alkalinity and Washing Soda/Broax (sodium carbonate) to increase PH and Muriatic Acid.
Several years ago I started buying a 50lb bulk bag of Calcium from another pool store that has worked just fine to keep my CH levels in the recommended range.
So my question(s) is/are any draw back, gotchas, etc. in using commercially available products like 20 Mule Team and Arm & Hammer.
As suggested I will likely invest in a quality test kit.
Any advice, lessons learned would be greatly appreciated.