Should I ignore this comment from my pool store regarding calcium?

[MichaelJSullivan]

I have a 38,000 gal vinyl lined pool, with plastic pipes, no heater, a variable speed pump, and stamped concrete as the apron. I have a well with no iron and very soft water. They ran a test and it says I have to add 70 lbs of "stuff" to bring my hardness up to "balanced levels". From reading here, it sounds like calcium is a problem for plaster pools not vinyl. But the pool person said, "You have to bring ALL your levels into range or else things won't work right. If your calcium is low it'll screw up your chlorine and pH...which sounds ridiculous, but I'm not a chemist.

Then they went on to tell me how "if someone gets sick, I'm liable" and I really need to do all the recommendations their computer spit out. Which sounds like high pressure B.S. So...what do I need to know about calcium and it's affects on other pool chemistry?

 

[Bama Rambler]

Our pool has had zero CH since 2008 and it's still running just fine. I never have to adjust the pH and my Stenner adds about a quart of bleach a day. So I got to say that having no or little calcium has no effect on the rest of the balance.

 

[Donldson]

Wow, they really are making the hard sell. Not even the most shady stores I have seen have pulled out the "you could get sued if you don't buy everything we tell you to" card. Sounds like an old mechanic "can't let you drive this car out of here like that" scam.

I would suggest staying away from pool stores in general, but I am 100% serious when I say you should find another pool store and never set foot in that one again.

 

[ajw22]

I would not set foot in that pool store.

 

[Richard320]

The fact that you left without big buckets of Calcium Increaser tells me that you already know the answer.

It's just high-pressure sales tactics coupled with ignorance or malice. At least they don't practice alchemy, turning Calcium into Chlorine, like the clerk in this post: Need help after being Pool-Stored As I've posted before, if they're that good, how come they aren't turning scrap iron into Gold?