Dont get me wrong I read ALOT before posting. Hence my reason for returning the Prestine blue, and going to the BBB. But, its a learning curve as well. I am still learning the abbreviations for terms and stuff. Again, I am ordering a testing kit come wednesday, I have to wait till my husbands pay period. I just thought getting some bleach in the pool wont hurt. Or maybe I am wrong.
Sick of Pool Store SalesMan, Thinking of Going to BBB???
- Thread starter maryj0w
- Start date
To add on to what others have said, you do really need the test, or you are flying blind, until then the best you can do is add some bleach and use your test kit to make sure you have some chlorine in the water. As you know your test kit will only read up to 5 ppm, which is likely below shock level, so for now since we know you have something growing in the water, but no idea of your levels, the best advice I can give you is buy some bleach. Add enough bleach to hopefully shock get to around 10 ppm, and test with your kit diluting your sample 1:1 with chlorine free water (tap water or bottled water should be close enough to chlorine free for our purposes) then multiply your results by 2, keep it at this level until you water clears up, then lower it down to around 3 ppm using your test kit as you normally do. This again flying half way blind and may not work, may not get everything, but should keep it from getting worse, and should be safe from bleaching out your liner.
Ike
p.s. assuming your pool is about 13500 gallons (24 ft round with 48 inches of water in it) 1 gallon of 6% bleach will raise your free chlorine by 4.6 ppm, so if nothing was there to consume it 2.25 gallons would put you just over 10 ppm, which I would suggest you start with and go from there, retesting an hour after adding the bleach while the pump is running (add bleach by slowly pouring in front of one of the return jets) knowing something is growing in the pool means it will not really stay at 10 ppm for long
edit: oops bad math
Ike
p.s. assuming your pool is about 13500 gallons (24 ft round with 48 inches of water in it) 1 gallon of 6% bleach will raise your free chlorine by 4.6 ppm, so if nothing was there to consume it 2.25 gallons would put you just over 10 ppm, which I would suggest you start with and go from there, retesting an hour after adding the bleach while the pump is running (add bleach by slowly pouring in front of one of the return jets) knowing something is growing in the pool means it will not really stay at 10 ppm for long
edit: oops bad math
To add what was stated above.....
Can you maybe have your water tested at the store?? How many gallons is your pool?? Have you used the prestine blue in seasons before?? If not how did you add chlorine to the pool??
Can you maybe have your water tested at the store?? How many gallons is your pool?? Have you used the prestine blue in seasons before?? If not how did you add chlorine to the pool??
maryj0w said:
just pouring some bleach into the pool will completely waste it. The reason is the shock level mentioned before is the level of chlorine you have to maintain to kill the algae completely. You may have to maintain the level for a week. If you pour some chlorine in you will kill some algae, but they will completely grow back the next day so you have accomplished nothing.
You have to test CYA, because if it is too high you will have to drain the pool partially to get the amount down.
The most important things for now are pH, CYA and free chlorine.
Once you know the CYa you will know if you have to lower that first. If CYA is ok, then you will know how much bleach you need to keep in the pool during the entire shock process. So if it says 20ppm of chlorine then you need to keep the level at 20ppm until the pool is clear, you lose less than 1ppm cl overnight and combined chlorine is <.5
I would like to add that you don't need a name brand bleach, baking soda, etc.. I go to dollar general and get the generic as long as it is in the same amount and concentration.
agreed...I use Hi lex bleach that comes in 96oz. bottles from Menards...for .97 each....it's cheap and does the job. Just find a store that's close to where you live, and carries bleach in either 96oz or gallon jugs and you are set.
I'd like to also offer this up...or maybe someone who lives closer to you...but if you'd like you can stick a sample of your pool water in the mail to me..should be here in a day....and I would gladly test if for you with my TF-100 test kit, so you have an idea of where you stand. Anyway, I'm just across the state line up in WI. Like I said, I'd be happy to test it for you, if you want to ship me some of your pool water...otherwise, I am SURE there are other board members here that live closer that would be willing to test too. Just a thought.
I'd like to also offer this up...or maybe someone who lives closer to you...but if you'd like you can stick a sample of your pool water in the mail to me..should be here in a day....and I would gladly test if for you with my TF-100 test kit, so you have an idea of where you stand. Anyway, I'm just across the state line up in WI. Like I said, I'd be happy to test it for you, if you want to ship me some of your pool water...otherwise, I am SURE there are other board members here that live closer that would be willing to test too. Just a thought.
flyweed, that's a great idea! I'm stealing that next time something like this comes up.
To add to the subject of "which bleach" to buy, as others have said, any brand will do. What you're looking for is plain bleach. No fillers, scents, additives, or anything special. You'll want to note the concentration, or percent of sodium hypochlorite. Most store brand bleaches are 6%.
Some Wal-Marts have recently come out with a 128oz size Great Value Bleach for the same cost as their old 96oz container. Look for the bottles that say "30% more free". It's right around $0.22-.23/oz of available chlorine or so.
Aldi has 96oz bottles for $1.19 usually...after taxes, it's usually down in the $0.22/oz range as well.
The math for figuring out your cost/oz of chlorine is this:
Price / (Qty * Pct NaOCL)
So, for example, the Aldi bleach at $1.19, for 96 oz of 6% chlorine would be:
$1.19 / (96 * .06) = $1.19/5.76 = $0.21
===========
Have no fear...You may well have that pool sparkling clear in time for memorial day! You'll get there!
To add to the subject of "which bleach" to buy, as others have said, any brand will do. What you're looking for is plain bleach. No fillers, scents, additives, or anything special. You'll want to note the concentration, or percent of sodium hypochlorite. Most store brand bleaches are 6%.
Some Wal-Marts have recently come out with a 128oz size Great Value Bleach for the same cost as their old 96oz container. Look for the bottles that say "30% more free". It's right around $0.22-.23/oz of available chlorine or so.
Aldi has 96oz bottles for $1.19 usually...after taxes, it's usually down in the $0.22/oz range as well.
The math for figuring out your cost/oz of chlorine is this:
Price / (Qty * Pct NaOCL)
So, for example, the Aldi bleach at $1.19, for 96 oz of 6% chlorine would be:
$1.19 / (96 * .06) = $1.19/5.76 = $0.21
===========
Have no fear...You may well have that pool sparkling clear in time for memorial day! You'll get there!
gboulton said:
I guess check the dates. Bleach loses its effectiveness over time, so if bleach is on a blowout sale it might be old. if it is older than 6 months it will be weaker .. but could still be a good deal depending on price.