TLDR: Decomposing animal in pool, SLAM or drain and refill? Also wondering if we can repair cover and if anyone has recs
Hi everyone! I’ve been reading pool school and the forums and could use some advice.
We bought a house with a pool in northwest PA last August. The pool is old and hasn’t be opened for several years. It’s 20x40 and has painted walls. They look like concrete to me. We did have a “pool inspection” and the guy said walls were fiberglass but he was also like “idk the water is dark I can’t see anything” and gave the wrong dimensions for the pool, so not sure.
This week we took the cover off and something big and dead and decomposing was floating in there, maybe was a small deer or something else similar in size. There were some holes in the cover but we didn’t think big enough for an animal to get in. We’re pretty traumatized. There’s also duckweed and algae but that feels like the least of our problems.
I called around intending to get so much chlorine but one pool store said by the time I buy enough chemicals to sanitize the pool, it would be cheaper to drain and refill the pool. That process seems overwhelming, but it would probably make us feel better about swimming in the pool. We can’t unsee what we saw.
What do you guys think?
If we do drain and refill, can we clean the floor and walls ourselves, or do we need professionals? And if we’re doing all that, should we also be trying to repaint? The paint looks pretty worn—blue above waterline but faded to white below. We were hoping to just get the pool in working order this summer, and get it renovated in the future. In terms of sunk costs we’re already like 7k in for a pool safety fence, a Dolphin cleaner, the Taylor test kit, etc. Basically looking for the cheapest but also safest way to swim this summer (especially because we have a toddler).
Also, cover repairs—when do you repair and when do you replace? Does anyone have recs for a company that will match the dimensions of the current cover so we don’t have to redrill all the holes?
Thanks so so much!
Hi everyone! I’ve been reading pool school and the forums and could use some advice.
We bought a house with a pool in northwest PA last August. The pool is old and hasn’t be opened for several years. It’s 20x40 and has painted walls. They look like concrete to me. We did have a “pool inspection” and the guy said walls were fiberglass but he was also like “idk the water is dark I can’t see anything” and gave the wrong dimensions for the pool, so not sure.
This week we took the cover off and something big and dead and decomposing was floating in there, maybe was a small deer or something else similar in size. There were some holes in the cover but we didn’t think big enough for an animal to get in. We’re pretty traumatized. There’s also duckweed and algae but that feels like the least of our problems.
I called around intending to get so much chlorine but one pool store said by the time I buy enough chemicals to sanitize the pool, it would be cheaper to drain and refill the pool. That process seems overwhelming, but it would probably make us feel better about swimming in the pool. We can’t unsee what we saw.
What do you guys think?
If we do drain and refill, can we clean the floor and walls ourselves, or do we need professionals? And if we’re doing all that, should we also be trying to repaint? The paint looks pretty worn—blue above waterline but faded to white below. We were hoping to just get the pool in working order this summer, and get it renovated in the future. In terms of sunk costs we’re already like 7k in for a pool safety fence, a Dolphin cleaner, the Taylor test kit, etc. Basically looking for the cheapest but also safest way to swim this summer (especially because we have a toddler).
Also, cover repairs—when do you repair and when do you replace? Does anyone have recs for a company that will match the dimensions of the current cover so we don’t have to redrill all the holes?
Thanks so so much!
I suspect a major water exchange will be in your future to help rid the heavy debris and expedite the