An update on progress:
When the great "team of thousands" here on TFP tell you that you can take excellent care of your pool on your own, believe it
A very uncomfortable experience with after-swim skin issues from our rental's pool which was being managed by a mobile pool guy led me to research how to "fix" this unhappy situation. I had asked the pool guy a number of questions regarding pool care and wasn't able to get specific answers or answers that seemed to make sense, so I began the journey of learning about pool chemistry and management. Here's where TFP was invaluable!
STEP ONE: Learn about your pool - type, size, equipment
I used the guidance here to figure out how many gallons of water the pool contains. (PoolMath App
PoolMath - Trouble Free Pool) I also checked out all of the pump system equipment to see what was what. This was my starting point. For what it's worth, the TFP PoolMath app didn't work for me as my phone doesn't allow apps to do GPS tracking (which PoolMath requires) so I used this link here which has similar info:
PoolMath. As was suggested to me here, I added information I learned about the pool to my forum signature, thus making it easier for other members to have an idea of my pool's specs when reading/commenting on my posts.
STEP TWO: Become familiar with the purpose and results of testing pool water.
I read all of the Pool School articles on this site, then I did searches for specific questions I had regarding issues with this pool. The articles were so helpful, and the answers to people's questions relating to similar issues helped make a big difference in my understanding as well.
STEP THREE: Prepare to test.
I took the good advice here and bought a Taylor K-2006 Complete test kit (FAS-DPD chlorine), this one from Amazon. After reading about mixed results using 'stick' dip tests and/or depending on pool store results this seemed like a good investment for a clean and healthy pool. I also went with a FAS-DPD test kit as it also tests for Combined Chlorine (CC) as well as Free Chlorine (FC) - I needed to know if there was an abundance of organic material in the pool affecting chlorine needs, which the CC test helps to indicate.
I prepared the area where I was going to do my testing, ready with a towel and some paper towels and a disposable plastic container to dump rinsed out/used water samples, and paper/pen - or cellphone if using PoolMath app - for recording results. I made sure to have a plastic container ready because Taylor's test kits say DO NOT dump the tested samples back into your pool!! The towel of course was for my wet arm after gathering the water sample, and the paper towels are for any spills and to wipe out the little plastic "spoon" used for the DPD powder (residual powder left on the spoon turns black, and you don't want to stick a wet spoon into the powder either).
I followed instruction and gathered a bottle of sample water from the pool down by the deep end (bought a cheap plastic ketchup dispenser bottle from discount store, works great and makes rinsing the sample containers very easy with the squirt top on the ketchup bottle). I stuck the uncapped bottle upside-down in the water to elbow depth, then inverted the bottle to fill it. Apparently taking water from elbow-depth vs. skimming near the top of the water allows for a more-accurate reading by helping to avoid surface contamination. I made sure the pump had been running for at least 30 minutes so that water and chemicals/organics were, in theory, well-blended throughout the pool. Now ready to test the sample I brought the test kit to my work area. I keep the test kit in the house in a cupboard so that the chemicals aren't exposed to heat for very long, except briefly during testing - I also make sure to test the sample water very soon after collected so as not to skew results due to evaporation, heat, light, etc.
STEP FOUR: Testing the water.
1) FAS/DPD (yellow instruction section and yellow-topped tubes) Checking 'Free Chlorine' and 'Combined Chlorine'
[
Putting FAS-DPD To The Test]
[
FAS-DPD Chlorine Test - Trouble Free Pool]
With the Taylor test kit instructions located right inside the lid of the test kit box it was very easy to go through the testing process. I began with the FAS-DPD test on the Taylor test kit instruction card's right-hand option of two choices, color-coded in yellow. As there are two options for how to test FAS-DPD I chose the 1 drop = 0.5ppm/10ml sample (supposedly not as precise as the 1 drop = 0.2ppm/25ml sample, but I later tested samples using both options and the results seemed to be about the same anyway).
On the first self-test of the pool's water I found that the Combined Chlorine number was unacceptable, it was well above zero which apparently means there was quite a bit of organic material in the pool being combined with the cleansing chlorine, and that was probably contributing to the strong chlorine smell on our skin plus stinging eyes (pH needed adjusting too, see later in this post)! The Free Chlorine result didn't seem too bad until I did the CYA (Cyanuric Acid/chlorine stabilizer) test later on - read on. I made sure to write down the CC number immediately after testing as it seems the color tends to go back to pink when the solution sits after testing, supposedly that's normal so no worries.
Of note, when I add liquid chlorine/bleach to the pool water I'm now adding it in the evening whenever possible, turning the pump on for about 30 minutes to help circulate the bleach through the water. I've read that adding bleach in the evening once the sun is setting (or later) allows the bleach to really do its work on organic matter through the night rather than evaporate throughout sunny daylight hours. This seems to have really helped slow down chlorine loss and I've noticed that the Combined Chlorine number is now about nil! Of course picking a time to add bleach depends on various factors, such as timing around pool "parties", weather conditions, organics in the pool water, balancing test results, etc. If the free chlorine number needs adjusting, "just do it!"
2) pH
Following the test kit instructions I next tested our pool's pH. I'll admit that using the visual scale on the test kit tube was a bit difficult for me to judge how pink/red the results really were, even holding the test tube up to "northern" light outside at eye level. Anyway, the result showed a number close to 8 on the pH scale. Since a high number indicates a very _base_ pH I used the Acid Demand bottle to see how much acid needed to be added to bring the sample down to a more-balanced pH, and this helped me be more confident that the pH reading I got was truly high on the base scale once I saw what it took acid-wise to lower the pH to 7.2 (just for testing purposes and to become more familiar with what the heck I was seeing/doing). The results meant I would need to add some acid to the pool to help bring the pH to a human skin number between 7.4 and 7.6. Muriatic acid to the rescue
[Pool School - raising/lowering pH:
Recommended Pool Chemicals - Trouble Free Pool]. I'm going to give a pH meter a try (
pH Meter), comparing it to Taylor test results, and if it seems the results are consistent between the two I'll likely just use the meter and avoid having to guess as to what shade of pink I'm seeing with the liquid test. This particular meter seems like it would be fairly easy to calibrate.
3 and 4) Total Alkalinity (TA) and Calcium Hardness (CH)
Again, following instructions in the test kit, I measured both these numbers. Our pool seemed OK on both counts, and great information in the POOL SCHOOL section on why these numbers are important and what to do if the numbers indicate problems
5) Cyanuric Acid (CYA)/Stabilizer
Here's where this pool's number had me doing a double-take. The test kit has you create a "cloudy" mixture that is then slowly poured into the testing tube that has a black dot on the bottom of the tube. You look down into the tube as you pour in the cloudy liquid, and stop once the black dot is no longer visible to your eyes. I did this test several times to make sure I wasn't being too confused by when the dot actually 'disappeared' from view. The results always ended up being around 90.
The pool guy who was managing the pool would drop chlorine tablets with stabilizer (a.k.a. hockey pucks) into the pool every week in a floating dispenser. What I've learned is that the CYA/stabilizer is intended to help prevent quick evaporation of the chlorine from the pool so that the chlorine can do its job as a disinfectant. Sunlight apparently sucks out chlorine from water like a giant solar sponge! The unfortunate fact about stabilizer is that it DOES NOT evaporate from the water, rather it builds up in the water over time and when the CYA number gets too high it actually prevents chlorine from being able to act on organic matter*. Taylor's test kit instructions (page 41) state that a minimum number for CYA is 10, ideal being 30-50, and 100 being a maximum number. TFP has a great Chlorine/CYA chart [
Chlorine / CYA Chart - Trouble Free Pool] to help balance how much chlorine is needed in a pool to compensate for various CYA levels. However, TFP also recommends bringing the CYA number into the ideal range to best utilize chlorine, which means taking water out of the pool and replacing it with fresh water - no way to get around that, apparently. Lots of wonderful advice here on how to do this water exchange without risking a floating or damaged pool. I'll wait until I do the water exchange and get the CYA number in the 'normal' range before I do a SLAM (
SLAM - Shock Level and Maintain - Trouble Free Pool) which should get rid of any residual Combined Chlorine issue as well. Note that CYA/stabilizers can affect water pH - lots of posts on TFP discussing this and how to make appropriate adjustments.
Be aware that the Taylor test kit has only a small amount of liquid testing material for CYA, if you're going to need to monitor/adjust your CYA you can order a 16oz. bottle of CYA testing reagent for a relatively cheap price online.
* You might be asking the same question I did regarding simply adding more water to the pool to "dilute" the CYA, without having to take water out. Someone pointed out to me that since the CYA doesn't evaporate per se, think of it like salt in ocean water. The water in the ocean will evaporate but the salt will only concentrate as the water dries up. Adding fresh water doesn't change the amount of salt in the water, you've got to take some salty water away and add fresh water to reduce the salt concentration. Same goes for CYA in the pool.
As this is not a salt water pool, that was it for using the test kit for now.
STEP FIVE: Adjust water as needed
See the TFP
Pool School - Trouble Free Pool for specific help with necessary adjustments to your pool's water
STEP FIVE: Maintain
I've followed the
Basic Pool Care Schedule - Trouble Free Pool recommended on this site, plus extra skimming/netting as needed
Knock wood, there doesn't appear to be algae growing in the pool so I'm going to do my best to keep the chemistry in line to maintain the pool well.
Here are some additional steps/ideas I took from reading TFP forums, and some of my own notes:
-- I checked out the number of hours that the pump was running (
Determine Pump Run Time - Trouble Free Pool), and adjusted per guidelines here on TFP. I also learned from TFP how to determine what type of pump/filter I have, and approximate amount of pool gallons. I'm able to clean the filter as needed to keep the pump pressure in good stead (
Routine Pump/Filter Maintenance - Trouble Free Pool). I've put 'checking the pump PSI' on my regular pool management schedule too.
-- I make sure to check out the strainer basket every day and empty as needed, and I skim off bugs/net foreign materials out of the water when I see them so the pool's chlorine has less organic matter to sanitize. I got a good pool scrub brush and long handle to scrub down the sides and bottom of pool regularly - no wonderful pool vac for me, not in my rental fee budget! When I rented the house I noticed brownish stains on the sides of the pool which when asked the pool guy attributed to "an old pool" and nothing to be done about it. However here in southern FL there is a lot of iron in our ground water, and I did the "vitamin C tablet" test (rubbed a vitamin C tablet on a brownish area) and the tablet did indeed rub off some of the brown coloring. I now have noted this and will see if the landlord wants to take on getting the pool walls cleaned.
-- I keep my testing reagents inside in a cupboard so they aren't exposed to heat/light except briefly while testing, and I have my test area prepared ahead of time (see above).
-- I plan to periodically do the OCLT [Overnight Free-Chlorine Loss Test
Perform the Overnight FC Loss Test (OCLT) - Trouble Free Pool] to see how much and why the pool chlorine is being used. Though I've drained a bit of water while exchanging with fresh (city) water to help drop the pool's CYA number the CYA is still high so I want to be sure that added chlorine can do its job well. One day in the future there might be an empty-while-filling half of the pool's water to truly lower the CYA, it's up to the landlord so we'll see. It's relatively cheap to add chlorine as needed, and I bought a larger amount of FAS-DPD testing materials which should last a while even with more frequent testing. Not too expensive, and as it runs out I plan to buy when needed so as not to have old chemicals around that could potentially lose their effectiveness over time. Of note, I've been told that for our locale if you plan to add a lot of water to your pool you can call the water department, let them know what day you plan to do the fill, and they'll give a discounted water rate for that day. Worth asking, you never know?
-- I went ahead and bought the Taylor automatic stirrer unit for mixing testing reagents with water samples, and it's GREAT! It has the option to light up the stirring platform to help make the colors of the mixtures more visible when testing in less-than-sunlight conditions, and it is most definitely easier to use to keep the mixtures blended while adding drops of testing materials so as to be able to notice an 'end point' (final color change) when counting drops. Yes, to each his/her own, and this works very well for me.
-- As I wasn't having to deal with off numbers for TA and CH, or algae/cloudy water, etc. my routine is probably minimum for pool maintenance. I am keeping fresh chlorine on hand (read on TFP why you don't want to store chlorine for long, it loses its effectiveness), muriatic acid (away from other chemicals and read instructions for storage here on TFP, same for the bleach), and baking soda (large bags). Oh, NO MORE 'HOCKEY PUCKS' here, until the CYA number gets down to a low point, if ever. Most chlorine tablets ([Name]Chlor) have stabilizer as well, so be forewarned (see Chlorine Tablet Chemistry discussion here:
Chlorine tablet chemistry). Mr. Rubber Ducky (my former chlorine tablet pool float) now stays on the porch where he will greet guests once "the bug" has gone away and friends/family can once again come to visit. [Of note, if you *do* use chlorine tablets and one of the cutesy solar-light tablet holders that light up at night, be forewarned - night-flying insects are greatly attracted to the light and a large number of them fall into the pool and drown, so if you don't want to have to frequently clean your skimmer/go netting for dead bugs, then opt for a non-solar-light dispenser!]
All in all I now spend maybe 5-10 minutes a day (or as needed) with pool cleaning and maintenance. Doing FAS-DPD testing or OCLT testing when needed adds another 10-15 minutes. The results: a swimmable pool without the chlorine smell and eye sting, yay!
So.... that's it from this Newbie. I wasn't sure at all that I wanted to become my own "pool guy" when I started this adventure but it took that miserable experience with stinky skin/stinging eyes and unanswered questions to/strange answers from the pool pro guy to set me down this path. I, again, give my thanks to all on TFP who provided personal advice, and have provided their years of expertise and experience here in written form and all geared toward the novice pool owner. I've learned a lot in a short time, with much more to go and know. TFP rocks!
PS: One excellent suggestion I read for helping keep Combined Chlorine (CC) numbers down and to need less chlorine additions is to take a shower BEFORE swimming, rinsing off dirt, sweat, soap, lotions, etc. that the chlorine has to work to eliminate from the pool water. It's very tempting to just jump in the pool after spending time in the hot muggy weather, but I'm adding the "shower before" step to my pool routine as well. It will be interesting to see if this has a positive overall effect on saving chemicals/reducing CC. Time will tell.
And for after-swim showers we bought some inexpensive suction-cup hooks and stuck them in the shower(s). Now when swimmers come in to take a shower and rinse off pool water they can take their wet swimsuits, rinse the swimsuits while in the shower, and hang the suits on the hooks to drip dry - works really well and shower rinsing gets most of the chlorine out of the swimsuits and ready for next use!
