The swamp in my backyard...

[Rillewen]

Hello everyone. So there used to be this wonderful pool in our backyard, a few years ago. It was so nice. My mom and I would swim in it every day that we could. We were even losing weight from swimming and having a good time. We loved having a pool that we can go swim in whenever we wanted to.

The first year we had it, we didn't get it til August, and it didn't get installed until about September, but it was really hot that year so we were able to swim in the pool even until about early November. My dad covered it with the cover that came with it but he didn't do it right and it got leaves in it and the cover got all ripped up and destroyed.

So after opening the pool in the late spring, we scooped all the leaves out and treated the pool to get rid of the greenness and murkiness, and we enjoyed the pool during the summer. Toward the end of the summer we got a new pool cover, but when it was time to put the cover on the pool, it was nowhere to be found. We searched, and searched, and could not find that thing anywhere. So, the pool went all winter without a cover. All the trees nearby decided that since they couldn't get into the pool, they'd do the next best thing and let their leaves go swimming instead.

The following summer we opened the pool to find a green, murky pond there. We scooped and scooped and scooped, and have no idea if we ever got all the leaves out. We treated it with all these chemicals and I think we spent more on that stuff than the water bill would have been to just drain and refill the thing. But my dad was stubborn and kept throwing more money into the pool, all to no avail. My mom and I attempted to swim but it was just too icky, we'd come out of the pool with scum and stuff all over us and our swim suits. It was worse than swimming in a lake. One day I scrubbed the walls and bottom of the pool but it didn't help much.

Well, we found the pool cover. Right in the place that we first looked. So that winter we covered the pool up and I think my dad threw some more money (chemicals) into it first but when we uncovered the pool this April it was about the same. We've tried adding shock stuff, chlorine, chlorine tabs, some water clarifier, and I don't know what else. Nothing has worked but we now have frogs serenading us from within our lovely green pond, and I was contemplating "accidentally" pulling the plug on the thing so that it drained, but there doesn't seem to be a plug on the pool after all. But, after reading a few things here, I'm not sure if draining it would be a good idea anyway.

SO. Is there anyone who might be able to help with this problem? We would like to have our pool back, hopefully before summer is over.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Hey there Rillewen Welcome to TFP.

The fastest way to a clean, safe pool is to first commit to getting a TFP approved test kit. That tells you, and us behind you, what is IN the water....as well as what is NOT in the water (but should be).

These are your testkit options. These are the only kits we recommend and *must* contain the FAS-DPD chlorine test kit that goes up to 50ppm FC

1) The TF-100, a kit put out to our specs which is the best bang for your buck. Uses Taylor Reagents. Found at TFPtestkits.net (ships from NC) or PoolSupplyWorld (of California) or AMazon (out of this world, who knows?) $70ish bucks and *will save you a fortune* I promise.

2) The Taylor K-2006C test kit from Amazon, TFPtestkits.net or a very few Leslie's Pool Stores. Not as much reagents for testing so folks often find they have to buy refills faster when dealing with green lagoons.

3) Taylor Technologies 81329 Chlorine FAS-DPD Service Test Kit (this is the same as #2 but relabeled by LPS) Too pricey!

As for draining the pool, you sure can do it up to a point- do NOT go lower than 1' in the shallowest point as the liner may shift and that's No Beuno!! Use a hose to set up a siphon..... you can find simple video on YouTube telling how.

Once you drain the water down to the last foot, start refilling and add a half gallon of plain household bleach to the water and mix it up with a broom or brush. Do that daily until you get your test kit and then come back to us with your first test results for the following and we can tell you how to proceed.

FC
CC
pH
TA
CH
CYA

Your dad will be amazed at how easy pool care can be....cheaper too! Start reading some while you wait for your kit:
ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry
Pool School - Recommended Pool Chemicals
[FC/CYA][/FC/CYA]

Maddie

 

[Rillewen]

Thanks for the reply guys! I wonder though, you talked about the pool lining shifting. What difference does that make? I have an intex above ground pool much like this one: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v467/usuals/Swimming Pool/DPP_4854-1.jpg Only ours has green scummy water unlike the lucky people who own the pool in that picture. Also we were worried that by draining the pool, it would flood our garden which is nearby, or where my dog has her runline set up, which is also nearby and down the slope a bit. Also there's the neighbor's yard to consider, and maybe the smell of gross water?

The other option of just treating the water until it's clear sounds like more work that would require someone very dedicated to constantly work on it.

Either way, we need to get the test things? We do have one that we got a long time ago, I think the first year that we had the pool, but I don't remember what kind it was, or where it is. I will look for it.

Edit: Also, my mom mentioned that she's heard you shouldn't ever put regular bleach into the pool?

Edit 2: I found the test kit we have, I'm not sure if it's anything good or not. It's Aquachem brand, 3-way test kit. Tests for bromine, chlorine, and pH
I got a picture of it but I don't see a way to add it on her from my phone.

 

[Calebh2002]

Edit: Also, my mom mentioned that she's heard you shouldn't ever put regular bleach into the pool?

Edit 2: I found the test kit we have, I'm not sure if it's anything good or not. It's Aquachem brand, 3-way test kit. Tests for bromine, chlorine, and pH
I got a picture of it but I don't see a way to add it on her from my phone.

I was told that bleach would ruin my filter by the person at the pool store, but after some googling, I was able to confirm what the awesome people here were telling me. Regular household bleach is the same as the liquid chlorine the pool store sells, the only difference is the 'pool chlorine' is stronger. Great Value brand bleach from WalMart is 8.25% chlorine and the liquid chlorine at the pool store is 12%. The 'shock powder' and tablets have chlorine in them as well, along with other chemicals that you may not need in your pool, and could be contributing to your water issues. You are 100% safe to add regular household bleach to your pool. Do not use scented or splashless, it will make your water foam.

Secondly, the test kit you found will not be sufficient. 4 years ago when I bought the house, the pool was a swamp that had not been opened in years. That first season I spent well over $5,000 in chemicals from the pool store. Then I found this site, and my water and my checking account have both been amazing since. It can seem like a lot of money to cough up for the test kit, but I can 100% assure you, it is worth the investment.

It will be a LOT of work to get your pool healthy again, but it is SO worth it.

Once you have your water healthy, maintain, maintain, maintain! It is much easier to invest a little time, often, to keep the water healthy. If you let it get bad, it is a LOT of work to clean it back up.

 

[Rillewen]

That's interesting. But wouldn't the bleach be bad for the pool walls, your clothes, skin, and hair? If pool chlorine has stronger percentage of chlorine then it seems like it would be better to just use it since you would probably have to add more bleach to make up for the lesser chlorine percentage.

Can the recommended test kit be bought at Walmart? We are actually going there today so if it is there we might be able to pick one up.

 

[Calebh2002]

That's interesting. But wouldn't the bleach be bad for the pool walls, your clothes, skin, and hair? If pool chlorine has stronger percentage of chlorine then it seems like it would be better to just use it since you would probably have to add more bleach to make up for the lesser chlorine percentage.

Can the recommended test kit be bought at Walmart? We are actually going there today so if it is there we might be able to pick one up.

Sadly no it is not a product they sell.

As for the bleach being bad for everything, it's all just chlorine in different concentration strengths. In high concentration it can bleach your clothes, the same as it would in your washing machine. For the concentration levels we are taking about in your pool water, no.

You could do the exact same damage to your clothing and such with the powdered chemicals.

8.25% bleach is literally 8.25% chlorine 91.75% water in the jug.

12% pool chlorine is literally a jug of 12% bleach... 12% chlorine and 88% water in the jug.

Household bleach, depending where you live is easier to find than 12%... no place here sells 12%, so I just buy a few gallons of bleach every time I go to the store.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Excellent explanations, Calebh2002.....

Your test kit is inadequate for the job, Rillewen. It doesn't tell you all that you need to know to keep water in pristine clean and safe conditions.

Perhaps you can run a siphon hose out to the street or into your house line (I can do so easily when draining my hot tube as the clean out port is under the deck) so you find a solution to your problems or you don't.

I bet whomever told your mom you can't use bleach in the pool either worked at a pool store who wanted her to buy chemicals or never bothered to read the ingredient list on bleach and pool liquid chlorine.

Maddie

 

[Rillewen]

Ok, I need to know something. Does anyone know anything about this test kit: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Clorox-Pool-and-Spa-My-Pool-Care-Assistant-Multi-Use-Smart-Strips/41466048?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&adid=22222222227038584139&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=92169099257&wl4=pla-183816570977&wl5=9013687&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=online&wl12=41466048&wl13=&veh=sem

Because my dad is stubborn and does NOT want to drain the pool, and my mom pointed out that if I "accidentally" drain it that he's going to want to know what happened to it and also he will not want to get the 70$ test kit. I might be able to talk him into it but if that one in the link is going to be anything close to it he'd rather pay 10$ than 70$ if it's almost as good. So I wondered if anyone has any knowledge of that one, or another cheap one that's about as good.
I probably should have mentioned at the beginning post that my dad doesn't make much money and doesn't like to buy a more expensive thing if there's a cheaper option available that he thinks is the same thing.

 

[JV63]

Unfortunately, those kits are not going to give you a good picture of what is going on with your water. However, with a proper test kit and the methods learned here, you will save money by bypassing the pool store and their potions.
Tell your Dad that the test kit will save him money in the long run.

Post back with what you are going to proceed with.

 

[funandsun]

Rillewen I too was very skeptical of the bleach vs pool chlorine, I was also skeptical of the Baking soda being the same as Alkalinity up.. but if you look at the ingredients that are available on all labels of the products we purchase and compare them, you will find that they are identical sans the strength in the bleach vs pool chlorine.

Material Safety Data Sheets are available for every chemical product made and you can find them by searching the product name and MSDS on your favorite search engine.

All of that said... if you want to buy pool chlorine and not bleach then buy the pool chlorine. I personally buy pool chlorine and it is pure opinion about which is easier, the fact is that they are both the same active ingredient only different strengths.

Now, as for the test kit and the work involved... these are unfortunately not really negotiable... much like buying a car and refusing to not take care of it will leave you looking for rides pretty soon, not understanding what is going on with your pool will continue to be a major burden and source of frustration for you, your Mom, and your Dad.

1 or all 3 of you will need to agree that you want the pool, you want to enjoy the pool and that a crystal clean pool is possible but only through testing the water, maintaining the balance and just like you probably invest in better tools for the garage or better tires for your car or better parts for your computer gaming, your pool also needs you to have good tools to take care of it.

Make that decision and you and your parents will be enjoying a clean pool in very short order and it will not be a guessing game any longer.

Good luck,

 

[Rillewen]

That makes sense Funandsun. We already use baking soda but I didn't even know it was the same as PH up.
Anyway, update! I put a gallon of chlorine in the pool and it went from dark scummy green to a milky/cloudy blue-green almost overnight. We also bought some algaecide and another gallon of chlorine but we are going to wait until we return from our trip before we put anything else in. And there is a pool place near where my dad works that does testing for free, so we are going to bring some water to them and let them tell us what the pool needs, if that doesn't work I'll try to talk my dad into the test kit but he has been complaining about money being tight. And I lost my job a few months ago, so I can't do it myself lol.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Take the algaecide back for a refund and put that saved money towards a test kit. Algaecides do NOT kill algae, they are more a preventative measure and one we rarely suggest since we believe in keeping out pools nice with the minimum of unnecessary chemicals. And cheap algaecides often contain copper= UGH!!

Maddie

 

[Rillewen]

Too late. My dad dumped it all into the pool before me or my mom knew he was doing it. Good to know about the algaecide though, I'll mention that to my mom (who mostly makes the purchases of things of that nature, and is all for avoiding chemicals)

So, what does kill algae? Chlorine?

 

[funandsun]

yes Chlorine kills the algae and your filter cleans your water.
Rillewen, we have owned our pool for 13 years and every. single. year. it was a battle. This last winter I decided I was going to "figure" out how to take care of a pool. I read and read and read.

Much like your situation, I was reluctant to spend money on things that I have never used but then I recognized that I also have never had my pool in the condition that I know is possible. So, I started reading these forums, I started noticing the answers from the "experts" said similar things:

What are the results of your test
You don't need many different chemicals to take care of your pool
Buy a good test kit
Learn/read Pool school
learn about the SLAM process and understand what it is doing to your water and why it works

Just like everything we do in life, the more you know the better you will be at it.

I really hope YOU will take charge of your families pool, I hope YOU will read pool school, that YOU will learn and be able to explain to your Mom and Dad how easy it really can be to have the pool your family envisioned when they made the purchase originally. You know the Blue cool water and refreshing experience floating and soaking.

Get that image in your mind and commit yourself to making it a reality. Believe me when I tell you, all of the experts here want 1 thing... they want your family to have a great pool!

Let them know what you need but then you must do your part and follow their advice... right now that advice is to invest in a test kit, ask your dad to stop "throwing" money at the pool and instead invest in making it perfect. You will be amazed at what 2-3 small changes in your pool care routine will do for your pool.

Since you are not currently working full time, you have the time to take this pool on your family, I hope you find a way to do that. You won't regret it and right now, your family needs a mark in the win column.. you can do it!

Best of luck,

 

[VWbusguy]

I just typed out 4 paragraphs explaing what we just went through and I hit post and I had timed out or something....grrrr...happens a lot on here not sure why.

To paraphrase it....we started couple weeks ago with a green 20' intex with tadpoles in it. We drained most of it as no one wanted to go swimming to pull the drain plug....I used a pond pump to get it knee deep where someone could get in with waders. Anyway...long story short...get that nasty water out first. Starting with cleaner water is cheaper than trying to fix nasty water. So even though we drained it and cleaned it within a few days it turned green before we could get chems adjusted. But within 3 days we have gone from green to almost clear.
2 things I can attribute that to....First this website and second a good test kit. People can't help you here as much as they would like if you can't give them numbers. By having a test kit with what I needed today we were able to punch in numbers on the pool calculator and see what we needed. By knowing where we are and the target FC to start the SLAM, the calculator said I needed to add 108 fl oz of bleach to get my FC target to 12. Guess what.....108 fl oz of bleach brought me from FC 6 to exactly FC 12 which was the target.

So....have a good heart to heart with the folks. You can't do this without the data. Like taking you're car to a mechanic. They have so many cool diagnostic tools they can pinpoint what is wrong in no time. Or if you are the stubborn shade tree mechanic you will throw $ and parts at that car until you finally find the problem....which would have cost you $60 to repair but you spent $460 trying anything and everything. The test kit sounded like a lot to me last year too for $60 when I had just bought a new pool. But it is worth every penny right now as we went from a frog bowl few weeks ago to pretty much ready to swim now.

 

[kevreh]

Too late. My dad dumped it all into the pool before me or my mom knew he was doing it. Good to know about the algaecide though, I'll mention that to my mom (who mostly makes the purchases of things of that nature, and is all for avoiding chemicals)

So, what does kill algae? Chlorine?

Your dad sounds like a loose canon, lol. Please spend time reading up on other threads here, and learn the slam process. You'll be proud once your water clears up for a lot less $ you've spent.

Can you get your dad to read these forums?

Also there's a pool guy on youtube, his name is mrdgvb1, who has a lot of really good videos. Some are for beginners and adress the bbb method. Here's a couple videos to get you started;

Using Clorox Bleach in Your Swimming Pool - YouTube
The BBB method - Using Bleach, Baking Soda Borax to Maintain Your Swimming Pool - YouTube

 

[Rillewen]

Update! I returned home from my trip, at last. And after getting a way to test it, we tested the pool water and found that it has way too much chemicals in it (surprise surprise, considering that someone keeps throwing chemicals in willy nilly) and it's been decided that really the only thing to do is just drain the pool. So when I get a chance I'm going to do that, because it would cost more to buy chemicals like ph down and whatever to bring the stuff down to the proper level than it would to just refill the pool. I checked into how to do it and I have a plan now.
That being said, does anyone have any advice or information that might help?

 

[AftonJeeper]

Yes, stick with the recommended chemicals so you don't have to hassle with this again.

When you fill start by adding chlorine to bring you 3-5ppm. Add CYA in a sock in front of your return, aim for 30. Monitor your pH and FC daily at first so you know what is going on. Come back and ask questions here as thing arise. Good luck with the new water.

 

[kevreh]

Depending on how bad chem levels are out of wack, you may get by draining pool part way.

 

[x Wild Bill x]

I hate to be a debby downer, but how did you "get a way to test it"? If your answer to this question is the free testing from the pool store and not one of the suggested test kits you will more than likely still have problems. Pool stores are notorious for having poor and varying test results. You can go to 3 different stores with the same water and get 3 different sets of results. This is why everyone here suggests getting one of the quality kits, trust them it does make a difference. If you insist on getting your water tested by the pool store, then good luck but don't be surprised if you end up with less than crystal clear water. Sorry if I sound harsh, but it is simply reality.