I have read the information on pool school about closing an inground pool and have read a lot of the recent posts on here. I’m trying to decide if I should add polyquat to my pool before closing since the water temperature is 65 degrees and I’ve got a 20 year old mesh cover that isn’t in the best of shape or skip the polyquat and close at SLAM level. If I’m understanding everything I’ve read on here, the pros and cons of adding polyquat to the pool and closing at SLAM level are as follows: (please correct me if any of this information is incorrect.)
Pros of Polyquat:
* It supposedly protects your pool from algae if FC drops to zero after closing or drops below minimum FC level, which makes it a good choice for using if closing early before the water temperature is solidly below 60 degrees.
* It allows you to close with a lower FC level so you don’t have to worry about high chlorine levels bleaching out your liner, harming your fiberglass gelcoat or killing your grass when you drain water out after closing
Cons of Polyquat:
* Costs a lot more than liquid chlorine - $35-$45 a quart
* Prep before closing is a bit more difficult because it has to be added 24 hours before closing at half SLAM level
* It causes FC levels to decrease significantly after adding it
* It might not last throughout a long winter if FC drops to zero early in the fall or winter ???
* You can’t add chlorine after closing because the chlorine degrades the polyquat and reduces its effectiveness (Am I understanding this correctly?)
Pros of closing at SLAM level
* Its cheaper and easier to add to the pool than polyquat
* if you wait to close when the water temperature is below 60 degrees and open before the water temperature is over 60 degrees, the chlorine should protect your pool from algae all winter
Cons:
* You need to close late and open early when closing at SLAM level or the chlorine could drop to zero, resulting in algae since there is no algaecide in the water to protect against algae???
I don’t have the luxury of always closing before the water temperature is below 60 degrees because the pool service that I use likes to wrap up all closings before the first week of winter before overnight freezing temperature set in. I also don’t feel comfortable opening any earlier than April 1st since we sometimes get freezing weather in March here so I can’t guarantee that the water will be below 60 before it is opened. My closing is scheduled for Monday, October 30th and a recent heat wave has warmed the water up to 65 degrees. I have a feeling that the water temperature will drop soon after closing though because a cold snap is coming through and freezing overnight temperatures are expected for 3 days next week after closing. The pool service that I use recommends that I add an algaecide to my water since I’ve got a mesh cover and it’s been so warm. I just wanted to see if this sounds like a good plan or if I could probably get by with closing at SLAM level instead since that would be cheaper and easier. The only reservations I have about closing at SLAM level is that the chlorine might kill my grass when draining water or it might harm my fiberglass gelcoat. If any of these reservations are valid, I think I will add the polyquat at half SLAM level.
Pros of Polyquat:
* It supposedly protects your pool from algae if FC drops to zero after closing or drops below minimum FC level, which makes it a good choice for using if closing early before the water temperature is solidly below 60 degrees.
* It allows you to close with a lower FC level so you don’t have to worry about high chlorine levels bleaching out your liner, harming your fiberglass gelcoat or killing your grass when you drain water out after closing
Cons of Polyquat:
* Costs a lot more than liquid chlorine - $35-$45 a quart
* Prep before closing is a bit more difficult because it has to be added 24 hours before closing at half SLAM level
* It causes FC levels to decrease significantly after adding it
* It might not last throughout a long winter if FC drops to zero early in the fall or winter ???
* You can’t add chlorine after closing because the chlorine degrades the polyquat and reduces its effectiveness (Am I understanding this correctly?)
Pros of closing at SLAM level
* Its cheaper and easier to add to the pool than polyquat
* if you wait to close when the water temperature is below 60 degrees and open before the water temperature is over 60 degrees, the chlorine should protect your pool from algae all winter
Cons:
* You need to close late and open early when closing at SLAM level or the chlorine could drop to zero, resulting in algae since there is no algaecide in the water to protect against algae???
I don’t have the luxury of always closing before the water temperature is below 60 degrees because the pool service that I use likes to wrap up all closings before the first week of winter before overnight freezing temperature set in. I also don’t feel comfortable opening any earlier than April 1st since we sometimes get freezing weather in March here so I can’t guarantee that the water will be below 60 before it is opened. My closing is scheduled for Monday, October 30th and a recent heat wave has warmed the water up to 65 degrees. I have a feeling that the water temperature will drop soon after closing though because a cold snap is coming through and freezing overnight temperatures are expected for 3 days next week after closing. The pool service that I use recommends that I add an algaecide to my water since I’ve got a mesh cover and it’s been so warm. I just wanted to see if this sounds like a good plan or if I could probably get by with closing at SLAM level instead since that would be cheaper and easier. The only reservations I have about closing at SLAM level is that the chlorine might kill my grass when draining water or it might harm my fiberglass gelcoat. If any of these reservations are valid, I think I will add the polyquat at half SLAM level.
