Why/how the pool techs could clean my pool in 15 minutes?!

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Re: Please help us rid of $600-$850/m pool service!

That is the percentage. When you look at the calculator on the FC row, by default it may say "6" for a percentage. You can change it to 8.25, 10, 12.5 etc based on what product you are using.
 
Re: Please help us rid of $600-$850/m pool service!

Texas Splash said:
That is the percentage. When you look at the calculator on the FC row, by default it may say "6" for a percentage. You can change it to 8.25, 10, 12.5 etc based on what product you are using.
Click to expand...

Got it. Thanks so much for all this help Texas Splash. Virtual cold adult beverages coming your way!
 
Re: Please help us rid of $600-$850/m pool service!

We nixed the bleach above as it turned out to be a bad price.
Pool guy just left lowes with muriatic acid and is heading to BJ's to get a bag of baking soda to lower TA. Will also check out prices of bleach while there.
 

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If you are trying to convert to our methods and you have algae then the solution is a SLAM. It can't be done once a day. The absolute minimum is twice a day and at that decreased rate it takes longer to clear the pool.

You are having difficulties changing the pool guy, I get that - but we don't usually recommend clarifiers and floculants. They can make matters worse with clouding water and clogging filters if too much is used or if used incorrectly.

You indicate that the filter is working because the "backwash is green". It's good the filter is working, but a working filter has nothing to do with eradicating algae, chlorine does.

You have to do several things -

1. Stop using solid forms of chlorine. It raises your CYA. You don't want the CYA any higher until all algae has been eradicated.

2. Reduce pH to 7.2. I would suggest using muratic acid rather than pH reducer.

3. Stop fooling around with TA. That is the last thing to worry about. You gotta kill the algae first.

4. Get that pool up to shock level. As you were at 30CYA and you have tabs in the water assume 40 and use that to determine shock level.

5. Brush the entire pool once a day.

Where you are going to have problems is testing. To end the SLAM you need to pass OCLT which means testing FC after the sun is off the pool and again before the sun is on the pool in the morning.
 
I don't usually like to offer "advice" because I still consider myself a novice. However, I have been using this site and the TFPC (or originally the BBB) method for 6 seasons now. My pool is generally clear and when it isn't I can usually tell you why and correct it within a couple of days. The information here works and the people that offer their advice are incredibly knowledgeable and patient. It's been an absolute blessing to have found this place 2 months before I had water in my new pool in 2010.

All that to tell you that I think you really need to do 2 things. One, you need to take about 2 hours one evening (sooner than later) and read "Pool School". Then as you have a chance, look through the current/old posts in the TFPC thread or this one to see what other problems people have had and how they dealt with it. Two, you need to properly teach the tenant (not the pool guy) how to take care of this pool.

I only say this because it seems like you may not quite understand the process. It really is pretty simple. I have 3 things that go in my pool.... chlorine, CYA, and acid. That's it, period, for the last 6 years. Once you realize what the process is and why you do it, the other stuff is pretty simple. You add CYA and chlorine, brush and vacuum, then check the water frequently. When the chlorine is low, you add chlorine... when the ph is high, you add acid.... when there is algae in the pool, you slam it.

I'm terribly oversimplifying the process.... but even that's an odd statement because it's a simple process!

Anyway, I think you'll benefit from teaching your tenant because they are the ones that will be at the pool most frequently. They live there and they're the ones that are "entertaining on Fridays"... it seems like they'd be willing and happy to be the ones learning how to keep it clear. If not for simply being able to have a clean pool for their guests whenever they wanted...but at least for their own health. If you need to SLAM the pool, they (not the pool guy and certainly not you) are going to be in the best position to do it.

I think the best way to teach them is for you to really understand what is going on. Maybe you do, I'm not trying to assume too much, but it seems like some of your understandings are off a little (baking soda for pH decreasing, hesitancy to SLAM, insistence on using pucks, unfamiliarity with 8% bleach). I'm not attacking you here at all, just using those as examples. I'm certain that you can figure it out quickly and help the tenants be your eyes/ears on the pool front. The pool guy should be your professional go to when there are problems that don't make sense; the tenants should know how to take care of the pool.
 
keetman, in an ideal world I would tend to agree with you about the tenants, I however know too many people who own rental properties (friends, relatives, etc.) and have heard way too many horror stories about it. So I feel it is likely that the tenants would decide TFP was too much trouble and if you are lucky they would dump a jug or two of bleach into the pool without ever testing from time to time when they remember, and if not then it would be a lot worse.
 
B
tim5055 said:
If you are trying to convert to our methods and you have algae then the solution is a SLAM. It can't be done once a day. The absolute minimum is twice a day and at that decreased rate it takes longer to clear the pool.

Understood. Pool guy is going to be checking often and cleaning once per day, and I am speaking with the property manager today to make contact with the tenant so I can explain what's going on and what's needed. I believe she will be on board.

You are having difficulties changing the pool guy, I get that - but we don't usually recommend clarifiers and floculants. They can make matters worse with clouding water and clogging filters if too much is used or if used incorrectly.

You indicate that the filter is working because the "backwash is green". It's good the filter is working, but a working filter has nothing to do with eradicating algae, chlorine does.

This stems from wondering why there is so much debree in the water - leaves grass, etc. (Is the pump and filter working properly?)

You have to do several things -

1. Stop using solid forms of chlorine. It raises your CYA. You don't want the CYA any higher until all algae has been eradicated.

all over the no more solids. CYA between 30 & 40 this morning. Leaving it alone.

2. Reduce pH to 7.2. I would suggest using muratic acid rather than pH reducer. MA went in last night.

3. Stop fooling around with TA. That is the last thing to worry about. You gotta kill the algae first. Got it.

4. Get that pool up to shock level. As you were at 30CYA and you have tabs in the water assume 40 and use that to determine shock level.

5. Brush the entire pool once a day.

Where you are going to have problems is testing. To end the SLAM you need to pass OCLT which means testing FC after the sun is off the pool and again before the sun is on the pool in the morning.
Click to expand...

The rest - got it.
 
keetman said:
I don't usually like to offer "advice" because I still consider myself a novice. However, I have been using this site and the TFPC (or originally the BBB) method for 6 seasons now. My pool is generally clear and when it isn't I can usually tell you why and correct it within a couple of days. The information here works and the people that offer their advice are incredibly knowledgeable and patient. It's been an absolute blessing to have found this place 2 months before I had water in my new pool in 2010.

All that to tell you that I think you really need to do 2 things. One, you need to take about 2 hours one evening (sooner than later) and read "Pool School". Then as you have a chance, look through the current/old posts in the TFPC thread or this one to see what other problems people have had and how they dealt with it. Two, you need to properly teach the tenant (not the pool guy) how to take care of this pool.

I only say this because it seems like you may not quite understand the process. It really is pretty simple. I have 3 things that go in my pool.... chlorine, CYA, and acid. That's it, period, for the last 6 years. Once you realize what the process is and why you do it, the other stuff is pretty simple. You add CYA and chlorine, brush and vacuum, then check the water frequently. When the chlorine is low, you add chlorine... when the ph is high, you add acid.... when there is algae in the pool, you slam it.

I'm terribly oversimplifying the process.... but even that's an odd statement because it's a simple process!

Anyway, I think you'll benefit from teaching your tenant because they are the ones that will be at the pool most frequently. They live there and they're the ones that are "entertaining on Fridays"... it seems like they'd be willing and happy to be the ones learning how to keep it clear. If not for simply being able to have a clean pool for their guests whenever they wanted...but at least for their own health. If you need to SLAM the pool, they (not the pool guy and certainly not you) are going to be in the best position to do it.

I think the best way to teach them is for you to really understand what is going on. Maybe you do, I'm not trying to assume too much, but it seems like some of your understandings are off a little (baking soda for pH decreasing, hesitancy to SLAM, insistence on using pucks, unfamiliarity with 8% bleach). I'm not attacking you here at all, just using those as examples. I'm certain that you can figure it out quickly and help the tenants be your eyes/ears on the pool front. The pool guy should be your professional go to when there are problems that don't make sense; the tenants should know how to take care of the pool.
Click to expand...

You are absolutely right that I don't have a firm grasp on everything. I have read and even printed out several pertinent pages from PS for quick reference. The issue comes in that I learn best with hands-on. Obviously, not possible. Add in that I was traveling yesterday (navigating for the driver), switching back and forth between bookmarks on my phone and the app for the forum, plus telling pool guy where to go for what items and how much to get, and juggling property manager for another rental where we have been without a tenant for near 3 months, and yah, I had a bit going on yesterday that made things even more difficult.

But I sincerely appreciate your (and everyone's) input and help! (Could you imagine where I'd have been without it?!)
 
Isaac-1 said:
keetman, in an ideal world I would tend to agree with you about the tenants, I however know too many people who own rental properties (friends, relatives, etc.) and have heard way too many horror stories about it. So I feel it is likely that the tenants would decide TFP was too much trouble and if you are lucky they would dump a jug or two of bleach into the pool without ever testing from time to time when they remember, and if not then it would be a lot worse.
Click to expand...


I'm sure you're right. I've never been a landlord at all, let alone a property with a pool. My basis was that the situation the OP is in now isn't working either! TFPC is an easy process, but someone needs to understand it and often the process requires hands on attention periodically throughout a short period of time. The OP isn't geographically able to keep this schedule up and the Pool Tech has other customers, their own personal life, and charges. It just seems like it would be natural for the tenant... who is there all the time... to be the one to do it. I think if I was the tenant I would want the responsibility just so I had the freedom of using the pool when I want and knowing that my family was safe.

To be honest, I've heard plenty of nightmares with tenants as well, I can't imagine renting my pool to anyone. OP, you are actually pretty brave for even trying this!



Household6 said:
You are absolutely right that I don't have a firm grasp on everything. I have read and even printed out several pertinent pages from PS for quick reference. The issue comes in that I learn best with hands-on. Obviously, not possible. Add in that I was traveling yesterday (navigating for the driver), switching back and forth between bookmarks on my phone and the app for the forum, plus telling pool guy where to go for what items and how much to get, and juggling property manager for another rental where we have been without a tenant for near 3 months, and yah, I had a bit going on yesterday that made things even more difficult.

But I sincerely appreciate your (and everyone's) input and help! (Could you imagine where I'd have been without it?!)
Click to expand...


I can understand that you need to be hands on with this. That is certainly a big issue here. It's been awhile, but I remember getting my testing kit and checking the water over and over. I didn't have any issues, I was just learning what it was all about. By the time I had a problem with a cloudy pool, algae, or pH issues I at least had a firm grasp on the numbers and how to get them.

Just keep trying to educate yourself the best you can. I don't know if you trust your tenant to take care of the pool like I suggested, but at least the more competent you are with the system the better you can advise the Pool Tech.

I wish you the best, you definitely have your hands full.
 
Thanks Keetman!
I sure wish we had a choice on whether or not to be landlords! This one is courtesy of Uncle Sam. When the Army says "move" you do it. Doesn't matter if you're under water (ha!) or not. Your only choice is to get the best property manager you can find, and hold your breath. All the great help that (was) out there for homeowners rarely applies to rental properties. And the "great" SCRA that folks hear about to help military families is really little more than hot air. But, the positive side at this point is that if we have to go back to Ft.. Bragg, we have a great house to go back to.

I do believe these tenants are of the good kind. They suffered through us doing a pretty extensive DIY repair that took a very long weekend, and muscled through the bad pool tech we had between this one and last year's. I don't think they'll be opposed to taking over pool care, I'm just the type of landlord that wants to show I'm doing everything I can to ensure they have a well cared for house.

But, pretty soon they're going to have to take it over for at least a while. Pool guy is having shoulder surgery mid-Sept and if they want to swim the last few weeks of the season, they'll have to pick it up. Worst case scenario is we have a swamp next spring. But, that's nothing TFP can't handle!

So, enough of my woes and rants! Today's results follow so yall can all double-check my means and ways . . .
 
Added MA Thurs night.

Friday 11:45am results:
pH- 7.4
TA- 70
CH- 200
CYA- 35
FC - 0

Time to SLAM!

Added 726 oz of 8.25% bleach with FC goal of 15.

Friday 4:30pm results:
CC- .8
FC- 8.4
pH- 7.6 (realize this isn't reliable)
TA- 80
CH- 200
CYA- 33

I wasn't crazy about pool guy only doing 2 tests today, but he (understandably) has other obligations. My thoughts were that we would see how it works out. If things go well, great. If not, I'd ask him to show the tenants how to use the test kit so they could test more frequently and they could contact me with numbers and I'd tell them how much bleach to add.

Is it premature to think the afternoon test went better than expected?

But then, my heart sank!
He had added:

303 oz of 8.25 bleach
9 lb of baking soda
22 oz muriatic acid

No! No! No! Say it ain't so! He added MA?! And I'm not sure if I should be concerned about the BS addition or not.

While the instructions for SLAM do say the pH is not reliable during the process, it doesn't state what levels, other than FC, are to be maintained.

So are we back to square 1 in the morning of prepping to start another SLAM?

Will having added the MA and BS set things askew?

What levels (other than CF) are to be maintained and considered at this point?

Pool guy will be back at pool at 8am.
 
No, but because the pH test will read artificially high with FC above 10 you are blind as to what his additions did. You could plug your numbers into Pool Math and see what it should have done.

Obviously there is a miscommunication somewhere.

During a SLAM FC and CC are the only things tested. Your FC should be above 16 as much as possible.
 
tim5055 said:
No, but because the pH test will read artificially high with FC above 10 you are blind as to what his additions did. You could plug your numbers into Pool Math and see what it should have done.

Obviously there is a miscommunication somewhere.

During a SLAM FC and CC are the only things tested. Your FC should be above 16 as much as possible.
Click to expand...

So since FC is not above 10 yet, this is valid?

". . . FC above 16 as much as possible?"
My understanding of the chart was 16 is shock level. Considering tenants are going to be swimming during SLAM, and the CYA is jumpy (most often at 30-end of 30-40), we elected for 15. Issue?
 

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