Re: Why so much hate on pool store's water test?
I was kinda pool stored for years and years, and only touched my pool once per week (dump in 2x 2.5gal 12.5%) and top off puck floater. I had 8 jugs, so I had a monthly pool store trip, where testing was done. So 1 test/mo done while I happily browsed pool floats, goggles, and bbq stuff or talked on my cell, and another employee was filling my bleach jugs. No real time lost. 1 test instead of 10-31, 4 chem additions instead of 10-60. Zero test kit expense and time. I added an entire extra jug when we got a lot of rain, or when the water lost its perfection, so I avoided full/green algae blooms thanks to intuition and luck. Pool went green twice in like 12 years - on our two long family vacations during summers. I declined the phos-craze, the algecides, claifiers and such since I didn't see need to spend more when "chlorine and pucks" was keeping it clear. Luckily for me, that pool's fill water was TA & PH friendly enough that my tests never showed a need for PH mods. Vinyl so CH wasn't even tested. I did get some itty bitty scale, but didn't know it as such and wasn't bothered by it. For me, with that exact pool at that exact house, it was pretty minimal costs, truth be told, and actually maybe less than TFP, don't care. At my current pool, situation was similar, until things went bad, which happened in a few short years, and then it went miserably bad, hence TFP to the rescue.:super:
The X factor old pool - eyes were irritated sometimes, CC smell sometimes in days before weekly add, unsafe water (not deadly, obviously, but certainly wasn't 100% safe), and eventual CYA 200+ and the problems that would have happened, and minor scale
The X factor current pool - plaster corrosion faster than it had to be, CYA was 200+ year before last, black algae infestation, black algae behind delaminated plaster, a little copper in the pool thanks to black algae copper based algaecide usage, pool actually went solid green overnight like real magic, pool was a nightmare to salvage, but happened thanks to TFP
Final thought - I've seen CYAs go to zero when pools were left at FC 0 in several pools and am secretly convinced that the #1 reason so many pool shopped pools don't end up with CYA problems faster is that they let it go to 0 FC at some point, maybe vacation, maybe winter, maybe during storms, or times of personal strife or busyness, and they are so lucky as to have their CYA get eaten by bacteria and get to reset their CYA ticking time bomb clock.
Summary - Pool shopped (with or without phos n magic potions) can indeed *in certain fortunate situations* be less time/effort during maintenance periods as long as the operator is agreeable to unsafe water, smells, occasional blooms that will require more time/effort *and money* than full TFP adherence.
As a rule though, once you master TFP, you can, without doubt, achieve a pool care routine that requires less total time/effort/cost than pool stores generally provide - with 100% safe water protecting yourselves and your vinyl/plaster/equipment to the maximum degree. If you decline this, you accept the consequences. That's your right.
I was kinda pool stored for years and years, and only touched my pool once per week (dump in 2x 2.5gal 12.5%) and top off puck floater. I had 8 jugs, so I had a monthly pool store trip, where testing was done. So 1 test/mo done while I happily browsed pool floats, goggles, and bbq stuff or talked on my cell, and another employee was filling my bleach jugs. No real time lost. 1 test instead of 10-31, 4 chem additions instead of 10-60. Zero test kit expense and time. I added an entire extra jug when we got a lot of rain, or when the water lost its perfection, so I avoided full/green algae blooms thanks to intuition and luck. Pool went green twice in like 12 years - on our two long family vacations during summers. I declined the phos-craze, the algecides, claifiers and such since I didn't see need to spend more when "chlorine and pucks" was keeping it clear. Luckily for me, that pool's fill water was TA & PH friendly enough that my tests never showed a need for PH mods. Vinyl so CH wasn't even tested. I did get some itty bitty scale, but didn't know it as such and wasn't bothered by it. For me, with that exact pool at that exact house, it was pretty minimal costs, truth be told, and actually maybe less than TFP, don't care. At my current pool, situation was similar, until things went bad, which happened in a few short years, and then it went miserably bad, hence TFP to the rescue.:super:
The X factor old pool - eyes were irritated sometimes, CC smell sometimes in days before weekly add, unsafe water (not deadly, obviously, but certainly wasn't 100% safe), and eventual CYA 200+ and the problems that would have happened, and minor scale
The X factor current pool - plaster corrosion faster than it had to be, CYA was 200+ year before last, black algae infestation, black algae behind delaminated plaster, a little copper in the pool thanks to black algae copper based algaecide usage, pool actually went solid green overnight like real magic, pool was a nightmare to salvage, but happened thanks to TFP
Final thought - I've seen CYAs go to zero when pools were left at FC 0 in several pools and am secretly convinced that the #1 reason so many pool shopped pools don't end up with CYA problems faster is that they let it go to 0 FC at some point, maybe vacation, maybe winter, maybe during storms, or times of personal strife or busyness, and they are so lucky as to have their CYA get eaten by bacteria and get to reset their CYA ticking time bomb clock.
Summary - Pool shopped (with or without phos n magic potions) can indeed *in certain fortunate situations* be less time/effort during maintenance periods as long as the operator is agreeable to unsafe water, smells, occasional blooms that will require more time/effort *and money* than full TFP adherence.
As a rule though, once you master TFP, you can, without doubt, achieve a pool care routine that requires less total time/effort/cost than pool stores generally provide - with 100% safe water protecting yourselves and your vinyl/plaster/equipment to the maximum degree. If you decline this, you accept the consequences. That's your right.
I just try to refrain from sighing loudly or rolling my eyes when I'm there. 
