Pool Cleaning

2,337 Views | 22 Replies | Last: 5 yr ago by investorAg83
Medaggie
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I am finally going to bite the bullet and clean my own pool. Cleaners are hit or miss. I will find a good company, and they either jack the prices up or hire someone new who barely cleans my pool.

Hired a new guy with great ratings and my pool still leaves the pool messy. I even caught him on my camera doing really nothing.

Anyhow..... the new guy never put in chlorine tabs in the dispenser.... I finally checked. He would just dump some chemicals, leave and come back in a week and do the same.

I assume this is wrong and I need tabs in the dispenser right?

Also, there are about 6 valves at the pool pump/equipment. How can I figure out which valve does what?
agnerd
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AG
Find a (40+) neighbor that has a pool and ask him to come over and show you how your pool works and how to test the water. Buy him a case of beer each time he comes over to show you how to fix something. You'll come out ahead.
Dr. Venkman
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AG
Tabs increase CYA which will eventually render chlorine useless. Liquid bleach is better.
allMondjoy
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Liquid bleach also good for whites and dark roots with the wifey.
Aggiedad
sts7049
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AG
check out troublefreepool
Medaggie
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Thank you everyone for your input. I have read through TFP, looked at youtube, googled alot and feel confident I can do this.

Liquid bleach adds Cl without CYA. I have a 15K gallon pool, so how much liquid bleach do people normally add and how often? Or is this just trial and error to get the Cl level at 1-3?

I could not find this from google, and maybe its just a trial and error experiment.
sts7049
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AG
TFP has a calculator which will give you an idea of how much bleach to add.

if you have everything in balance and no algae issues it should stay fairly stable. maybe add a half bottle once a week or so, depending on how big your pool is.
rlb28
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AG
We do our own. Take water sample to Leslie's Pools and they tell us what to do exactly. Use a Polaris vacuum. We keep two chlorine floaters in at all times. Our pool is crystal clear year-round, even during Hurricane Harvey. I don't know as much as my wife, but Leslie's definitely is a great resource.
PlanoAg98
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AG
What rlb28 said.

Don't test your water yourself. That is the effort in maintaining your own pool. Most every pool supply store will do this for you. When you need to buy something to fix the levels, they want you to buy it from them. I don't use Leslie's but a neighborhood family run store but the test quality will be the same wherever you go. I put in shock and check the chlorine tabs once per week. During the winter, the chlorine tabs last a while. During the summer, you need to put new tabs in each week. I've been doing this for 3 years and have always had crystal clear water. Since I stay on the chemicals, I have rarely gotten any algae and barely ever have to brush the pool surface.
Bottlerocket
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AG
I would not let Leslie's test. They are all over the place. Plus, if you are going to take over your pool care (which is very easy with the trouble free pool app and BBB method), you need to test free chlorine and ph at least twice a week. You aren't going to drive to Leslie's twice a week. Go on amazon and bite the bullet for the Taylor FAS-DPD test kit. Then download the trouble free pool app. You'll thank me!!
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Bottlerocket
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AG
Keep in mind, the pucks add cya. Over time, that means your free chlorine level needs to be higher and higher to stay within limits which can damage equipment and cost you money
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Bottlerocket
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AG
How can I figure out which valve does what?


Depending on where you are, call a reputable pool company and ask for them to come show you. When I bought our house last June, I knew nothing about pools but it sounded fun to learn. A company offered "pool school" and a guy came to my house, explained my system to me (you need to know what type of filter you have), what each valve did and why, and basic care. Once you know what type of system you have (sand, de, or cartridge) and what each valve controls (ask them to label the pvc with arrows for suction pipes and return pipes, skimmers, main drain, etc), it's eazy peazy
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Bottlerocket
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AG
Medaggie said:

Thank you everyone for your input. I have read through TFP, looked at youtube, googled alot and feel confident I can do this.

Liquid bleach adds Cl without CYA. I have a 15K gallon pool, so how much liquid bleach do people normally add and how often? Or is this just trial and error to get the Cl level at 1-3?

I could not find this from google, and maybe its just a trial and error experiment.


Your free chlorine level is useless without knowing your cya. Test for cya. Then you know what your level should be. 1-3 would be for a pool with VERY LITTLE cya. If you've Ben using pucks for a while, I'll bet your chlorine needs to be closer to 7-9
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FortWorthAg
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AG
Take some pics of your pool and equipment and we can probably tell you what each valve does.
'03ag
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I won't be going back to Leslie. They are fine if your pool is already ok and you want to keep testing once or twice/week, using their chemicals.

I bought a house with a green pool and about went nuts trying to get it back, despite testing at Leslie nearly every day. They did tell me my CYA was "really high" but never bothered to explain how that affects shock or free chlorine levels. Just kept telling me to dump "shock" in it and pray. I wasted a $150 bucket of their chlorine and pretty much got nowhere.

I bought a Trouble Free Pool Test, went all in on their methods, and in a few days I had a crystal clear pool. I can test the water, add the needed chemicals, and be done with it well before I could drive to Leslie and back.
AGFAMTX
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You might also check out Premier Pools Service page on FB. I have used them for a pool and cleaning service.
crag78
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I am with Premier Pools and your water needs to be tested weekly to keep your pool in proper balance. There are test strips available that do a good job. We use them for the pools we maintain. They test for water hardness, free chlorine,pH, alkalinity and cya.
JDCAG (NOT Colin)
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AG
I like the troublefreepool method, but you have to stay on top of it. If you go more than a few days without testing/ammending your chemicals, the pool will start to get wonky.

This year I'm just doing the typical shock/tabs/pool store method to see how it goes cause I just found doing straight bleach was just too unforgiving for situations where I had a few busy days and couldn't get out there to deal with it. Also, while the pool store isn't the most fun place to go, it's not like it feels any better to realize you need to drop chlorine in the pool and you're out. In my case the pool store and the grocery store are about the same distance...
JDCAG (NOT Colin)
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AG
'03ag said:

I won't be going back to Leslie. They are fine if your pool is already ok and you want to keep testing once or twice/week, using their chemicals.

I bought a house with a green pool and about went nuts trying to get it back, despite testing at Leslie nearly every day. They did tell me my CYA was "really high" but never bothered to explain how that affects shock or free chlorine levels. Just kept telling me to dump "shock" in it and pray. I wasted a $150 bucket of their chlorine and pretty much got nowhere.

I bought a Trouble Free Pool Test, went all in on their methods, and in a few days I had a crystal clear pool. I can test the water, add the needed chemicals, and be done with it well before I could drive to Leslie and back.


I do really like TFP for this sort of thing - it's the best way to get back to good, IMO.
Aggie1
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AG
It has been my experience if I end up with a green pool - fore whatever reason - storms/leaf trash, etc., or spring startup - the best solution is to pump it out, brush the walls and clean out all the debris and start over with clean water. It costs to do this for fill-up but cheaper than a boat load of chems - and the water starts out fresh therefore minimizing chem treatment to stabilize. Definitely easier on the skin - especially of kids.
MrJonMan
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AG
JDCAG (NOT Colin) said:

I like the troublefreepool method, but you have to stay on top of it. If you go more than a few days without testing/ammending your chemicals, the pool will start to get wonky.

This year I'm just doing the typical shock/tabs/pool store method to see how it goes cause I just found doing straight bleach was just too unforgiving for situations where I had a few busy days and couldn't get out there to deal with it. Also, while the pool store isn't the most fun place to go, it's not like it feels any better to realize you need to drop chlorine in the pool and you're out. In my case the pool store and the grocery store are about the same distance...


This is my issue....time. Especially in the summer months when it matters most & work is the busiest. Don't usually get home until 5:30-6 and we have a 1yr old, so I like to think I would stay on top of it, but I know I won't. A couple years ago I bought the test kit and everything was great when I checked it every 1-2 days, but then I didn't and screwed it up.
PlanoAg98
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AG
Quote:

If you go more than a few days without testing/amending your chemicals, the pool will start to get wonky.

I've had a pool for 3 years and only address the pool chemical levels twice per week.

1) Mid-week: Add chlorine tabs and shock. (15 minutes)
2) Weekend: Take sample to pool store for testing. Potential add of store recommended chemicals. (30 minutes)

I've never had anything but a crystal clear pool. Sometimes the pool store will give me some chemicals to balance it out but never anything expensive
MrJonMan
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AG
PlanoAg98 said:

Quote:

If you go more than a few days without testing/amending your chemicals, the pool will start to get wonky.

I've had a pool for 3 years and only address the pool chemical levels twice per week.

1) Mid-week: Add chlorine tabs and shock. (15 minutes)
2) Weekend: Take sample to pool store for testing. Potential add of store recommended chemicals. (30 minutes)

I've never had anything but a crystal clear pool. Sometimes the pool store will give me some chemicals to balance it out but never anything expensive


I believe he was referring to the TFP method of pool maintenance.

I do the same as you just check it 1-2 times a week
investorAg83
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AG
Bottlerocket said:

I would not let Leslie's test. They are all over the place. Plus, if you are going to take over your pool care (which is very easy with the trouble free pool app and BBB method), you need to test free chlorine and ph at least twice a week. You aren't going to drive to Leslie's twice a week. Go on amazon and bite the bullet for the Taylor FAS-DPD test kit. Then download the trouble free pool app. You'll thank me!!


100% agree. I did the exact same thing and it's not that difficult once you read a little.

The app I use is Pool Math. Easy peasy.
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