First time owning a house with a pool and I figured I try the maintenance myself. Since I life just around the corner from a pool store offering free water testing, I figured it'd be easy. About every 1-2 weeks I'd take a sample in and they'd tell me what I need. Shock the pool and new chlorine tablets once per week. Backwash once every 2 weeks. Clean the filter every 6 months. It was a piece of cake for 4 years until recently where I got chlorine lock. After some online research I discovered you are supposed to drain your pool every 2-3 years to refresh the water. Never knew. Any other pool maintenance tasks that aren't obvious?

8.25% for $3.50
https://www.homedepot.com/p/HDX-121-oz-Germicidal-Bleach-23008948211/203420868

Where did you find 3-pack of 10%?

How much and how often do you use bleach in lieu of chlorine tablets?

FWIW, I spent more money using bleach vs triclor. The chlorine in the bleach burns up much quicker than the triclor.

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Never use chlorine tablets, only bleach.

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How often do you have to add bleach?

I've had my house/pool for 4 years now and have always used chlorine tablets. This is the 1st time the chlorine tablets have caused the chlorine lock. Regardless, I've been told you should drain/refill your pool every 3-5 years so it sounds like I'm due. The drain/refill will reset the chlorine lock for another 3-5 years plus I'll have fresh pool water. For 25,000 gallons, I'll pay around $200 for the water bill. A sump pump costs about $100.

investorAg83 said:

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FWIW, I spent more money using bleach vs triclor. The chlorine in the bleach burns up much quicker than the triclor.

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Same here. Bleach was expensive and needed attention every few days. Wasn't worth it to me.

I use the 10% stuff from Home Depot during the summer. It used to be harder to find (sometimes by cleaning supplies, sometimes in with paint, sometimes outside). But it seems most HDs (including the one I go to at Custer and Parker) now have put it in the outdoor section with the rest of the DIY pool care stuff.

During prime swimming time, I measure and adjust the chlorine and pH level 2-3 times a week (TF-100 kit from tftestkits.net). A little bit of a PITA, but I don't mind for the most part. I test the alkalinity maybe once a month and adjust with baking soda. I probably only do the full TF-100 test kit list of tests once or twice a year but I trust my results more than Leslie's although it's nice to doublecheck every once in a while.

During the winter and when I'm away from my pool for longer than a few days (vacations and work), I use chlorine tabs still. I assume eventually the cyanuric acid will get high enough where I'll need to drain/refill the pool.

Eventually, I would love to modify my equipment setup with a more automated approach to chlorinating (Stenner pump?) but I haven't fully looked into the details. Troublefreepool.com is a really good resource.

And since I assume you live in Plano, don't do the drain/refill from December to March as your usage sets your sewer bill:
https://ecop.plano.gov/cus/WQA

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I'll need to drain/refill the pool.

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Has anyone every drained a pool? I have a sump pump so I have the means. Are there any things you need to be aware of? Can you damage the pool if done incorrectly?

It can shift once the majority of the weight is removed.

We're having our 25 yr old pool refinished this week and they drilled pressure relief holes into the bottom of it.

I was worried about floating my pool. Didn't leave it empty for long.

PlanoAg98 said:

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I'll need to drain/refill the pool.

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Has anyone every drained a pool? I have a sump pump so I have the means. Are there any things you need to be aware of? Can you damage the pool if done incorrectly?

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I stayed away from tabs cause I was so terrified of a refill, but once I finally did it one summer, it made me laugh that I had been so afraid.

First off, you probably won't ever need to drain the entire thing and I would certainly start the refill as soon as I stopped draining.

I just went to home depot, rented a pump and about 50-75 feet of flat hose and it was like $50 for the weekend. Ran it to the waste water and started pumping early one morning...Our pool is 15k and I did it on July 4th a few years ago - started the drain around 5:00am, thing was drained enough for me (like 75-85% or so) by about lunch. Put 3 hoses on it and it was full by the time I went to bed that night.

If you can stay on top of it and have easy access to Chlorine at good prices (and get a test kit) I still think the troublefreepool way is the best, but it's about 45 minutes for me to get to home depot and back and about the same to get to our local pool store which has terrible hours (don't even open until 10am and close at like 7pm)....the problem ends up being you have to stay more on top of it when using bleach and I would run into too many times when I needed Chlorine but was out and either didn't have time or just didn't feel like making the trip to HD to get more. And now days almost everything you can get at grocery stores is super weak and has all kinds of laundry-specific stuff added to them which make me hesitate to put them into the pool.

Anyway, TLDR: I like BBB, but it was unforgiving and - for me - wasn't much cheaper, so I just run tabs with the understanding that I may have to spend $50 and 1 day on a partial refill each season.

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Anyway, TLDR: I like BBB, but it was unforgiving and - for me - wasn't much cheaper, so I just run tabs with the understanding that I may have to spend $50 and 1 day on a partial refill each season.

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Completely agree with this. I think the BBB requires much higher maintenance in Texas than it does in milder heat. I quit getting the Clorox tabs that were always on sale at CostCo because they are full of all kinds of stuff other than chlorine (a lot of CYA). I'm just using standard tabs and triclor and I haven't had one issue maintaining chlorine and CYA levels.

I still use Borax and Baking soda as needed instead of the overpriced stuff at the pool store. But spend the money on Triclor...I can almost assure you that you'll spend less money and get better results than using the 10% jugs at HD (which are the ones I used).

if your pool chemicals are properly balanced there is no need to drain the pool.

the only reason you'd want to do that is if the readings are so far out of whack it's easier to drain some and start over. but even then you could probably drain half and restart again with the TFP method.

also, you're much better off getting your own test kit. it's more reliable than the pool stores.

Shocking your pool weekly is not good. High chlorine levels are bad for your equipment and plaster. CYA is a stabilizer that protects the chlorine from the sun making it last longer. 40-50 ppm is a good level. Use liquid chlorine or bleach to increase the chlorine to 5-7 ppm for pools using only chlorine for sanitation. If you have an ozone system you can reduce your chlorine to 1-3 ppm. Only Use the tricolor tabs to help maintain an acceptable chlorine level between testing not to raise the level. If you cya level is above 100 ppm then you need to drain some water out and replace with fresh water. There are pool calculators online that will tell you how much water to drain based on how high the cya is.

Walmart has 10% bleach called "chlorinating liquid" for about $3.50 if you're into lugging around bottles all the time. It's good to keep some to shock with. I'm going to saltwater over the winter.

Tf-100 Test kit

https://www.amazon.com/Supportiback-TF-100-Test-kit/dp/B01M4NLLR4

Backwashing your pool every 2 weeks is really excessive. Should be done once a month, at most. I do mine when I'm about 15-20 psi over my "clean" pressure.
I have never had anybody recommend draining my pool. Water doesn't go bad.

You live in Plano, based on username, so you should go to 1Stop pools before doing anything. They are probably most reputable pool store in the area. Obviously, stay away from Leslie's.

One of the best pool repair guys in the area is Mark at McKinney pools.

1 Stop Pools is where I go as it's just around the corner. They recommended draining (or at least partially) the pool. My chlorine level was locked (chlorine lock). The pool maintenance company that replaced my filter recommended back washing every 2 weeks.

I've never heard of a 2 week backwash routine either. Monthly maybe.

I agree on the bleach. Do a spreadsheet on it. The 10% is usually never cheaper. The cheapest I found factoring in concentration vs. cost was HEB Bravo. The $1 bottle is even cheaper, but it is only about 6% concentrate (it doesn't say on the label, but I deduced the 6% from what they say on the instructions vs Bravo), so you have to use alot and then deal with the bottles. Here are a few other tips I have learned:

1.) Buy supplies online or at Home Depot. I buy the Trichlor tabs at Dohenys (online) and stuff like sodium bicarbonate, test kits, nets, etc. at Home Depot. You can also get chinese knock-off Polaris parts on Amazon that work very well.
2.) Keep chlorine, pH, and total alkalinity correct. IMO, the droplet test kits from HD are very accurate. I find the strips to be less accurate.
3.) You don't need to run your pump excessively. The previous owner of my house was running it 12 hours a day. That's a ridiculous waste of money. Experiment with your pool and see what you can get by with. I run mine 4hrs in the summer and 2hrs in the winter and I have a large leaf and trash load to deal with.
4.) I never backwash my DE filter. I watch the pressure and when it gets 6-8lbs above the "start" pressure, I completely disassemble, clean, and recharge with DE. Backwashing is just so "inexact" and I don't like not knowing what's left in there when I recharge the DE. If you have something other than a DE filter, then disregard this. This comment is strictly for DE filters. That comes out to about 3 times a year.
5.) I do use the strips to test for CYA. I back off the Trichlor tabs and switch to bleach when the levels get above 100 ppm. Rain and splashout will eventually get it back down.

Do some reading on troublefreepool.com. That's a great source of information. Knowledge is the key when dealing with a pool. I am lucky to work with a bunch of Chemical Engineers that have helped me get this down to a science.

We put in a pool this March. I used trouble free pool almost exclusively in the design and now the maintenance. They have an app "Pool Math" that essentially tells you where you need to be on chems. I did use some tabs and got my CYA up to high so now I need to drain some of my pool.

I'm taking over pool maintenance for my father-in-law that passed away recently. I know nothing about his setup, and the pool has been unattended for weeks. Should I start with getting a consultation from a service company or just try to bring it back using the website everyone has mentioned?

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I'm taking over pool maintenance for my father-in-law that passed away recently. I know nothing about his setup, and the pool has been unattended for weeks. Should I start with getting a consultation from a service company or just try to bring it back using the website everyone has mentioned?

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Just bring a sample into a pool store and have them run a test. They will tell you what you need to add/do to get it to the correct levels. This is what I still do to the day after having a pool for 4 years. During the summer I get a test every 1-2 weeks. During the winter it's more like every 3-4 weeks.

Hijacking thread a bit...

Just purchased a pool with a home.

We have had it for 1 week. Not 100% sure the last time the previous owner serviced it. I want to wait 1 more week to get a couple bids before picking a cleaning service provider. That could mean 3 or so weeks without servicing and i know NOTHING about pools. Never had one growing up.

Am I ok for a week or so? Anything I MUST do to avoid any major issues? We have some small leaves that i cleaned out but the pool is mostly free from debris...

planoaggie123 said:

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Hijacking thread a bit...

Just purchased a pool with a home.

We have had it for 1 week. Not 100% sure the last time the previous owner serviced it. I want to wait 1 more week to get a couple bids before picking a cleaning service provider. That could mean 3 or so weeks without servicing and i know NOTHING about pools. Never had one growing up.

Am I ok for a week or so? Anything I MUST do to avoid any major issues? We have some small leaves that i cleaned out but the pool is mostly free from debris...

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Did the previous owner leave any chemicals behind and how green is the pool?

No chemicals. Pool is not green currently....

planoaggie123 said:

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No chemicals. Pool is not green currently....

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Take a sample to a pool store (I like poolwerx at coit and Campbell) and while you're there get a bucket of triclor and some tabs (you'll use it next spring). Get anything else they suggest after running the sample and add what you need.

Sweep the sides of the pool. Adjust the pump timer so it runs for about 4 hrs a day. Should be good.

The board will advocate bleach instead of triclor. As I've posted, I spent more money going the bleach route vs triclor but you do whatever you want.

Ok. Thanks!

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Ok. Thanks!

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In Plano, I and others on this thread recommend A1 Pool Stop at Spring Creek & Custer.