So your pool is green as grass and you have spent hundreds of dollars trying to fix it and you are at your wits end!!! You're mad at the pool store because they don't know what to do and keep charging for what appears to be a guess. Yeah, in the early days of owning a pool store, I've been on that end of it, and I apologize to those who got caught up in that. LOL
Well even today I can't say that I have all the answers, and don't pretend to, but I can tell you what I use if any of my pools open or for some reason turn green.
But first the rules regarding chemical use:
Pools take patience! Let me say that again... Pools take patience!!! The only thing instant with a pool is you get wet as soon as you get in it.. Pool care takes time!!
There are specific rules to adding chemicals to your pool that must be followed and yes, they take time... a lot of time... On average it takes 2-3 days to get all your chemicals in the pool.
PH and Alkalinity, while they work together in the pool, CANNOT be added at the same time. PH has to be broken into 3 separate, but equal doses, dissolved in a bucket of water. So 15lbs is 5lbs 3 times. There is also a time frame you can add it. There should be 6 hours between each dose. So at 3:00 add 5lbs and the second 5lb dose goes in at 9pm and the 3rd would go in the first thing the next morning, unless you're a night owl... then it would go in around 3am. But that's not all... you must wait 6-8 hours before you add any other chemical. Chlorine being the exception. See PATIENCE!!!
Alkalinity is basically the same. 3 doses 6 hours apart. One difference is that depending on what brand you buy, it may not have to be dissolved in water, so please, oh please, read the directions. Also yo must wait 6-8 hours before adding anything else. More PATIENCE!!
Calcium is a little different and probably aside from Muriatic Acid, its the most dangerous, so please be careful. Again 3 doses 8 hours apart. When mixing calcium, you MUST use a plastic bucket, DO NOT use metal, not even to mix it with. When mixing use wood or plastic. You will notice that the bucket will become warm to the touch, if you use metal, it could become hot enough to burn you.
Please clean all utensils between each different chemical. And remember PATIENCE!!
If you just add these chemicals randomly and or at the same time, or maybe with a little bit of a gap, you will be wasting your time and money. Chemicals must be used properly.
Big box store chemicals are not great for the pool either, however, I certainly understand the budget aspect of owning a pool. Just keep in mind that the old saying applies here, "you get what you pay for". Generic or big box store chems are inexpensive for a reason. While they all have the same "active" ingredient its the "other" ingredients that you have to watch for. These chemicals are made with cheaper and inferior "other" ingredients which means that they may dissolve faster, causing you to use more, which does a couple of things. You use more, causing you to spend more, so you're not really saving money and it adds more cheaper fillers or "other" ingredients into the water which will in turn cause cloudy water, causing you to have to spend more money on chemicals.. Whew!!! That was a mouthful!!
So Chemicals 101 is now complete!!! You should get your diploma in the mail after we receive your enrollment fee of $1 million dollars!!! (Joke, just kidding)...DO NOT SEND $1 MILLION DOLLARS!!
My next topic will be "My pool is the color of my grass"! Look for it in the next few days..
Thanks for reading and if you have a topic you'd like to suggest, please do so...
See at the pool!
Randy
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