New to pool maintenance...

[Poolmj]

Hi I just moved here in Loveland. And the pool of my Mom hasn’t been opened for 8 years.... so you can just imagine what the pool looks like that hasn’t been cleaned or maintained....

I finally cleaned it and now it’s back to it’s nice and blue clear water...

In order for us to achieve that we bought a lot of chemicals at a pool place. And that costs a lot... really...

My question is how do I maintain this pool? (What do I need in terms of chemicals to balance the pool?) without me going to a once or twice a week trip to the pool place and buy chemicals from them.... where do I get the chemicals and test kits other than the pool place?

I’ll post some pics of before and after for reference. Additional reference the pool is 42000 gallons in ground/upprinted vinyl rectangle shape.

Any suggestions I’ll be really thankful as I’m new to this pool maintainance.

 

[zea3]

Hi, welcome to TFP! First off I will say you need an FAS/DPD test kit such as the TF 100 which is available on line at the provided link. You can maintain a pool with chemicals from your local grocery store for most needs. Plain, unscented bleach, preferably without fabric protectors is a good source of liquid chlorine. Adjustments to pH and TA can be made with baking soda and borax, however you do not need to stock up on these items. First you need a set of reliable test results, and we can help you manage your pool from there.

Since you just cleaned this pool, (and it looks great!) what products did you use to get the pool clear?

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Wow Poolmj, nice change in that pool! I only wish you could have found our site earlier as we don't pay those pool store prices for things we can get at the grocery store!

Need chlorine- household bleach works just fine! (make that generic, non-thickened, non-scented, no clorox brand bleach) Or liquid chlorine sold in bulk from some chemical distributors or pool stores.

Need Alkalinity Increaser?? Would you believe that's nothing more than baking soda....same as you can get in large bags at Walmart for a fraction of the cost.

How about pH decreaser?- Muriatic acid from the hardware store. Works great and doesn't leave behind problematic sulphates like pool store pH decreaser does.

So you see..... we're happy you now have a clear clean pool....we just wish we could have told ya how earlier.

First thing we insist on is that every pool owner should have a really decent test kit. There are only two we endorse, both found at TFTestkits.net

With test kit in hand, one needs to monitor these:
FC
CC
pH
TA
CH
CYA

And then act on the results if necessary. See this for our recommended levels -->Pool School - Recommended Levels

After you get yourself the appropriate test kit ordered, go delve into Pool School up at the top of the page. It will help you understand our proven methods.

Again, glad you're here!

Maddie

 

[Poolmj]

Hey I used a lot of shock (burnout 73) and power floc to bind the mud/sand/sediments underneath the pool. Then did a lot of vacuuming. Thanks for the link for the test kit.

- - - Updated - - -

Thanks Maddie. Yeah too bad I didn’t use tge resources available online... that pool has been a headache for my mom in years...
I’ll definitely get the test kit thanks and I’ll post questions on the hyperlink you posted.