pool store ethics?

[Watermom]

Don't forget to take pictures along the way.

[henssguitars]

Hi all ~ this is Bill's wife...thanks so much for all your help so far. Bill has splashed CL in his eye so I'm doing the typing

We have been taking pictures...our neighbors thought our pool was filled with chocolate milk. Very funny!

So far we have added 18 gallons of 12.5% liquid CL. We just took a reading that indicated 3 FC. Our test kit only goes to 5 FC. How do I know when FC levels are at the recommended 15ppm with our test kit? I'm worried we are going to add too much too fast.

Thanks again for all of you input ....we would be lost without you!

[Watermom]

You can use a dilution method to make your test kit read higher. It does lose accuracy but will at least give you a ballpark figure. Take one part pool water and an equal part distilled water. Mix, pour some into the test vial. Then, multiply the result by 2. If that doesn't go as high as you need, take one part pool water and two parts distilled water, then multiply results by 3, etc.

Hope Bill's eye is ok.

[CarlD]

Yes, remember it MUST be distilled water--"Steam Distilled Water" is available in gallon jugs at supermarkets and discount drug chains.

Usually we warn people to wear eye protection when using Muriatic Acid, but obviously, due to Bill's accident, it's clear we should recommend it when using Liquid Chlorine, especially the stronger strengths.

I, too, hope Bill is OK. That's a scary thing to have happen.

Please remember P.O.P.P. is critical!

[henssguitars]

my eye is doing just fine after some antibiotic drops.
I tested at 7 this morning at 5ppm fc and added 3 gallons of 12.5 % cl, and have maintained 15 + ppm for the last three hours.
the pool is starting to clear up around the edges, still have pea soup in the middle.
I believe we are on the right track!
I will continue to test every hour or so and add cl as needed
So we went from solid white milk to dark brown chocolate milk to pea soup and now we are moving to the mountain dew! - pretty interesting to watch.
I will keep updating the progress, and add photo's when my wife shows me how that is done.

Thanks again for the support!

p.s why do they sell test kits that are only capable of reading fc to 5ppm?

[CarlD]

"p.s why do they sell test kits that are only capable of reading fc to 5ppm? "

We're lucky they sell THEM! Most OTO kits stop at 3ppm.

According to an archaic ruling by either the EPA or FDA (I think FDA), pool water wasn't safe to swim in at greater than 3ppm.

This is ironic because they ruled DRINKING water could be as much as 4ppm, and under rare circumstances as much as 10ppm.

In other words you could safely drink water you couldn't swim in!

Somewhere along the line (and others know this better than me) it became a TEKTAT that the ideal chlorine level was between 1.5 and 3ppm--which ain't bad if you don't have any stabilizer.

TEKTAT: Things Everybody Knows That Ain't True.

(Wasn't it Will Rogers who said something about not being worried about what people didn't know, but rather about what they knew that wasn't so?)

[aylad]

If you're moving to Mountain Dew, then you're moving in the right directions!! Glad the eye is better--that hurts like crazy, I know from experience!!

Janet

[henssguitars]

Hi all. sorry I haven't posted in a few days, we have had rain for the begining of the week which made dealing with the pool difficult.
So we have blue water with some cloudyness, and lots of white powder like stuff on the bottom. I have vacuumed the white stuff to waste twice, each time stirring it up a bit making the water cloudy again.
FC has been holding at 15ppm overnight for two days now ( after 60 gallons of 6% liquid chlorine) - not complaining, just seemed like a lot, but far less than what I have spent on baq crap allready this season!
So I guess I need to ask what my next move should be?
When should I worry about the PH,ALK,ect. , and also changing my sand out.

Thanks for all your help!

[henssguitars]

Just an update, the pool has held 15 ppm overnight for the last two nights, the water is slightly cloudy, with white powder deposits on the floor.
I have vacuumed two waste twice which has stirred up the deposits, and left the water cloudy again.
My question is what is my next step, should I worry about PH, ALK, and changing my sand?
The pool looks better after 4 or so days ( $100 worth of bleach ) than it did for three weeks ( $600 of baq crap ), I am very happy, and just want to make sure I do everything I need to to keep it up.

Thanks for all the help!