Pool keeps getting worse...after filling with rusty well water.

[Jenni]

Thank you! Yes I will do whatever you tell me. I will drain it right now. All the chemicals I have added this week.... Can I drain it all into my yard safely (we have 5 kids and 2 dogs.) I have 2 cartridge filters for our pump. I will also do the bucket test ( probably tomorrow) I have been trying all week to get the pool ready before this weekend as we will be gone almost all weekend. Will have more time to get serious about this on Monday. The only vacuum we have is the cheap (looks crappy) one that came with the pool. Our neighbors' parents have a good one that we may* be able to borrow.

[PoolDoc]

Thank you! Yes I will do whatever you tell me. I will drain it right now. All the chemicals I have added this week.... Can I drain it all into my yard safely?

Almost certainly. The only thing that might be a problem would be if you'd added a copper algaecide.

To vacuum, what you need is a vac head, a pole, and a hose that's long enough to reach from the center of your pool to the ground outside your pool.

Go ahead and read the pages I linked; that will help you get ready for the stuff that will have to be done. When doing the bucket test, don't disturb the water after adding the chlorine. I want to see if the iron will settle densely -- sometimes it settles as a fluffy later that's almost impossible to vacuum.