Question about shock and chlorine

[donovan.lambright]

Thanks for the input, everyone. We're going to go ahead and drain the pool to start over. So, Ben, don't worry about coming up with dose information. But thank you for being willing to do it.

I'm going to use the Intex Recipe that Ben posted as our starting point and will stick to that and the BBB system. We have a Sams Club membership and I'll get the dichlor there, as outlined in the Recipe. Is there anything else I should know at the starting point about BBB? I've read the pages pretty closely and think I understand the concepts.

There is a reference in the Recipe page about coming back to the board for help with a dosing regimen once I get through the 7-day setup process. Should that be done in a new thread when the time comes? Or are you all sick of me by now? :-)

Thanks again for all your help on this.

Donovan

[Watermom]

OK. I hope she doesn't have a reaction because you will have no way to isolate the problem. I'll let Ben know not to worry about figuring out doses.

Why don't you start a new thread whenever you are ready for help. This thread is getting pretty long. Good luck!

[donovan.lambright]

Will do. Thanks again to all of you. Listening to you and reading all the info here, I have learned A LOT and feel better equipped to proceed.

[Watermom]

Will do. Thanks again to all of you. Listening to you and reading all the info here, I have learned A LOT and feel better equipped to proceed.

Great! That's what we like to hear!

[CarlD]

Actually, the OP can start by filling the pool and adding nothing but bleach. A fifth of a gallon should bring his pool with new water to 3ppm of chlorine....and if no rash develops, it's not the chlorine. THEN you can adjust pH and think about CYA. It's the same as the bath tub test. For all you know your child is allergic to the vinyl in the pool!

I was in WalMart the other day to buy the 6Way Kit and it's the same as the old 5-Way kit but without the fancy box. They now descrive the Chlorine and Bromine test (one test with 2 scales) as 2 tests.

[PoolDoc]

I'm going to use the Intex Recipe that Ben posted as our starting point and will stick to that and the BBB system. We have a Sams Club membership and I'll get the dichlor there, as outlined in the Recipe.

I'm finally back from all my various gallivanting around, and can focus for awhile. I actually think simply draining and restarting has a high chance of success if you simply avoid 100% of unnecessary chemicals and 100% of voodoo chemicals. Dichlor alone is very, very unlikely to cause problems. I have not seen any data that suggest borax might be -- it's used in bath salts -- but I would try to check that in the tub, before you put it in the pool. Washing soda *is* an alternative. You'll need to use muriatic acid to lower pH, rather than sodium bisulfate.

But, if you start doing so from scratch, you can run your pool with dichlor, borax, bleach, and muriatic acid . . . and have a VERY low risk of problems.

I would also recommend taking the time to rinse out your pool, after you drain it, to make sure you've removed all of whatever the irritant was. And, you'll want to spray down the sides, as it drains, to eliminate the chance of some of the material drying on the sides. Also, flush your filter and lines, rinse them out, and replace your filter cartridges.

I just thought of another possibility: 'plasticizer'. PVC, used to make vinyl liners AND Intex vinyl pools is naturally hard (like pipe). 'Plasticizers' are added to make it flexible. They (a) instrinsically tend to bleed out of plastics, and (b) are often more expensive than the base plastics. A company like Intex probably has several suppliers of vinyl material in China. And quality control has notoriously been an issue with Chinese manufacturing. It's possible that Intex has gotten a batch of vinyl from a supplier that cut corners on the plasticizer. And it's possible that the substandard plasticizer is the source of your daughter's problems.

To test for this, I'd recommend starting up ONLY with bleach -- ignore pH. Get the pool sanitized, and filled. Operate it for maybe 3 days with NOTHING but bleach added in then evening. Then, let her keep her legs only in it for 15 minutes or so. If it IS the plasticizer, there's a fair chance it will show up as irritated legs (Not good, but better than irritation all over her body.)

It you do find irritation this way, I'd call Intex and ask for a replacement. Their customer service department has been VERY good about replacing doubtful products.

If you do NOT have a problem, I'd add things in, one at a time:

1. bleach
2. dichlor
3. borax and muriatic acid
4. Unicel cartridges (better filtration)
5. polyquat (tub test, first!)

Those 5 items should be ALL you need. And, if you also get a cover, you should be able to go on vacation without returning to a pool swamp, if you can use polyquat AND a cover.

When you add in an item, I'd recommend doing a 'leg test first' followed by swimming the next day. I'd also recommend a fresh water rinse immediately after swimming, at least until you have established that you have a 'no problems' pool. That way you'll minimize irritation if it does occur. Also, several sorts of issues can be 'trapped' in swim suits. So, I'd recommend using the smallest swimsuit your family is comfortable with, and rinsing IT carefully after each use.

[BigDave]

...Dichlor alone is very, very unlikely to cause problems...

Ben, I'm concerned that the dichlor the OP has may be part of the problem. He lists:

--AquaChem Shock Plus (58.2% dichlor and 41.8% "other ingredients")

earlier in the thread. All the dichlor I buy is 99%.

[donovan.lambright]

I'm at work and haven't had time to digest Ben's long and informative post yet but regarding the chlorine: My plan was to start with regular bleach as outlined in the Intex 7-day plan. After that, I will swing by Sams Club and pick up the Kem-Tek dichlor listed in the Intex plan.

Having said that, I do have this big bucket of tablets that, according to the label, are 99% trichlor. Could I use those up safely before moving on to Kem-Tek dichlor or would that be a bad idea?

I understand that I need to use one or the other for a time to get the CYA up. After it hits 40-50 ppm, I would go back to using plain bleach with dosing based on the Best-Guess Chlorine chart so that the CYA doesn't keep going up.

I'm planning to start draining over the weekend (hopefully Saturday) but might not start filling until Sunday. My wife works weekends so much will depend on how good (i.e. staying out of my hair) the kids are. I want to be able to focus my attention. Trying to manage the 4 and 6 year-old on my own contributed to my overdosing with the questionable AquaChem Shock Plus in the first place.

[aylad]

You can use the trichlor safely in the pool-- as long as your child isn't sensitive to it-- it's one more thing i would test for...

[PoolDoc]

There's nothing in trichlor is different from what's in dichlor EXCEPT increased acidity. The problem with both dichlor and trichlor is that trying to use those ALONE is likely to end up with pH too low (low enough to be irritating) BEFORE you finish testing. That's why I'd like to clear borax, if possible, BEFORE you start. That way, if the pH drops, you can add borax, without worrying that you may be creating a problem.

Of course, I still think the most likely explanation is the 'voodoo goo' in the Shock Plus.