Summer heat & drought effects on your chemical use

[Bosch232]

Here in the Midwest we're under the worst drought in about 50 years. The local pool store guy said that the extended heat spells have caused a pretty big jump in chemical use. Just curious if people here are experiencing this, or if the local pool store guy is wrong?

[Watermom]

We have had a really dry summer also (had less than a third of an inch of rain in August) but I have not noticed an increase in the need for chlorine in my pool.

[aylad]

We're not under the same drought conditions as last year, but even then when we were more than 36" short on rainfall for the year, my chemical use didn't noticeably increase.

[JimK]

Here in the Midwest we're under the worst drought in about 50 years. The local pool store guy said that the extended heat spells have caused a pretty big jump in chemical use. Just curious if people here are experiencing this, or if the local pool store guy is wrong?

My experience has been the opposite. When its warm and dry here, other than running the SWCG (no more than usual), I hardly have to do/add anything. Its when we get a bunch of rain and I have to pump excess water out of the pool that my chemical use goes up (salt, stabilizer, borates in particular).

Perhaps the big jump in chemical demand the pool store guy mentioned was due a combo of warm water and insufficient chlorine levels resulting in more algae blooms?

[Bosch232]

Well let me further expand my post... I was complaining to the local pool store guy about how much money I've thrown in my pool in the last 2 months. (About $325). And he blamed it on the heat.

I blame it on the Soft Swim system. :P

[jwhouse]

Only my opinion but as expensive as those "alternative" pool products are, I'd agree. When we got our pool this summer at the first of July, the pool store wanted me on Pristine Blue but after some research I decided against it, returned all the PB product and went Chlorine. I have probably spent somewhere in the neighborhood of 80 bucks on bleach and that along with the other things like the trichlor pucks and CYA I've used have me in the neighborhood of 130 or so spent since opening 04 JUL.
I firmly believe that my cost would be quadruple that if I had stayed with the Pristine Blue, AND my pool wouldn't be sanitary. ;)

[waterbear]

$oft$wim is a biguanide/peroxide system (dollar signs intentional!;)) The heat can and will break down the peroxide oxidizer fast so you might need to add more and you might need more algaecide because of the heat since algae can be a problem with these systems but biguanide systems are also money pits that will quickly drain your wallet even under ideal conditions!
My advice is bite the bullet and convert to chlorine! You won't regret it!

[Bosch232]

I've actually already reached that point (that I will abandon Soft$wim.)
And it's only been 2 months. At least I found this forum before going through an entire $eason.

Mainly right now I'm just reading and trying to take notes so I can ask intelligently-prepared questions rather than broad open-ended "How do I do it" questions.

In my line of work (Architecture & Engineering) we have a saying about novices: "He doesn't even know what he doesn't know yet."
It's not meant to be an insult, it's just that people like that need someone watching over their shoulder for a while.
That's where I'm at as a pool owner. :)

As best as I can tell (correct me if I'm wrong) the first thing I need to do next Spring is see what my fill water base line is that comes out of my garden hose.
A total drain and refill doesn't spook me a bit next Spring, I'm open to that.

Next Spring, when I drain/refill and change out the filter sand, I will be starting from square one as a chlorine pool.
I don't have the test kit that is ubiquitously recommended yet, but I assume that testing my garden hose fill water is first?

I know the water will turn burgundy color with chlorine, and I haven't resolved that one yet in my head.

[Watermom]

Yes, you need to know the readings for your fill water. (But don't run a CYA test, of course, since there is no CYA in city water supplies and no reason to waste the testing reagent.)

[Bosch232]

Does anyone know what causes rural water to turn burgundy color when chlorine is introduced? I think someone said magnesium, but I don't know. What's the solution to that?

[waterbear]

Softswim will turn greenish to brown when chlorine is introduced and get gunky.
purple coloration to water when chlorine is introduced and black stains on sufaces is probably manganese, not magnesium.
Lavender stain on pool surfaces ("purple haze") is copper cyanurate caused by high CYA and copper in the water.