Closing Pool the BBB way

[DavidP77]

I am advising someone who is switching to Bleach for a sanitizer. I want to make sure I am giving her the correct instructions when it is time to close. I have told her to get her chemicals well balanced at the end as far as PH and Total Alkalinity. I then told her to shock her pool with bleach and let it run for 24 hours and then cover and close. Is this correct?
Her biggest concern with the BBB method is bleaching her vinyl pool liner. What precautions must she take to avoid this?
I have told her to shock periodically to 10.0. She has all the necessary test kits to keep an eye on things and to add the correct amount of bleach. I add bleach daily to mine and get it up to 4.0.
I have also told her in the spring when it starts to warm above 60 degrees before opening to lift the cover on opposite sides and split a 96 ounce bottle of ultra bleach on each side and push it towards the middle with a shovel if by testing your chlorine level is low. This is to help keep algae at bay for a late May opening as the water is warming under the cover.
Is all of this correct? This is how I do mine.

[Watermom]

Good advice. Sounds like you have steered her correctly. As far as bleaching the liner is concerned, just remind her that bleach is 6% sodium hypochlorite and pool store liquid chlorine is usually 10 or 12%. Why would bleach, which is a weaker solution, harm the liner if pool store chlorine wouldn't? People are just scared because of the 'b' word -- bleach.

By the way, send her to read at www.poolsolutions.com and also encourage her to come and read through a lot of the posts here on the forum. Particularly some of the 'stickies' at the top of some of the forums. It will provide her with a good education about taking care of her pool.

[Ohm_Boy]

People tend to get hung up on the word 'bleach'. It's still just a liquid chlorinator, the same stuff as the pool stores sell, in a different concentration.

For some reason, the phrase:
"Add the liquid chlorinating solution to achieve shock level concentration"

seems different from the phrase:
"Pour in bleach until your chlorine is up to shock level"

but they are really the same.

Liquid chlorine, bleach... 12%, 10%, 8%, 6%, 5.4% - they're all just sodium hypochlorite and water.

[CarlD]

Liquid chlorine, bleach... 12%, 10%, 8%, 6%, 5.4% - they're all just sodium hypochlorite and water.

Actually, salt-water.