New here, new to pools.. help/info?

Hello all... (sorry this might be a bit long)
Two years ago my family moved into this current house and it has a 24ft round above ground pool in the backyard. It was just a plus but my wife and I have never had a pool, or knew nothing about taking care of it. The first year I tried my hand at taking care of it with the help of a friend and the internet. This last year though I lost my job and we had to start some hardcore budgeting. Well, pool chemicals were not at top of the list (I had lost my job at the ending of last summer, so I was going to "close" pool anyways). Well over the months I tried to clean it as I could but in the long run failed without buying the needed chemicals. Finally I am starting to get back on my feet a bit and I want to get the pool back on track BUT.. sadly the pool is in horrible shape. The water is very dark green with critters in it and bunches of algea also I have pulled a dead squirrel out of the water.(i know pretty gross,just had more important expenses than chemicals, like my 3yr old) Anyways, where do I start? Drain it? Get new liner? Save up and buy a whole new setup? Change sand? (i have no idea how long the current sand has been in there)

Also, I was thinking of getting a salt generator but I would think I need to get it back on track before?

Thanks for reading and any information is appreciated.

Start by scooping out as much debris as you can. Hook up the pump and filter and start them up. Add about 2 gallons of plain, unscented 6% bleach slowly to the skimmer while the pump is running. Run the pump 24/7 and backwash it when the pressure rises 5-8psi over your clean filter pressure. Add more bleach each evening.

Can you go to a pool store and have them test your water? Just don't let them talk you into buying anything til you post the results here on the forum. After we look at your numbers, we give you better advice. (Get yourself a good test kit if you can. We recommend the Taylor K-2006 or 2006C - see Amazon link below).

Thanks for the info. I could go to a pool store (only 2 local that I know of). One of them is all about selling their stuff and only their stuff and the other one told me "we don't support above ground pools, only in-ground" once when I went in to ask a question about the filter. I never went back to that one and I probably will not. The first one does do water testing but they will try to sell all kinds of things most likely. The water is pretty nasty.. running the pump+filter with that water won't hurt it? And the bleach won't hurt the liner? The water is almost black so "cleaning" the debris would probably be quite a task. I hate I had to let it get this bad but I had no other option at the time.

I've seen some miracles happen here, so just listen to the advise they give and you will be swimming in no time. The bleach won't hurt your liner (it's just chlorine) and you are going to have to do quite a bit of backwashing the filter in the beginning, but like they said, you need to get the water tested so they can give you some more specific advise on where to go from here.

Ok, went to the pool shop (Leslie's pool supplies) today to test water. They tried to tell me about 4 different products as I imagined. Anyways, here are the results. (Before I put any bleach or anything)

Chlorine - 0
PH - 7.0
Total Alkalinity - 0
CYA - 50
Calcium Hardness - 70

Those are the only ones they gave me. (The pool is 48" tall, forgot to mention that) So do I go ahead and run the pump+filter and add the 2gal of bleach? (Also the bottles I bought are 1.4gal, would it be okay to pour 2 of these in?) Thanks again for all the information and time. :)

You can use The Pool Calculator to calculate dosages, but you need to figure out your pool water volume first. 48" tall is 4 feet, but you didn't give the diameter of your pool. Also note that most bleach jugs are either 3/4 gallon (96 fluid ounces) or 1.5 gallons (192 fluid ounces) and not one gallon. Chlorinating liquid is usually sold by the gallon.

If your pool is a 24 ft round as you have stated, it will hold approx. 11,000 - 12,000 gallons of water. Your actual water level should be measured. A 4 foot deep pool may only have 42 inches of water. Try as best you can to calculate how many gallons of water are in your pool before you go to the pool store. This will save you money from buying/adding too much chemical.

Depending upon where you live and your water supply, it may be cheaper, faster and better to pump your pool empty scrub down the liner, and re-fill it. Then you have clean fresh water and not toxic waste.

I have a 24 foot round pool and I did mine last year (replaced the liner), the water only cost me $50. If you are on well water, it might not be the best idea, you might pump your well dry.

It is ok to pump much of the pool to waste if it is really algae infested, but you don't want to totally empty a liner pool as it will most likely destroy the liner.