Wanting to start right

This forum has opened my eyes to a number of procedures I currently have been using and need to change. I do currently work as a pool cleaner for a small family owned business and will be starting my own business this fall. I would like to maintain my pools as closely as possible to the methods described in this forum but realize that since i am at a pool usually once a week I will have to make adjustments. Out of lack of knowledge and improper training I currently add 2 to 3 pounds of granular di-chlor every week as a shock and after finding this forum realize i am spinning my wheels there. I also was taught to add tabs into skimmers and was wondering what the negative effects of this practice are? I look forward to dispelling myths and learning a correct and practical way of maintaining a pool.

Hi seetide, and welcome to the forum!

The negative effects of adding tabs into skimmers are that 1) the tabs AND the dichlor will drop the pH of the pool water, so you need to be careful that your pH stays where it needs to be, but more importantly 2) that low pH water gets concentrated in the skimmers while the pump is off, so when you turn the pump on, it gets a blast of high-chlorine, low pH water, which can corrode pipes and pump parts. 3) In addition, there have been reports of fading of vinyl liners right around the outside of the skimmer from pucks sitting in the skimmer with the pump off. So...if you use pucks in the skimmer, we highly recommend that you keep the pump running all the time, and keep an eye on your pH. Oh, forgot to mention 4) both dichlor and trichlor tabs raise CYA, so you need to keep an eye on the CYA levels so that they don't get so high that you can't compensate with higher chlorine levels.

Kudos to you on taking the time and effort to learn about pool chemistry. We'll be glad to answer any questions you might have, but take some time and read through the forum and on our sister site, PoolSolutions.com