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I am still pretty new at this pool maintenace stuff and it seems like I have always had a high total and free chlorine levels my first 2 seasons, but when I just checked under the cover I was suprised to see 6 on my chlorine level. I know there is some argument whether there is such a thing as chlorine lock, but is it normal still to be registering choline after the whole winter (I have added nothing to the pool)?
Hi twolf and welcome to the Pool Forum. There is no such thing as chlorine lock. As far as still registering a chlorine level of 6 at the end of the winter, that is possible. Depends on what your levels were at closing. Do you have a good test kit? The only one we recommend is the Taylor K-2006 or 2006C which you can get through the Amazon link in my signature below. Only buy if the listed seller is Amato Industries as some other sellers ship the K-2005 instead which you do NOT want.
Post a complete set of current water testing results taken with a drops-based kit and make sure CYA is one of the tests you run. Also, tell us more about your pool, pump, filter. Then somebody here can better advise you.
What she said . . .
But, let me emphasize the importance of getting a reliable CYA testkit . . . and 'guess-strips' don't count. They are never very accurate, and the CYA block is the least sensitive of them all.
Having high chlorine and high CYA now, under a cover is not a bad thing. And, it's not necessarily a bad thing once you open, BUT you must compensate. If your CYA is high, you MUST run high chlorine or you WILL have problems. The "Best Guess" page explains (in our signature blocks), and tells you what to do. But the starting place as a reasonably accurate CYA measurement.
Just ordered k-2006 Test kit, thanks so much for the advice, will ditch the guess-strips and let you know what the results are.