Newbie: I've been 'pool stored'!!

Hello! I'm new to pool ownership---we have a 13,000 gal. AG vinyl liner pool registering 0 FC. We've spent almost $200 trying to fix this problem and then I stumbled onto this site. I've read numerous posts but confused and probably just a bit 'burnt out' with this problem so my brain is shutting down :) . Readings tonight from 6-way Walmart test show CYA 45 PH 7.4. Sooo many questions about adding bleach---how do you do it? (where in the pool, slowly?, dilute it first?, how quickly can you swim after) I plan to switch to your method---do you still use tablets in the skimmer? (right now using BioGuard's silk tabs) UGH, so mad at the pool store!! Thanks for any help!
-Jo

We use plain, unscented, generic bleach (mine comes from WalMart), or in states where it's allowed (not mine! :( ) liquid chlorine, which is the same as plain bleach but twice the strength. In a 13K gallon pool, each 3.5 cups of 6% bleach you add will raise your FC by 1 ppm. When you add the bleach, you can add it through the skimmer IF you don't have any of the silk tabs in it. Otherwise, just pour it slowly into the return stream, being careful not to splash it (and wear old clothes anyway!). You can swim within 10-15 minutes after--just make sure the bleach is stirred up well in the water.

If you're having trouble keeping chlorine in the pool, I would go ahead and shock it--for a CYA of 45 ppm, that means raising your FC to 15 ppm and holding it there until you can go from sundown one evening to just before sunup in the morning without losing more than 1 ppm of chlorine. When you reach that point, then you can let your chlorine drift back down, but only into the 3-6 ppm range--with your CYA at 45, you never want to let your chlorine get below 3 ppm. (see the "best guess chlorine chart" linked in my sig for more explanation on this).

Do you know what is causing the chlorine demand? What do you normally use to chlorinate? What was your CYA level at closing last year? What other chemicals (ingredients, not just "shock" or product names) have you added before now?

Welcome to the forum!!

I'm so sorry!!!! I responded to this, wrote a huge post even looking up all the chemicals we've used, spent about 45 minutes on it---wondered why I didn't hear back and I don't see my post!!! UGH!!!!
I don't have the time to go thru it all again tonight but will try as soon as a I can. Just wanted to explain!
-Jo

Sorry about the missing post. I didn't see it anywhere in the queue. If you spent that long writing it, the system may have 'timed-out' which occasionally happens to me, too. I have lost more than few posts I have written because of it. So, if you spend a long period writing, it is usually a good idea to save it to the clipboard before hitting the 'post' button just in case.

membership updgraded. -ben