Help. Correcting zero chlorine level & some foam in Intex type pool after dust storm

Hello, and thank you for this forum.

The pool is 42" x 16' (13.5' at the top) rubber sided, filled for 4 weeks without issue, until now.
Have been using the 3" TabletsPlus in a floater (nothing else has been added).
The chlorine and pH levels have been in the ideal range until today (via a Pool Shop basic 5 test kit).
Vac 3x a week.
Filter runs 6+ hours daily.

There was a dusty wind storm overnight and the pool was messy this morning with some leaves/dust, and had some bubbles upon skimming, also has some pea-sized patches of foam.

Upon testing, the chlorine didn't register at all, and upon checking, the tab floater was empty. Also found out the filter had NOT been changed since being set up 4 weeks ago (thought it had chlorine in the floater and that the filter had been changed 3x already).

I loaded the floater with tabs (and it will be vac'd today soon) but believe the chlorine floater alone cannot be enough, fast enough, in this condition.

Can bleach be added after it's vac'd? Or can you please recommend a way to quickly increase the chlorine level?

Thank you for any help!

h2opup

Hmm, well, good, bad, or indifferent :] ...not sure how it'll turn out in the long run (after reading here that using bleach in water after using the tabs plus is not optimal??) but I found a site that stated approx how much bleach to use. The filter was changed to a new one, of course, and the pool vac'd, and some bleach added. Soapy type bubbles and tiny bits of foam were gone after that. At least for now. I had no idea the chlorine tabs (which I found out here are no good to use) were all gone because checking it routinely had been mostly left up to another adult, nor that the filter had not been changed on schedule because I was told this whole time that it had been.

The pool manufacturer info was to change the filter every 2 weeks during "normal" use. I skim and test the pool daily and I, or another adult, vacs it 3x a week at least. It gets light use with only 2 adults for a couple of hours per day in the evening, or sometimes a few hours every other day. My pool before this one was a salt water built in.

Do I need to drain the water and start over with bleach because of the tabs use?

If you know where you saw that you can't use bleach with tabs, I'd love to have the link so I can fix that thread -- it's WRONG!

Regarding soapy residue: I have NO idea what, in the dust, would cause that. Some compounds that cause bubbles are chlorine resistant; a few can be filtered out. If what's in your pool can resist chlorine and cannot be filtered . . . draining and refilling would be the best option. ( I would have never guessed that a dust storm would cause 'soapiness' or bubbles in a pool! )

The cartridges supplied by Intex or Summer Escapes are very low quality. If you get high quality Filbur or Unicel replacement cartridges, they will not only filter better, they will last all summer (or longer) if you clean them properly. Links with info, below.

However, a reasonable approach to seeing if you can clear this with chlorine and filters is to:

1. Get an OTO/phenol red test kit (yellow / red drops). Get several gallons of 8.25% PLAIN household bleach (Walmart?)
2. Add 1 full gallon per 10,000 gallons of pool water.
3. Test the following eveing; OTO clear or light yellow => repeat dose; OTO orange => skip dose; OTO dark yellow => 1/2 initial dose
4. Continue for 4 - 5 days. If you have no improvement, chlorine may not help.
5. Order new Filbur or Unicel cartridges (2 day Amazon!).
6. Filter for 3 days with new cartridges.
7. If no improvement from cartridges or chlorine, drain and refill.

+ The OEM cartridges in Intex / Summer Escapes / etc. filters are not high quality. The Intex manuals recommend replacing them completely every 2 weeks. A BETTER option is to replace them permanently with 2 - 3 Unicel cartridges, and rotating them through a cleaning solution. Properly maintained, the Unicel cartridges will last all season AND will filter better. So even though they cost more per cartridge, they cost less per season! Learn to maintain them, by reading this post, Cleaning-your-Cartridge-Filter-wiithout-Damaging-It!

But, purchasing them is tricky. Amazon does not consistently stock them, and some of the 3rd party sellers are charging high prices and/or high shipping. So, check the Amazon link, but watch out for the prices and shipping costs.

It would be nice if you could just buy them elsewhere, but many of the online pool stores are listing Pleatco or other Asian made low quality filters, as "Unicel C-4607 type" or "fits Unicel C-4607". So shop carefully!

Here are the Amazon links:

Unicel C-4607 Replacement Filter Cartridge (Easy Set Size A or C) @ Amazon
Unicel C-5315 Replacement Filter Cartridge for 15 Square Foot Intex B Filter @ Amazon