Softswim to Chlorine Conversion ??

I put in a 28’ round, above ground pool last summer. Being Pool Ignorant I thought my pool dealer was doing me a big favor by throwing in a Softswim Water Care package to get me up and running. From all I’ve read, I guess the Big Favor was for him. So now I’m contemplating opening my pool in the next few weeks and I am ready to take charge of my pool, instead of running to the dealer with water samples and dropping a wad of $$ each time. So H E L P!!!!

Is the conversion from Softswim to Chlorine the same as from Baquacil to Chlorine??

First off since I winterized my pool, the water is down below the pump return. So my first question is:
1) Should I refill the pool before beginning the conversion from Softswim to chlorine? Just seems like I am contaminating a lot of clean water by adding it before the conversion.
I know I have seen somewhere, someone advertising/selling some product used to convert from softswim to chlorine. From the posts on this site it sounds like I only need bleach. Am I to assume (Sorry to use that word) we are talking about common household chlorine bleach that I use to wash my undies? Can anyone say what the % this bleach is, as far as what the Chlorine calc pgm also found on this site, uses?

2) Do I need this special conversion chemical and does it make the conversion any better/faster/easier that the bleach method or is it just another $$ pit?

The filter I have uses pleated cartridges. It seems I read somewhere, not to use a cartridge that had been exposed to Softswim with any other sanitizer. I don’t recall why, but I’m guessing that those Softswim Creatures are hiding in the filter and will keep contaminating the pool (or something like that). So as I begin the conversion and create 19000 gallons of pea soup, should I start using my cartridge from last year and at some point switch to a new cartridge? When should that switch occur? Is the pea soup full of a lot of CRUD that will clog up the filter so will I need to clean the cartridge frequently?
Did I just answer question one? I guess I need a full pool in order to run the pump/filter?

How long does this process take??

I’m sure I will have more questions.

Thanx in Advance

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Can anyone say what the % this bleach is, as far as what the Chlorine calc pgm also found on this site, uses?

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I don't know the answers to your other questions, but yes...it's the same bleach you'd use to wash your undies...BUT NOT SCENTED. The % is on the bottle. Sometimes you gotta look REAL hard to find it though. Some are 6% (usually the "ultra") and some are 5.25%.

I personally wouldn't waste the money on any "conversion chemical" except plain, unscented bleach. You are going to need to have your pump/filter working during the conversion, so yes, I would go ahead and refill the pool before you start the conversion. As far as the filter is concerned, your pressure is going to continually rise as the Softswim goops up the filter, so it is going to require frequent cleanings. And yes, once your conversion is complete, you're going to need to use a new cartridge so that your pool isn't continually contaminated with the goop. As far as conversion time goes, some of the forum users have converted in a few days, some have taken a few weeks, but the average seems to be about a week. A lot of it seems to have to do with how high the chemical levels were to begin with--a lower beginning level of Softswim will require less time for conversion than a higher one.

Janet

If I remember correctly the last time I added softswim to the pool was last August 2005. Can anyone say what kind of life this stuff has?

I think you can test for PHMB, but I don't really see that it matters. I converted my pool last summer from Baq to Cl. It was just a matter of holding the CL at some very large number (25 or 30?) for days on end. You have to check and add more CL 2 or three times a day, run your pump 24/7 and backwash a LOT. You want to get your pool clear and clean and sparkly, but you also want it to hold residual CL for 48 hours.

Ok so I am still formulating my plan for this conversion but I have had a slight delay. We were blessed? (We are in the 5th year of a drought) with 72” of SNOW, yes that is 6 FEET of snow over the last week. 60” on Tue/Wed and another 12” on Sun. Talk about putting a damper on spring fever.
So back to the real Business.
While starting the conversion, I think the PH is probably important because that allows the bleach to work most efficiently. So as my first step should I focus on this element before adding bleach? How about total alkalinity?
Once I start adding bleach, should I only add when the sun is off the water or should I add through out the day?
I’m guessing I have 0 CYA at this point since I’ve only ever added the 3 Softswim chemicals. Should I be adding some CYA to stabilize the bleach during conversion or just using straight up bleach? As always , thanx in Advance.

As long as your pH stays between 70 and 8.0, I wouldn't really worry about it until after the conversion is over. And no, you don't have to wait until the sun is off the water to add the bleach....in fact, you really need to check it and add enough bleach to go back up to shock level 2-3 times per day--the more often you do this, the faster your conversion will go. I also wouldn't worry about CYA for right now, you need the chlorine to be as aggressive as possible. Wait and add the CYA after the conversion is complete.

Janet

Good morning,

First of all, Janet (and Huenix) has given you a really good synopsis of the conversion. I would like to add (or pose the question) about the timing of the bleach addition. First and foremost, remember, I am a cheapskate!! :D

I think it is prudent to add as much bleach as possible during the evening. That way, the sunlight destroys as little as possible. I would think something like this would be reasonable:

1 hour before sunset, bring your Cl up to around 16-20ppm...it'll start to drop immediately. Then shortly before you go to bed, retest and bring it back up to 16 - 20ppm. Try to get up an hour or so before sunrise, do it again.
Hopefully, you can come home at lunch and repeat.

Start the above process over just before sunset the next evening.

This way, you only have one bleach application exposed to the sun and will get the most bang for the buck from your Cl and you will still be getting four shock value applications in a 24 hou period.

And, as Janet said, you will probably lose most any Cya you add now so wait 'til your conversion is complete. :)

As I start the conversion, does it matter if I have my solar cover on the pool? Does a solar cover do anything do keep the sun from eating the CL?

Cover off. High chlorine levels like you will need for conversion aren't good for solar covers.