adding chlorine after closintg

Hi, we have a 40k ig pool with a liner that was closed a couple weeks ago. They were unable to cover because the automatic cover mechanicals broke while they were trying to close it and they told us our cover was too brittle and also needed replaced. We have some concrete issues and have decided to go with a regular cover until that can all be addressed later (like in a few years). The price they quoted us was very high, so we decided to order a new cover and do it ourselves. Well, we finally got the cover, but in the meantime our pool has become a huge mess...green, cloudy, leaves, staining etc. I scooped out most of the leaves, but it's hard because it's so cloudy. The alk was 50, ph 7.2 so I added 5 lbs of baking soda yesterday. The other levels were ok except of course the chl. is 0. How do I add chlorine now that we can't run the pump? I was thinking I would just dilute it reallly really well and pour it around the pool and then use a brush and try to circulate it that way....would that work? Or maybe some floaters with pucks? Also am I ok to add polyquat and how would I do that? Thanks so much for all your help!!

vikes, sorry you had the cover trouble:(

Do you have a sump or cover pump you can use to provide some circulation? If not, your plan on diluting the bleach and pouring it around the perimeter and then using the brush is a good one:) As for the floaters, do you have 'room' to have the cya go up and the pH drop a little? If not, stick with the bleach to clear the pool (you can't open clean if you close it green;) ) It'll be some work to get the pool back into shape without the pump running, but you CAN solve the problem before the cover goes on to save you a lot of hassle in the spring.

I hope all goes well with this! We'll be here if you need more info:cool:

Get the pool clear and know that we'll always be here to help!

Have a GREAT winter!!

With a pH of 7.2 I'd get that up too by adding borax. It's a little too close to neutral to be comfortable for the winter. Liners don't like acidic water. With no pump I'd dissolve the borax in a 5 gallon pail, maybe 1 pound at a time, warm water would help, then pour it around the pool and disperse it like any other liquid. If you go the sump pump route I'd advise sucking from the steps at the shallow end and discharging at the bottom of the deep end, as far from the pump as possible. My educated guess says the reverse would be ideal, suck deep, discharge shallow, because of the higher density of the borax mix. But, it's usually easier to have the pump shallow and it probably makes no significant difference. The pumps are generally very low power so you could let it run a long time without running up $$$ in electric costs.
Al