Anyway to not open the pool this summer?

Hi all,
New member to the forum and have a question. I am currently working out of state and found out I will be here for at least another 6 months. I was wondering if there would be anyway I could get away with not opening my pool this summer? I just really don't have the time to return home to take care of it with my job. I have a 24' above ground pool that was closed in the fall last year with all the proper winterizing steps taken. It has a winter cover on it now, and I have already cleaned all the leaves and drained most of the water off the cover already. I live in Ohio if that makes any difference. Thanks in advance! Ryan

Welcome to the forum Ryan. Hope you keep checking in while you're gone.
If you don't do anything it will definitely turn green. Probably deep dark green. This may be acceptable but keep the pH up. See comment below. First thing would be to get the equipment hooked up and functional so you can circulate. Next thing I would do is get the pump on a timer. If it's a 120 volt pump you can get a very decent Intermatic digital timer with battery backup at Home Depot for under $30. If it's a 240 volt pump then you're talking more $$ for a timer but still around $60 for the mechanical type I believe. If you can kick the water around for an hour a day or so that would help. Having someone come around every week or so to check the FC and pH would really help. To make it easier on this person stock up on several boxes of Borax and maybe a dozen big jugs of bleach. In any case it will take time to 'calibrate' what the pool wants to do in your absence. You don't want the pH to go acidic so before you leave bring it up to 8 or so. Some people may recommend using floaters and may have other ideas. The trees should be done dumping so there may be no concern about a skimmer basket filling and blocking. You may also want to put your filter on recirculate if you can so you don't need to be concerned about the pressure rising too high and requiring a backwash. You didn't say what kind of filter.
If you can come home periodically, every few weeks or so, that would be nice. These are some of my initial thoughts. Let's see what you and others think.
Al

Thanks for the detailed reply. My pump is a 120v unit with a sand filter. I could get everything all hooked up and setup with a timer to circulate the water. Would there be anyway to leave the winter cover on through out the summer. My backyard is terrible with the trees and anytime we get any type of wind everything seems to collect in the pool.... I have someone that can check on the pool while I am gone but I don't want to hassle them with having to get all the cleaning equipment out all the time.

Yes to leaving the cover on. My thinking is that would keep the temperature a little lower maybe, keep the debris out, and keep sunlight out which should help slow algae growth. Maybe every few weeks or so it may help to have your friend shock it.
Al

Thanks again for the info. Hopefully it will work out with leaving the cover on. Alot of great information on this forum. Thanks again!

The only thing about shocking it with the cover on is that the fumes may damage the cover. If it is easy, maybe they can lift up a corner of the cover for awhile after shocking to let it vent and then recover it a day or two later? (Make sure you aren't expecting stormy weather at the time the corner is peeled back so the wind won't get under it and pull it off.)

One other thing, you might want to add some Polyquat 60% algaecide. It doesn't do too much for you if you already have algae, but it is a pretty good preventative.

OK. After I posted above suggesting that you use Polyquat 60% algaecide, I started thinking -- filtering will just remove the polyquat. So, I talked to Ben about your situation, and here is his recommendation for you:


I would use polyquat to maintain an unopened pool in summer. But the process I'd follow is this:

1. Hold the chlorine above 10 (if vinyl, not too far above!) for a few days with the cover partially off. After the first day or two brush the pool to make sure you have exposed any algae.
2. Let the chlorine drop to 3 and replace the pool cover.
3. Let the chlorine continue to drop to 1, and then begin adding weekly maintenance doses of of polyquat.
4. If there's a pump timer, operate for 2 hours, 2x per day.
5. Both filtration and chlorine remove polyquat. So low chlorine and low filtration extend polyquat's life.
6. If clarity drops -- use a waterproof flashlight at night -- filter full for 24 hours.
7. If there's a slimy feel to the vinyl walls, or any sign of algae, restart the process.

There are other ways, but that should work.

Thanks again for the replies. I will have to try to do this with the cover on. I realize this may not be the best solution but I will not be the one doing the work and really would hate for the person doing it to go thru all the hassle with it. The pool has the fencing kit around the whole perimeter of the pool so just undoing the cover is a pain. The plan is get the pump hooked up next week and see how bad the water is, then go from there.

I am no mod, so they are giving you the best info. But... this is a losing proposition, PERIOD. Unless you have someone to MAINTAIN the pool, you are screwed. It is just like your house. I spent years as a state licensed inspector, and one of the most important things I learned, "there is nothing more damaging than vacancy!" You would be better off with meth-head tenants than vacancy. You will be able to fix the broken-ness when you come back, but IMO, plan on ZERO intervention. Deal later with 100+ gallons of bleach and maybe a little touch of silver? There isn't a way to have both, a clean pool and vacancy. Heck, just keep water in your gas traps! I don't mean to be bummer post guy, but IMO, you are having no choice, don't even think of keeping up, the stress isn't worth it, just know that the pond can be fixed. We did it. Addition and all kinds of things, got weird with frogs keeping us up all night, then nothing... Quiet. Dead quiet. Then we saw "Nessie." She (it?) was half the size of a man hole cover, a snapping turtle. Never heard a frog again.

Good luck! Vacancy is the toughest of all. But the green eco-friendly/bio-hazard just behind your house can be recovered, I promise! I have done it!

PL

After years of pool forum lurking and being a BBB convert from 1998 or so, I sadly have been unable to open our 18x42 vinyl inground till now - working 2 hours away all summer plus construction at the house . . . so I am losing sleep about it. There's literally lillies growing on the mesh square of the solid safety cover.

I have not been able to do any checking of pH or FC at all this season so I know it is a mess. My gut says to open it, clean it up to make sure all is good for the fall. The liner is fine, as I have not lost any water . . . I'm just nervous and curious if it is worth opening now - if I have already damaged anything, if anyone else has had this situation. I feel bipolar about the whole thing!

Thanks everyone . . .

Forgot to also ask -

I have a DE Perflex system so I can't set to bypass. So, if I do open today here's a pH quandary I have:

I will test then add my box or two of Borax to get pH right before I start to shock - but I must add the DE powder to the system immediately so as not to damage the fingers of the filter. How long do you all think it would take for the pH to come up high enough before I can start bleaching the bejeesus out of it?

Why do you need to bring the pH up first before starting to add bleach? Unless there is some issue with your DE filter (that I know nothing about), you can add Borax and bleach at the same time.

Really? That would be easier - I was basing it on Ben's sticky / item #2 for if pH is too low at opening: http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?t=190

Thx!

That sticky deals specifically with calcium and alkalinity changes, not for chlorine. The only reason I could see to wait until your pH is all the way up into recommended ranges is that pH tends to measure falsely high when chlorine is above 10 ppm or so. So if your pH is a LITTLE low and you can safely get it into your target range with a small addition of Borax, then go ahead and do that, then start shocking with chlorine. However, if your pH is 6.8 or lower (and 6.8 is the lowest that most testers will read, so if it's reading 6.8, then it may actually be much lower) and you anticipate LOTS of Borax to be added, then I would play it safe and get the pH up where you want it before you start shocking.

Janet

PBLsQuad450, am I understanding you correctly to say that you have gone through a season without opening your pool or treating it at all? Is the only real problem the fact that it will take a gazillion gallons of bleach to clear it when it's opened next year? We, too, are in a situation of considering not opening the pool this year and want to be sure we'll not cause any damage. I know it will be full of algae and will need a lot of bleach, but other than that, is there any risk of damage if left covered and untreated until next year?

Thank you!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PBLsQuad450

I am no mod, so they are giving you the best info. But... this is a losing proposition, PERIOD. Unless you have someone to MAINTAIN the pool, you are screwed. It is just like your house. I spent years as a state licensed inspector, and one of the most important things I learned, "there is nothing more damaging than vacancy!" You would be better off with meth-head tenants than vacancy. You will be able to fix the broken-ness when you come back, but IMO, plan on ZERO intervention. Deal later with 100+ gallons of bleach and maybe a little touch of silver? There isn't a way to have both, a clean pool and vacancy. Heck, just keep water in your gas traps! I don't mean to be bummer post guy, but IMO, you are having no choice, don't even think of keeping up, the stress isn't worth it, just know that the pond can be fixed. We did it. Addition and all kinds of things, got weird with frogs keeping us up all night, then nothing... Quiet. Dead quiet. Then we saw "Nessie." She (it?) was half the size of a man hole cover, a snapping turtle. Never heard a frog again.

Good luck! Vacancy is the toughest of all. But the green eco-friendly/bio-hazard just behind your house can be recovered, I promise! I have done it!

PL

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