merky stinky water, helupppp

[kidgarden]

Last fall I had 3 different "POOL SPECIALISTS" work on my pool. It went from green to black. The last guy said to wait till spring and the algae should be clumped together on the bottom. Well, the stink coming from my pool is all but unbearable and when I called the pool guy, he wont come out. (he said he doesn't know what else to try).
Im planning on draining it now but being that no-one is willing to help me, I dont have a clue how to do it. How do you keep the vinyl liner of an inground pool from coming loss. Do I take a pressure washer to the walls as its draining. (they are stained) When I refill it, how many lbs of shock to make sure, whatever I had doesnt come back.

I'm stressing, please help me.

[JohnT]

Don't drain it. You need to get chlorine in there, and a bunch. Post details about your pool. How much water does it hold? What kind of filter? Get a good water test done by taking a sample to the pool store or using a drops based kit. Post this info and we'll get you on your way.

[PoolDoc]

Last fall I had 3 different "POOL SPECIALISTS" work on my pool. It went from green to black. The last guy said to wait till spring and the algae should be clumped together on the bottom. Well, the stink coming from my pool is all but unbearable and when I called the pool guy, he wont come out. (he said he doesn't know what else to try).
Im planning on draining it now but being that no-one is willing to help me, I dont have a clue how to do it. How do you keep the vinyl liner of an inground pool from coming loss. Do I take a pressure washer to the walls as its draining. (they are stained) When I refill it, how many lbs of shock to make sure, whatever I had doesnt come back.

I think, before offering prescriptions, it would be best to get some more information from you. I will offer a couple of "DON'TS" though:

• Do NOT drain, unless you really know what you are doing: you'll destroy the liner on IN-GROUND pools. (AG pools can be easy to drain -- sometimes.)
• Pressure washers and vinyl liners are not generally compatible.

You say the pool went from green to black -- are you talking about algae?

You say the pool is stained -- do you mean that there's stuff on the liner, or that you've cleaned off areas of the liner, and that after you do, there's still a non-slippery stain on those areas?

Does your filter and circulating system work? Are you filtering 24/7 now? If not, why not?

What all was added to your pool by those three specialists? (At this point, you not only have to deal with whatever *was* wrong with your pool, but also with whatever they added.)

Please list all the different chemicals you know have been added to your pool since mid-summer last year.

Do you have an SWG, a feeder of any kind, or a ionizer, mineralizer, or any such thing on your pool? If so, how has it been used?

Do you have any test results on your pool? What do they show? Can you get current test results? What are they?

*** EVERYBODY ELSE -- PLEASE LET "kidgarden" BEFORE OFFERING MORE ADVICE. POOLS THAT HAVE BEEN 'TREATED' BY MULTIPLE PEOPLE TEND TO BE A NIGHTMARE SOUP. WHAT MIGHT *GENERALLY* BE GOOD ADVICE, CAN BE A REALLY BAD IDEA IN SUCH CASES. ***

Ben
"PoolDoc"

[kidgarden]

You say the pool went from green to black -- are you talking about algae?
**Went from green to black—Yes algae.

You say the pool is stained -- do you mean that there's stuff on the liner, or that you've cleaned off areas of the liner, and that after you do, there's still a non-slippery stain on those areas?
**The walls are clean after I brush but it is heavy brushing. Once brushed, plumes of blackish green junk dilute the water to the point you cant see anything.

Does your filter and circulating system work? Are you filtering 24/7 now? If not, why not?
**Yes, we leave it run all summer day/night. However, we found (after we gave up last fall) that the finger-cloth material had some heavy rips. We replaced them over the winter. I havent fired it up yet this year because as of right now, the water isnt black or that smelly yet. We have large clumps of green algae floating on the bottom. You can see them in the shallow end of the pool but cant see anything in the deep. I put a glass jar in the deep end and the water in the jar is almost crystal clear. (no greenish tint) but looking into the deep end, you cant see anything. I didn’t turn the pump on yet because I’m scared of stirring everything back up when it appears I may be at a manageable point for someone to talk me through.

What all was added to your pool by those three specialists? (At this point, you not only have to deal with whatever *was* wrong with your pool, but also with whatever they added.)
**300 lbs of shock, A bottle of something the said mustard algae something, and then a bottle of something that he said requires a liscense to have that will cause the algae to clump together and settle to the bottom of the pool.

--I will reply more in a bit, I gotta run.

[kidgarden]

Im back...

All these treatments were done by early August...nothing past then.
We dumped pool antifreeze in the lines and covered it.
I only have a chlorinator, no mineral, ionizer...
I currently dont have any tests of my water, but I should by sunday.