Help! I'm ready to pull my hair out!

[mortimay]

I ran a couple more tests using my cheapie kit and test strips. These are my results

Cheapie drop kit:

Cl 15
pH between 6.8 & 7.2
Alk 130


Test strip:
Cl dark purple over 10 (highest it goes)
pH between 6.2 & 6.8
Alk 120

[aylad]

You need to get that pH up. Chlorine, in bleach form, may temporarily raise your pH, but it is for a very short period of time, so don't adjust your pH down just for that. Chlorine in trichlor or dichlor form will drastically drop your pH. So....You need to add some Borax, I'd start with about 1/2 box, slowly into the skimmer with the pump running, breaking up clumps, wait a couple of hours to circulate, retest, then add more if you don't have a pH above 7.0.

Just want to caution you that taking advice from the pool store and from here will get you into trouble and be VERY confusing. You really need to either stick with advice from here, where we are driven to help you get your pool under control, or stick with the pool store's advice, where they are driven to make profits for the pool store. Trying to do both will end badly, I promise!

Janet

Edit: After re-reading the thread, I see that you already have pH up, which you can use if you want instead of the Borax. It's the same stuff, only more expensive.

[mortimay]

I don't have the PH up, didn't buy it from them. I do have lots of borax so I will add that and then retest in a couple of hours and will post the results here.

[aylad]

You can add your phone number by clicking on "settings" in the top right corner from the forum main page, then edit your profile from there.

Janet

[CarlD]

Actually Borax and pH Up are not the same thing. Janet mis-spoke. pH Up and Washing Soda are the same thing.
But go ahead and follow the rest of her advice.

Pool store people run results using, mainly a fancier strip than they sell, but it's still a strip, not a drop test. I would trust YOUR pH result of 6.8-7.2 before I'd trust her "5.0".

We send people to get pool store tests only when they cannot do it themselves, but testing yourself is, for most members, far more accurate. I don't think I've EVER brought a water sample to a pool store.

Carl

[mortimay]

She uses a drop test. But she is pushing the chemicals...when I asked her about using borax she agreed that it would work but said the chemicals were better. Her words "you get what you pay for". Anyway, I plan to follow this forums advice exclusively from here on out. I'm all for not using expensive chemicals.

I will ask again: would it be beneficial to partially drain the pool and refill? Is it possible to get this thing clear by this weekend? Does anyone want to come to Indiana and fix it for me??? I think I would be really close had I not had to shut down the pump.

[CarlD]

You could come back to "You get what you pay for" with "knowledge is power!"

Paying $3/lb for Sodium Carbonate, pH Up!, Balance Pack 200, is foolish when you KNOW you can get it for $.80/lb when it's washing soda.

Borax has several advantages over Sodium Carbonate.
It's less corrosive--on your hands it's gentler
It doesn't add T/A to the water
It adds borates to your water and borates inhibit algae growth.

Mainly, I'd shock the heck out of the pool, keep the FC level at the max for the CYA level.

Carl

[aylad]

Actually Borax and pH Up are not the same thing. Janet mis-spoke. pH Up and Washing Soda are the same thing.
l

My point was that the end result would be the same, for all intents and purposes.

Janet

[mortimay]

I checked my numbers this morning:

pH 7.2
Chl 12 using the shot glass method.

The pool is clearer, I can see the skimmer pole on the bottom of the pool. How often do I test? The sun hasn't hit the pool yet this morning. We did get a bunch of rain last night.