Summer Vacation Ideas?

[Pamlicoknk]

I have a 13K gallon inground pool that is maintained with bleech, borax, baking soda, etc. thanks to this website and is doing great. Next summer, we are planning on going away in the RV for two to three weeks. Any suggestions for pool maintenance while we are gone? Can I just get the chemicals right, shock it good and put the cover on it with the pump circulating and go or do I need to have someone check and add chemicals daily while we are gone.

[aylad]

I would opt for having someone check and add chems if it were me, and if you have someone available that can do so. They don't even have to come daily, but if they can come every other day or so, you can probably tell them pretty accurately how much bleach needs to be added. Besides, if you leave the pump on for 2-3 weeks at a time, you're going to run the risk of something plugging up the skimmer or the water level dropping so that the pump is sucking air, both of which will be deadly to your pump.

[AnnaK]

We have an above-ground pool about the size of yours and leave it each August/September for about 4 weeks. We don't leave the pump running for the reasons aylad mentioned: too much could go wrong.

We add enough bleach to bring the FC to between 18 and 20 ppm and put on the solar cover. We cut our cover into several sections to make it easier to handle and we leave one of the sections off to allow for outgassing. Only once have we come back to a green pool, all the other years the water was clear and clean.

It's better if you can have someone add bleach now and then but you can leave it on its own. You know how to clean up a green pool—that's a lot easier than to replace a burned out pump.