Help with pH level and chemical shelf life

[NannyAng]

I set up a new 10' x 30" Intex pool a couple weeks ago and have been using the super simple recipe for Intex pool maintenance from your wonderful site. My shipment of dichlor shock hasn't come yet, so I've just been using bleach so far. My pH level has been remaining steady at 7.8-7.9, so I haven't had to add any borax yet. I was wondering if I should use some muriatic acid to bring my pH level down to the 7.2-7.6 range, or if I should just leave it alone? Also, what is the shelf life of shock? I'm hoping any I have left over from my order will stay good until next summer.


Please upgrade my membership so I can participate in discussions. Thanks.

[PoolDoc]

Just leave it alone!

Bagged dichlor shock is good for 2 years or more. BUT, it may be rather smelly next year, so open it OUTSIDE.

Bottled dichlor will be OK . . . IF you keep it dry. Otherwise, you not only will need to open it outdoors, you will need to double bag it in garbage bags. Damp dichlor will tend to release some rather nasty chlorine gases. (Trichlor, even more so!) These gases can corrode electrical wiring and make exposed steel (like garage door springs) rust. So, keep it bags, till you are ready to use it.

Then, on a sunny dry spring day, open the bottle AND the bags out doors. Use what you need, and then leave the bottle uncovered for an hour or so to ventilate.

[NannyAng]

I have another question to add onto my original post. When I do start using the dichlor shock here in a few days, should I still be using equal doses of borax like the recipe calls for, even though my pH has been holding steady at 7.8-7.9? Should I start with just the shock and wait to see what it does to my pH, then add borax if needed?

By the way, thank you for working so hard over the years to keep PS and PF going. I've read so many testimonials from people that you've helped over the years and I'm one of them. I inherited 5 kids under the age of 9 last year from a sister who decided drugs were more important than her kids. Their father passed away 2 years ago. I've had to quit my job to take care of them and am struggling to support them with their deceased father's social security payments. A neighbor gave us the little Intex pool but I was worried I wouldnt have the time or money to take care of it. This site has been a huge time and money saver, so that I can give these kids the best childhood I can on limited means. Thanks again doc!!!

[PoolDoc]

Since your pH is high-ish, yes, skipping the borax till it comes down would be excellent.

Thank you for stepping up to care for your sister's kids; so many people today expect that 'the government' will take care of it. But, money and foster homes can never replace even a half-functioning family. My family has seen, again and again, the impact of drugs and the lifestyle that goes with them. My wife sees it every year as a 'resource' school teacher, since many of her students have been affected by parents who've made similar choices; my 18 year old son and his girlfriend both currently work with an urban Wyldlife middle school outreach program. He's in weekly personal contact with about a dozen middle school kids affected by drugs. (I'm Facebook friends with some of these kids -- it's fairly disorienting for a 59 year old to get exposed to the social world of those kids!)

But personally, I'd be more than willing to pull the trigger on some of the dealers and gang leaders who've affected youth I've worked with -- I know some want them to have a 'second chance', but I've seen the kids they are destroying, while they are getting their 'second chance'! I had an urban Boy Scout troop that collapsed after I explained to several of the dads (refugee immigrants) that their sons were being forcibly recruited into gangs. Fortunately, 4 of these dads -- even with their very limited financial resources -- moved their whole families to other communities where they could find work, but with a lesser gang presence.