Pool is a swamp

[PoolDoc]

My bad -- didn't read your post very carefully, and made stupid recommendations (which I deleted) as a result. Sorry.

OK. Beer party tactics:

1. Make sure you have enough tools for your party goers to work effectively. If there aren't enough GOOD tools, the guys without tools (or with crappy ones) end up focusing on beer rather than leaves.

2. Get tools they can't easily break -- that means fiberglass poles rather than aluminum ones.

3. Attempt a quick clean up first: they will get a LOT more done, if they can see what they are doing. Try to start the pump pump on RECIRCULATE (filter bypass) using ONLY the skimmer. If you can, leave it on, and add 6 gallons of PLAIN household bleach for every 10,000 gallons of water. (Repeat as needed.) Once that's done, engage the filter IF you have a sand filter. Do NOT engage a DE filter; only engage a cartridge filter if you can easily clean it.

4. Get tools -- you probably can't get the tools you need, locally. Amazon links below.

5. Order a K2006, test your water, and make sure you don't have any serious water problems to resolve. Kit links in blue signature box. But, a local HTH 6-way (sometimes found at Walmart) will give you the info you need at present.

5. Good luck, and let us know how much beer it takes!

Purity Pool 18-Inch Lightweight Professional Leaf Rake, Tuff Duty Model
Purity Pool PPSKM Pelican Pro 18-Inch Professional Skimmer Net
Hydro Tools 8375 8-16 ft Adjustable Commercial Fiberglass Telescopic Pool Pole[
Pentair R211046 185B Leaf Eater with Wheels and Brushes (Do NOT get a cheap Asian made version of this -- I've tried them and they are junk!!)

You'll need leaf rakes more than you'll need skimmer nets. The Leaf Eater will NOT handle sticks and twigs, but will be very helpful for cleanup once you've gotten big stuff out.

[docwagner]

Thanks for the reply. Your recommendations are very appreciated. I agree about the beer. My friends are more mature and hopefully we can stay focused. I will try and fire up the pump this weekend and run it as you suggest. We have a sand filter not a cartridge. I haven't looked at the sand yet, that is on my list. I actually have a scooper just like the one you suggest that I got at my local pool store, $10 more than amazon but nevertheless. I asked for heavy duty and that is what I got. I have an aluminum pole and will look locally for fiberglass. I also have that leaf-eater gadget. I ordered new bags for it. Now need to find plain old bleach. I think the pool is 35,000 gallons, but will double check. My local pool store has a fee water testing service. I know they just will want to sell me chemicals, but if you think I need my own test kit I will get one. I read on your other site something about calcium not being necessary with vinyl lined pools. Did I read that right??
Cheers,

[Watermom]

Calcium is not a critical issue with vinyl unless it gets really high in which case you can have cloudy water issues. We think everyone needs a good kit. Go ahead and order it. You won't regret it!

[PoolDoc]

Now need to find plain old bleach. I think the pool is 35,000 gallons, but will double check. My local pool store has a fee water testing service. I know they just will want to sell me chemicals, but if you think I need my own test kit I will get one. I read on your other site something about calcium not being necessary with vinyl lined pools. Did I read that right??

=> Walmart store brand 8% sodium hypochlorite bleach is fine, and available almost everywhere. Plus, it's fresh.

=> There are a few pool stores with accurate testing, but very few. They have no incentive: bad testing leads to increased chemical sales!

=> Test strips = inaccurate testing, always. The stabilizer (cyanuric acid) test is especially bad.

=> Calcium can be too high, in a vinyl pool, but normally not too low.

[docwagner]

Sounds like I need to do my own testing. Will get the test kit. The calcium questions goes to the credibility of my pool store. They have recommended adding lots of calcium over the years and we had done it. They also told me I shouldn't use bleach as a chlorine additive because it would hurt my pool. Just seeking the truth. I think I need to reevaluate my relationship.

[PoolDoc]

We've heard all those bogus claims before, but not as much recently. When I first started PoolSolutions in 1996, I got 'nastygrams' from dealers on a daily basis!

Your dealer may actually believe you need calcium. But, I suspect the bleach claim is a deliberate lie.

[zmanh]

If okay I wanted to jump in here and maybe we could help each other and benefit from good advice. My situation similar to yours. Mine is 25k gallon IG. I added 8 lbs. of shock, ran filter 24 hours. Fixed several leaks so I thought I would start vacuuming. Plenty of suction, but I getting dirty water going back into pool. Backwashed, then rinsed


but still dirty. Is that to be expected at this point. In other words should I continue as is, and after I have gotten up as much with vacuum as possible shock again? Or should I change the sand? By the way I estimate I removed several hundred lbs of leaves. And lots of frogs.

[BigDave]

zmanh:
If you're looking for advice ib your clean up effort, you'll get better answers by starting your own thread.