How to clean an above ground pool after 2 seasons of non use

[PoolDoc]

Once the algae is dead -- no more green -- you can drop back to medium to dark yellow, with no orange. However you should brush the pool thoroughly before you drop back.

See if you can find the HTH 6-way kit, sold by some Walmarts. It's made by Taylor and is a partial replacement for the K2006.

The borax is just to raise your pH, which will drop once you use the tabs a bit.

What does the water look like right now?

[Watermom]

The ph side of the tester is nearly clear..

If the pH side is nearly clear after adding the 5 red drops, that means your pH is extremely low and you need to get some Borax in there ASAP! Retest your pH to verify your reading, please.

[Pappy]

Go swimming! is what I was told. Seems dead algae is harmless, and keeping it stirred up helps filter it out.

Pappy

[PoolDoc]

. . . what he said, as long as the water is clear enough so that somebody doesn't disappear on the bottom.

[12ofus]

Well, I'm back and so is the algae. Apparently, it never really left. We had the numbers good, the color a cloudy blue-not green- and we got in to vacuum one more good time to be sure there was no more debris. There was actually more leaves than we thought there would be, but the water didn't freak out and go green again. The chlorine color was nearly clear when we finished vacuuming, backwashing, and stirring up the water real good to get anything left over for the filter to get overnight. We added three more gallons of bleach before going to bed and dreamed of the beautiful pool we would have in the morning (hopefully). A few of the kids got back in a little while ago to check for debris and the water is green. Not cloudy green- green. There are these nasty little critters floating around and a vile-looking green scum on the inside of swimsuits. I have seen enough episodes of "Monsters Inside Me" to be more than a little concerned. We are so depressed. We have spent a small fortune on bleach. Could our filter need new sand? I'm thinking of draining it to about 1/3 its level and bleaching the devil out of it and starting over. It's a matter of principle, now. I want this pool clean!