poop in pool

[jaredwohn]

I'm taking care of a friends pool when he's out of town. I have about 2 weeks until he gets back and I'm going to skip the details but poop is now in the pool. And I waited to long and its not solid anymore. The pool is filthy now and I know nothing about pools. What do I do?

[PoolDoc]

The pool is filthy now and I know nothing about pools. What do I do?

Prepare a really sincere apology?

I'm not sure what you mean by "the pool is filthy now". If you mean it's green and slimy AND it has poop in it . . . . you're toast. There's no way for a 3rd party (you!) pool newbie to get his pool spic and span in the time left.

But if you mean the pool is clear and algae free - except for the poop, no problem . . . assuming we're talking a reasonable quantity of pool, and not a wheelbarrow full.

Regardless, the steps are the same.

0. Make sure his pool is a CHLORINE pool. If it's got copper, 'minerals', Baquacil -- anything but chlorine or bromine -- you're still toast, but we can't help. ("Salt" is OK -- salt systems are just a METHOD of adding chlorine!)

1. Dump a bunch of bleach in. You can't use other forms of chlorine because neither you nor I know what ELSE is in the pool, and the other forms have side effects. So, add about 3 gallons of PLAIN 8% store brand bleach for each 10,000 gallons in his pool, ie, 24k gal pool gets 7 - 8 gallons. Add the bleach in the EVENING.

2. Get a cheap OTO / phenol red drops kit (Walmart!) and test the pool the next day. If the pool is vinyl, you SKIP the evening dose if the OTO shows DARK yellow with a orange tint. If the pool is concrete or fiberglass, SKIP when you reach ORANGE. Test in the evening; dose in the evening.

3. Except as #2 above, add the bleach EACH evening till you are done.

4. Check and make sure the pump is running 24/7. There may be a timer. Clean the filter if it needs cleaning.

5. After the 2nd bleach dose, start vacuuming. Vacuum first, then brush. Clean the filter if it shows a pressure increase.

6. Once everything is vacuumed, clean the filter whether it needs it or not.

7. Dose 2 more times after the pool is all vacuumed. At that point, feel free to go swimming.


You say "I know nothing about pools". If you don't know enough to follow the steps above, add the bleach and do the testing. If you do, at least your friend won't return to a green pool.

Good luck!

[PoolDoc]

BTW, I'm not going to upgrade your membership, since you are obviously a temporary participant here.

[jaredwohn]

Thank you so much for your help.

The pool looks clean except for the bottom. When I use the brush to clean the bottom, all the dirt and mess just makes the pool super cloudy. I found a pump control panel but Its pretty complex and I don't want to do anything to mess it up.

Thanks again for your help.

[PoolDoc]

you're welcome . . .