New Intex above ground owner - Psuedomonas?

[May76]

Thanks for the reply! I wasn't sure and since I skipped the previous night, I thought it may be a good idea to go ahead and add it, so I did. Hopefully I didn't do too much damage. I may have to skip tonight though depending on how things look with the OTO test. I'll be glad when the Taylor kit gets here!

[May76]

Oh and something else, I thought I remembered reading in another post about Psuedomonas that it's a good idea to put the floats in the pool to help kill off the bacteria that may be on them too. I have had them out all week, should I put them in there when adding the bleach at night? Or do you think they have died off yet out of the water for several days? And when should I attempt to get back in?

Thanks!

[PoolDoc]

I don't think Psuedomonas is likely to survive, except as bacterial spores, on dry hard plastic. And since P. aeruginosa is ubiquitous -- often part of normal skin flora -- the presence of spores on floats is probably a non-issue.

[May76]

Well that's good to know then, thank you. Last night the OTO was still dark yellow(no orange) and test strip in between 5 and 10. It was sunny yesterday so I imagine some of the chlorine got burnt off, but there was still probably a good amount amount that stayed. I skipped the bleach and will check again tonight. Hope the Taylor kit gets here soon.

[May76]

I checked with the OTO and it's still dark yellow at around 5 and the test strip was at 5(not as dark as it has been). Should I use bleach tonight since I skipped last night? I put a couple of trichlor pucks in the floater cause the one that was left was almost dissolved and I figured I lost a little CYA with the slight drain my husband had to do cause of he rain the other day. I think I may have some mustard algae too cause I was reading about it and it sounds like the stuff I was vacuuming off the pool floor everyday before I got the rash(looked like dirt, floated up off the floor like dirt too). I was vacuuming every day before we would swim and it would be back in the wrinkles and creases of the liner the next morning every time. I have yet to vacuum since then(it's been a week) since I didn't know if I should get in the pool yet. I never vacuum from outside of the pool cause I like to see what I'm doing and make sure I get it all up. I'm waiting for the brush I ordered to get here, the vacuum I use has some bristles, but I know I need a dedicated brush.
Should I put bleach in tonight or are my chlorine levels probably ok?

[PoolDoc]

In generally, higher chlorine levels are better the lower ones, anytime you are trying to eradicate any biofilm forming pool problem, which includes BOTH P. aeruginosa AND mustard algae.

[May76]

Well the Taylor kit AND the brush both came in tonight, so I'm going to brush tomorrow(getting in the pool to do so) and attempt to run a test. I will admit, this kit is intimidating. ��

I added HALF a 121 oz jug of bleach last night since I skipped adding it for two nights, but was worried about adding too much till the kit got here. I'm going to check with the OTO tonight, but I think it will be fine to wait till tomorrow night after I've had a chance to brush before adding more bleach. Unless of course it's not dark yellow, then I'll add. Hopefully now that the kit is here along with the brush I can knock out everything that may be in there. It may just be dirt/pollen settling in the creases, it WAS pretty dry the first week or so after we opened the pool and there is a tree nearby...it also doesn't help that when my husband mows the yard it kicks up a dust storm that blows straight thru the backyard. It does sound like mustard algae though, especially the way it keeps showing up each morning after I vacuum.

Anyway, thanks for the help, I'll report my findings with the test tomorrow.