opening my green pool...UGH

[FormerBromineUser]

See if you can check and add one more time tonight so it can sit at high levels overnight without fighting the sun.

[FormerBromineUser]

Are you brushing all the surfaces well?

[JimK]

The SWCG cell should only be cleaned if needed. Inspect the cell plates and see if you see any scale buildup on them. If you google "dirty salt cell" you will find pictures of what a dirty cell looks like. If it's not dirty, then it doesn't need cleaning.

If it does need cleaning, refer to your owners manual for the recommended method for your model (I'm not familiar with that model).

With mine (Goldline Aqua Rite with T-15 cell) I rarely need to do anything but hose it out at fall closing. Of course I keep tight control of water chem balance which helps greatly.

[polyvue]

Good advice. In addition to maintaining a high level of chlorine and brushing the sides and floor, why not begin filtering? If the pressure rises you can backwash it. This will help clean it up faster.

I seem to recall that vinyl pools like a slightly lower pH (someone please correct me if I'm mistaken). 7.6 is fine, however I think the chlorine is more effective at slightly lower pH levels.

The pH in my gunite pool tends to rise to 8.0+ over time so before shocking I lower it to 7.2-7.5. Once you begin shocking, the high chlorine affects phenol titration so testing pH becomes problematic.

Contrary to what I've read on some pool sites, neither sample dilution (adding deionized/distilled water)* nor induced low chlorine (achieved by adding thiosulfate) will result in a reliable pH reading since both workarounds impact pH.


*Sample dilution using newly manufactured, properly stored and unopened deionized water is better than nothing but it makes sense to me to heed Taylor's recommendation to just wait for chlorine levels to come down before testing pH.

[Fiveattripp]

Thanks for all of the great tips...I am brushing daily. I thought I would vacuum one more time this morning and then turn the filter on. Then I can watch the pressure and backwash when needed. I am also fighting that fine pollen. The filter will help get rid of that. I stored our salt cel over the winter. It looks really good...nothing on it. It didn't come with a cap to close off one end for cleaning, so I did see how to just use a bucket on line. I'll address that this summer when it needs cleaning.

Thanks you all and have a BLESSED Easter!

[FormerBromineUser]

Do you use skimmer socks? They will help catch a lot of the pollen, (and other crud), before it reaches the filter.

[Phillbo]

I stopped using the water/acid mix to clean my cell. I feel it deteriorates them faster. I just use a wood paint stir stick to work between the plates and knock off the build up.

[JimK]

I stopped using the water/acid mix to clean my cell. I feel it deteriorates them faster. I just use a wood paint stir stick to work between the plates and knock off the build up.

That is my understanding as well. The owners manual for my SWCG says to use wood to remove scale unless it's real bad.