draining pool, when would you really need to?

[coryinsocal]

I've read through alot of posts on this site where people were recomended by their "pool guy" to drain thier pool because it was getting out of control, only to see the advice of "don't listen" or "just add more bleach". these situations have sounded logical to me for the most part. my question is, is there a time when pool water should be changed as regular maintenance or for any other reason? my pool stays relatively clear for the most part, and runs away occasionally, but i figure this may be how my pool guy "takes care of it". he blames it on my water too, saying the total solids are too high to maintain efficiently. is this a bunch of cr@p? i don't mind changing it out if i need to, but i'm wondering when/if this point actually comes and whether or not most conditions are always "chemically reversible".

[The Raddish]

Post your test numbers from a drop based test kit and size/type of pool, and we can give you a definitive answer.

As a general rule, from what I have seen here the only time you need to do a drain/partial drain is when you have high CYA levels. Using the advice of others in this forum, it is rarely necessary to drain you pool for any other reason.

Oh, and fire your pool guy and do it yourself in 2-5 minutes a day.

[coryinsocal]

Post your test numbers from a drop based test kit and size/type of pool, and we can give you a definitive answer.

As a general rule, from what I have seen here the only time you need to do a drain/partial drain is when you have high CYA levels. Using the advice of others in this forum, it is rarely necessary to drain you pool for any other reason.

Oh, and fire your pool guy and do it yourself in 2-5 minutes a day.

i'm planning on it, just waiting to get up to the right speed. the only reason i've ever been hesitant to get rid of him is that i like my long vacations where i don't have to worry about it and since i tend not to use it for 7-8 months out of the year, i like not having to to think about it for that whole time...

[coryinsocal]

well, i just used a walmart drop kit and found it rather subjective... (it's my furst test...) the cya was high, but exactly when the black dot at the bottom "completely" dissappeared was somewhere between 100 and 120 i'd guess. the total alk was about 10 drops, so i guess that's 100.

the cl was another subjective test i thought. it really depended on the light source behind it. just holding it against a white (bright) wall it looked much more of an amber than any of the 5 colors. however, against a super bright sky, i'd say it was about (5) ppm.

does it sound like drain time? it seems the cya is quite high...

[CToon]

Hi coryinsocal ,

With your CYA where it is now , you have a couple of options

1. Buy a test kit that is capable of testing CL levels at the levels you need to keep it at, per the best guess chart. The one Ben sells does , and its worth having even if you didnt need to keep CL high ... walmart kit is only a cheap alternative at best , as you see.

2. Do a partial drain to lower the CYA levels . THe accepted level is kind of subjective and almost a matter of choice , but most will agree on the 20- 60 range . In Socal , with hot sunny days , I would go with something like 50 but thats just me

3. THe last option is probably my least choice, but you can make it work... keep the cya level where it is and use the walmart kit . You'll have to dilute the pool water with distilled water every time you test it , but it will work.If you do decide to go this route , look for CarlD's shot glass method , probably the easiest diluting method.

[coryinsocal]

yeah, i did the ratio method for the cl and it looks like about 1 to 2 before multiplying, so the 3-6 sounded about right from before.

what i was hoping to do, is try to keep up on my own, while my pool guy comes to get the hang of this. is there any reason i shouldn't be going this route? would my adding chlorine while he may be doing something different cause any problems.

i just figure it'd make me feel better about what i'm doing if i actually saw improvement before i canned him....

[aquarium]

It seems to me that you need to know exactly what he is putting in your pool. We bought a house with pool in April this year, and by June it was green. I did a complete draindown because I had no idea what had gone into the water before. During the draindown I found this site, and within the first week with the new water I switched over to bleach, so I know exactly what has gone into the water. Clear water ever since.

[docwalker]

...what i was hoping to do, is try to keep up on my own, while my pool guy comes to get the hang of this. is there any reason i shouldn't be going this route? would my adding chlorine while he may be doing something different cause any problems...

Each pool owner is going to have a different level of comfort taking care of their system. The chemical makeup of tap water is different everywhere (FC, CC, Alk, Cal, pH, copper, iron, etc.) and has an impact on your pool chemistry, especially if you live in a hot breezy area and you have to frequently add makeup water (we evaporate 10 mm water level per day). The ONLY way to be sure of what chemicals are added to your pool is to be the ONLY one to add them. The BBB methods described within this forum are relatively straightforward, but may not be practiced by your contractor. Why not get yourself a good test kit (PS234 works very well for me--I disposed of the simple Pentair 78HR kit supplied with my pool), spend a little time learning from users of this forum, and learn by doing? I think you'll find yourself to be quite capable of maintaining a safe, clean, fun pool and you'll save a bit of cash as well.