Bleach and stuff?

[robbyaube]

I just got my easy set 15 x 48 pool filled yesterday and was looking to see what i need to do to chlorinate it and whatnot. Stumbled upon this forum saying it is good to just use store bought bleach???


Is this true?

Can anyone help me with what exact or approx amounts of what I need to put into it? It has a small amount of chlorine in it already cause it was filled with city water so i have a few days to get what i need.

And will these products be harmful to the liner of these types of pools or are they ok?

Thanks,

Robby

[JohnT]

If you wait a few days, you will have a mess. Sunlight degrades chlorine rapidly, and whatever chlorine was in there when you filled it is long gone. Bleach is fine. I use it almost exclusively to chlorinate my inground pool. It is sold at pool stores in a concentrated form, but you will probably need a cup a day or less, so regular unscented laundry bleach is by far the best way to go with your pool. The filter on your pool won't do much to clean up undissolved powder, so avoid using anything that is a powder for chlorination or shocking. That little filter also will struggle to get rid of an algae bloom, so get bleach in there right away.

You need a test kit so you can check the chlorine level daily, and add what's needed.

[robbyaube]

Wow, I didn't realize that.

So about a cup of bleach a day should keep it good eh! I think the pool has around 3500 gallons of water. So is that pretty much all I need to put in there to keep it up??

Thanks for the help.

[robbyaube]

Oh and what is the best method to put it in? Just poor it where the exit jet is so it mixes well?

[Watermom]

You can just pour it slowly in front of a return so that it quickly mixes. Actually, even though it is a small pool, you have to take care of your water in the same way that you do in a larger pool. Go to Walmart and buy the 5-way drops based kit. Then, test your water and post your results here and somebody here can offer advice.

[JohnT]

Wow, I didn't realize that.

So about a cup of bleach a day should keep it good eh! I think the pool has around 3500 gallons of water. So is that pretty much all I need to put in there to keep it up??

Thanks for the help.

It will depend greatly on your bather load, sun/shade situation and whether you add stabilizer. A cup of bleach will raise your chlorine level by about 1ppm in that pool. Your use will vary from day to day with weather and use. You can add cyanuric acid, also known as CYA or stabilizer to the water which will slow down your chlorine consumption. Read the posts at the top of the Using Chlorine... forum for some good info. You may also need to adjust pH, but what you need to add will depend on your water.

[robbyaube]

Ok I will try to do this later today and post back after that. So the 2 sided tester I got with my pool is not good enough?

[Watermom]

Doesn't test for enough things. Most of us use the kit that Ben sells at the sister site to this forum at www.poolsolutions.com but the 5-way drops based is better than nothing.

[robbyaube]

www.poolsolutions.com

this address doesn't appear to be working.

[JohnT]

www.poolsolutions.com

this address doesn't appear to be working.

Somebody else mentioned there was a problem today. Since you don't have to worry about keeping your water over the winter, the Walmart kit will do what you need. It's a little more important when you risk damaging a $2500 liner or $10,000 plus plaster job with bad water levels.