Chlorine effect on Liner/solar cover

[jrv331]

Since switching to the BBB method a last year I have noticed a distinct discoloration of my liner below the water line and am not sure why. My PH level is normally 7.2 - 7.5. It may be out of wack for a day or two, because Im out of town but I try to keep it stable. My CYA is 40 - 50 so I try to keep my chlorine level around 5-6ppm and shock as close to 15 as I can get, but usually only need to shock once a week at most.(usually after a weekend of family swimming) What would cause the liner to fade like that?

Also I always have my solar cover on when not in the pool, I leave it on when I shock as well. I have notice that the cover is becoming brittle and I have read that this could happen. Could leaving the solar cover on when shocking be causing the discoloration of the liner? I just lose too much heat when its off.
Thanks for any advice
John

[AndyT86]

I think the solar cover becoming brittle and discolored is the nature of the beast. I can get about 3 years out of one before I have to replace it. In my experience the discoloration and brittleness is probably due to the cover heating in the sunlight and cooling at night trapping any contaminants on the surface of the liner. (I live in a wooded area in Georgia, so my location may have a bearing on that.) When I was a teen I had a car with clear vinyl windows (think Jeep) and had the same problem.

I believe that SOME SLIGHT fading of the liner will occur in any chlorine-sanitized pool. I have seen it in other pools that have used tablets exclusively. HOWEVER...

I have been doing the BBB thing for about 6 years now. (Thanks, Ben... You've saved me a TON of money!) At first I followed Ben's instructions to add the bleach SLOWLY (to prevent fading), and I only added it in front of the jet in the deep end to let it disperse. But I got lazy or impatient (both!), and began just dumping it at the steps (still in front of jets for quicker dispersion, and only with the pump running). The result is that my liner is more faded in the shallow end than the deep, and virtually white with a slight yellow tinge at the base of the steps. I had a leak last year at the base of the steps, and the liner under the clear vinyl patch is still the same color as last year, with the liner around the patch much more faded. So I'm convinced that my impatience in pouring (along with bleach being heavier than water) caused the faded liner. I have also noticed faded streaks at the points where I typically have added bleach at a faster rate, and also in the "valleys" where the sides meet the bottom on the slope to the deep (where the bleach would be channeled as it seeks the lowest point).

Bottom line: I have learned my lesson on adding SLOWLY and ONLY in front of running jets in the deep. I will continue using the BBB method, but remembering Ben's instructions.

Andy

[shadowman]

My liner is definitely faded at the points in the deep end where I used to add my diluted bleach. Now that I have officially quit using pucks, I add my bleach slowly to the skimmer. I haven't noticed any ill effects from it yet.

I learned from this forum to never add bleach through the skimmer if you have a chlorine injector in use or with any residue from pucks in it. It could cause an explosion from buildup of chlorine gas.