BBB method and vacation???

[BeenPoolStored]

What do you do if you're gone on a week's vacation and have no one to add bleach daily?

[Watermom]

Can you get some one to come every other day or every third day?

[BeenPoolStored]

Possibly. What do you suggest? If they are not available, what would my best strategy be?

[AnnaK]

Vacation time is when we use our chlorine feeder with trichlor pucks. I normally run the CYA at 40 ppm during the summer to give myself the very leeway I need for using the pucks during vacations. Our pump is on a timer and operates at night. We shock the pool with bleach and put the solar cover on before we leave.

If you don't have an automatic feeder you can put trichlor in floaters and attach them to the pool in such a way that they'll stay in the middle of the pool. They'll slowly dissolve. It's better to have the pump on to circulate the water but if you don't have a timer you might not want it running 24/7 during your absence.

We have nobody nearby whom we know well enough to ask for help with pool sitting. This method has worked well enough for us. And if you do return to a green pool, it's not the end of the world. You know how to clean it up using bleach and diligence.

Have a great vacation!

[BeenPoolStored]

Thank you, Anna! We do have an automatic chlorinator. Do you have any suggestions for how many pucks to put in the chlorinator and how high to run it on a scale of 1-10?

[CarlD]

Consider boosting your pH as well. I came back after two weeks to a clear pool but my pH was at 6.8 and my CYA went from 30 to the 60's. I had four floaters open full wide! It took 4 boxes of Borax to get the pH normal.

What I do is put out one jug of bleach for every other day. (I actually use LC, but I fill the jugs half with tap water first. I leave instructions that one jug is to be poured in the skimmer every other day. If we leave on a Saturday, I have my FIL do it starting Monday. It's basically 6 or 7 times. If you have a neighboring kid, he might want to make an easy $10 every other day just dumping the bleach in for you.

You could also put in a whole quart of Polyquat in advance. After 48 hours, you'll need to boost your pool's FC again. Then boost it shock level, and, if you have a cover, cover it, and use your chlorinator. But be ready to shock it ASAP when you get home.

[AnnaK]

Thank you, Anna! We do have an automatic chlorinator. Do you have any suggestions for how many pucks to put in the chlorinator and how high to run it on a scale of 1-10?

My own chlorinator's settings come in 1/8 increments. I fill it with pucks (it takes 7) and adjust the setting to 1/4. I do this because I've learned from past experience and usage of the chlorinator that the 1/4 setting keeps the free chlorine steady from one day to the next when nobody uses the pool.

It doesn't matter how many pucks you put in. They'll dissolve until the saturation point is reached inside the chlorinator which then dispenses the chlorine solution into your pool.


My setup is this:
7 trichlor pucks
chlorinator at 1/4
pump run time 7 hours out of 24

Those 7 pucks last for at least 2 months. When I'm not using the auto-feeder I just shut it off. I don't remove the pucks.

Carl makes a good point: pucks will lower your pH (and, of course, increase your CYA some). I've not worried about that in the past because our absences were relatively short, 14 days and fewer, and because I've monitored the water while using trichlor in the past I know that the pH drop isn't serious enough to require pre-planning—in my pool.

According to info learned from Richard (Chem Geek): "For every 10 ppm Free Chlorine (FC) added by Trichlor, it also increases Cyanuric Acid (CYA) by 6 ppm." I can live with those 6ppm CYA because I intentionally keep mine on the low side in anticipation of a late summer vacation.