Every Pool Store Sells Me something Different.... HELP me get my water right

[CarlD]

Hi Cheryl,

Yes, you got "Pool-Stored"--don't be ashamed, it's happened to all of us. Ben is the most knowledgeable of us all with that glop they had you put in, he's the best at knowing what it will take to get rid of it.
Powder Power Plus is Cal-Hypo...
Yellow Rid is...well, Arch considers its chemistry a trade secret but it's deadly poisonous and decomposes into ammonia and sulfur trioxide and is listed as incompatible with: "Other pool treatment products, strong
oxidizers, bases, chlorates, nitrates, chlorine or bromine compounds".

Phos Free ... Nobody will say what's in it...just that it's "natural" and "non-toxic" and, of course, patented. They even warn that water can go cloudy!
No More Problems ...seems to be an algaecide, probably ammonia-based, mixed with some kind of chlorine--probably Di-Chlor. Another "Patented Secret Formula!"
Tri-Chlor tablets...we know what these are.
Liquid Chlorine...either bleach or double-strength bleach.

Three kinds of chlorine, possibly 4. Two different algaecides. Phos Free, and most of it "Secret Formulae"

I really feel for you. This is why we keep it simple.
Three/four different kinds of chlorine...but once in the water they are all the same. You really only need one kind--liquid chlorine or bleach.
Two or three algaecides, none of which are any good. We recommend two: PolyQuat and...CHLORINE!
Phosphate Removers. If we can't clear your pool up with conventional methods, then, if your phosphat level is insanely high (like 4000 or 5000) it MIGHT be a good idea.

Being an intelligent person you realized this didn't make sense...and you're right! Follow Ben's advice and that will be the fastest and most effective way to cleaning up this mess.

Carl

[PoolDoc]

Powder Power Plus is Cal-Hypo...

Good stuff, but can raise calcium a lot, and will cloud pools where the calcium is already high.

Yellow Rid is...well, Arch considers its chemistry a trade secret but it's deadly poisonous and decomposes into ammonia and sulfur trioxide and is listed as incompatible with: "Other pool treatment products, strong
oxidizers, bases, chlorates, nitrates, chlorine or bromine compounds".

Ammonium sulfate or ammonium chloride. If you follow instructions, you'll create a chloramine (CC), "monochloramine", which IS an effective algaecide, but also is irritating and hard to get remove -- requires LOTS of chlorine for clean up.

Phos Free ... Nobody will say what's in it...just that it's "natural" and "non-toxic" and, of course, patented. They even warn that water can go cloudy!

Lanthanum chloride or lanthanum something else. ALL of the phosphorous removers are based on lanthanum something or other, and precipitate lanthunum phosphate, which you then have to filter out.

No More Problems ...seems to be an algaecide, probably ammonia-based, mixed with some kind of chlorine--probably Di-Chlor. Another "Patented Secret Formula!"

Like almost all of United Chemical's products, No Mor Problems is based on sodium bromide. Many UCC products also contain sodium hexametaPHOSPHATE, which helps penetrate algae layers (NOW) and adds to your phosphate later (LATER).

Your dealer probably didn't know it, but he was selling you products to REMOVE phosphates AND products which ADD phosphates.

Sort of a racket . . . even when it's unintentional!

[CarlD]

Thanks for the de-code, Ben. No More Problems is even worse than I guessed it to be! These companies remind me of cigarette companies who refused to reveal what they were treating tobacco with that people ingest because it's a "trade secret". Your children will have it on their skin, will swallow some. They give AMAZING safety protocols--you should see the HAZMAT .pdf for Yellow Rid, how to handle it and what to do if poisoned by it....but what's in it is "secret".

That's the best thing about the B-B-B method. Sure, it's easy. Sure, it's cheap. But also we know what every chemical we are putting in our pool is, exactly. No "secret formula"!

Carl

[Willjay]

Ammonium Sulfate is what I use to fertilize my lawn.