Opening a pool after three years of no maintenance

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pgiering
I'm new here
I'm new here
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun 31 Mar, 2013 19:57
My Pool: Inground, fiberglass, approx 16' x 35', diving board, whisperflow pump, Pentair 320 cartridge filter, GE timer.
Location: Kirkland, WA

Opening a pool after three years of no maintenance

Postby pgiering » Sun 31 Mar, 2013 20:23

Hi, three years ago my pipes froze and burst. Since then, I've had to tear down and rebuild the old shed/pump-house and re-plumb everything above ground. All this on tight time and money budgets. Due to these constraints, it took me about two summers to complete, and now I'm entering spring number three.

At this point, everything is up and running. Don't seem to have any issues with equipment, but the water just isn't clearing up. I guess there is just so much muck on the bottom of the pool, that every time I think the water is clearing up, I push the broom across the bottom and it looks as bad as ever. I am keeping an eye on the filters pressure gauge, and have had to shut down to clean the filters twice now, so maybe it is working just as it should, but it seems to be taking forever, and I feel like it's not getting anywhere.

I have applied a treatment of shock, algaecide and stain fighter, but It's so filthy, I'm not sure if I used enough shock - or if I should be adding chlorine too (don't understand the difference).

Any suggestions on speeding this up, or how long it is likely to take? Any other suggestions?

Thanks,

Paul


TSH Tech

Opening a pool after three years of no maintenance

Postby TSH Tech » Mon 01 Apr, 2013 01:22

The pool will take eternity to clear up if you have "muck" at the bottom. The filter alone will never clear up a pool with that much soil/debris at the bottom, especially a cartridge filter. Cartridge filters have enough trouble clearing up a normal pool that turned cloudy. You indicate you live in Washington, I'm not sure what the ground water tables are like up in those parts to ensure that draining a pool is safe.(so it won't pop out of the ground like a boat). If it's safe to drain a pool there, then you have some more work cut out for you if you want clear water again.
Anytime you have that much "muck" at the bottom of a pool, it needs to be drained, and all the dirt/soil/leaves at the bottom bucketed out until the pool surface is clean. Then it can be refilled.

You also indicate your pool is fiberglass with a diving board. I would also venture to say that if you decide to drain the pool, the surface is going to be slippery when you get down to the deep end. Depending if you have a very steep grade that goes to the deep end, you may need good anti-slip rubber shoes and possibly a rope tied to something sturdy to pull yourself out of the deep end bowl. I'm just throwing out these possibilities for safe measure. When walking around an empty fiberglass pool, take your time, walk easy and watch your step.

I've done enough foreclosed homes with abandoned pools to know there is no other way to clear a pool up with years of yuck at the bottom, other than to get down there and bucket it out.

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