jessman

We have one of those big circular above ground pools. Usually we had a winter cover over it throughout the winter, but this year we just put a leaf cover over it, cause with the winter cover, the thing felt like it weighed 400lbs by the time you were ready to take it off, on account of all the water going into the middle of it over the months.

Well after each winter the water was of course always dirty, but we took the leaf cover off today, and the water smells like a lake. There are TONS of bugs, prolly mosquitos, all over the water, and there was some moss that I scooped out. My question is, is teh water gonna be able to get back to normal after we put the chorline, and water clarifier in?

deejay100six

Hi Jessman, i live in the cold uk so outdoor pools are something we only see when we go abroad but i should think chlorine and that other stuff would be deadly to such creatures...........mebbe you will have to scoop out the corpses though.

jessman

ok, cool. SO even though the water looks pretty much black, with all the right chemicals, it will be crystal clear again?

deejay100six

Wouldn't think so but at least it will be sterile.

40sondacurb

Why not just drain it and fill it up again?

ebackhus

A drain and refill would be the best course of action. You can try using shock tablets but there'll still be lots of manual cleaning involved.

mommabear

We had an above ground pool for several years. Spent what seemed like a gazillion bucks on the chemicals, and spent most of our summers fighting algae, cloudy water, stinky smell.

The last couple of years we caught on to the right things to do and had a beautiful pool.

Come time to open it, the pool was full of debris. One year it even had a dead squirrel in it. We used nothing but good old household bleach. Not the scented kind. Our pool was round, 15 ft by 4 1/2 ft deep, about 9,000 gallons. So if yours is bigger, increase amounts.

After taking off the cover, I scooped out all the debris I could get out and then dumped in 5-7 gallons of bleach. In a day or two the water started to clear. More debris is visible. Cleaned that out. Added a gallon or two more of bleach, filled the pool to the top (a lot had evaporated over the winter).

As soon as I could see the bottom well, I vacuumed, and vacuumed, and vacuumed. Left the pump running day and night. Vacuumed some more. Actually, once the pool is clean the vacuuming is easy and usually down to once or twice a week, depending on how often the pool is used and how many trees are in the area. But vacuuming is one of the most important things to do, if not the most important. It sounds like a lot of work, but only at first. Weekly maintenance of the pool (already in good condition) took me about 45 minutes.

When it looked ready to jump into, then I did the testing for the chemical balance. It probably needed chlorine...it was a long time ago. Anyway, once it was clean, maintenance was roughly a cup to 2 cups of bleach every other day. Supper hot days, it might need chlorine each day. I think we kept some ash around when the ph slipped and used it a couple of times.

So basically, to keep that pool going for the summer the most important thing is to keep the leaves out (and cover the pool at night when not in use), keep the pump clean, and vacuum, vacuum, vacuum.

Another tip: If the water smells like chlorine it's time to add more. You shouldn't be able to smell it in a chemically balanced pool.

jessman

ok, our pool has 13,600 gallons of water.

sobeit

if draining it and running a hose from your neighbors (when they are not home) is not an option, then you may need to compare costs, time, and your sanity before making a decision.

I mean if you are going to worry about the quality of the water every time you or some kids get into the pool, then it may be worth the cost of draining and refilling.

mommabear

We filled our pool from our garden hose, about 9,000 gals. Took a couple of days, 3 days tops, I think. It was several years ago so I can't remember for sure. But it is do-able.

40sondacurb

run a hose to your drain. It won't be fast and you'll have a hell of a water bill when you refill it, but that's the cost of clean vs. green. BTW I would use some shock before draining it to kill all the algae and everything.

sobeit

If you decide to refill, check with the fire department. Some will help with filling of pools for a fee or sometimes free if its near the time for the hydrant to be flushed and pressure checked.

ebackhus

Well said, Sobiet. When it becomes a question of health and safety even the most costly and troublesome option will quickly become the best available.

jessman

well my mom talked to one of her freinds that has a pool as well, and she said hers was black water once, with mosquitos, and she said that when she added the right amount of chemicals, and ran the pump for a few days, it all turned out good in the end

gistek

The key for me was rinsing the filter medium frequently. I rinsed with clean water the first couple of times then did regular backwashing once the water was clear enough to see the vacuum head on the bottom of the pool.

'nother hint. Hook up the vacuum and let the head rest in the center of the pool while the filter runs over night. This is especially effective right after brushing the algae from the pool sides. And it really really works good on circular pools.