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What is the average price for an above ground swimming pool?

REALLY REALLY Dirty In-ground swimming pool..... HELP!!!!!?

  • So this summer my friends and I plan on cleaning my grandmother's in-ground pool. It is pretty large. I'm guessing at least 15,000 gallons. This would be a conservative guess. When I tried to clean it two summers ago is was very dark, almost black and we never could quite get it clean. The past summer the pool was never opened and never was even attempted to be cleaned. So I know this pool is going to be absolutely black and very disgusting. My question is.... what should I do this year???? We were thinking of completely draining the pool and scrubbing it all down. It is pretty old. I'm 21 and my grandparents have had the pool way before I was born. It is a vinyl pool and they had new vinyl installed about 9 or 10 years ago. Is this a good idea to drain and scrub or should I seek another option??? Also I live just outside Detroit, MI. I have heard cautions about the water table in your area being an issue. Any help I can get would be appreciated!!! PLEASE HELP!!!!

  • Answer:

    Do not drain the pool more than half way. The first thing you need to do is get all of the debris out of the pool. I would recommend draining halfway and using a leaf net and/or leaf trap(picked up at any pool store, or maybee even lowes or home depot). Next, Fill the pool all the way, and raise the chlorine to about 5 ppm. If the water is really dirty you will need to backwash*** the filter every day. Do that for about 24 to 48 hours. Then add a flocculant and let circulate for 12-24 hours depending on flocculant and turnover rate of pump. Do not backwash during this 12-24 hours. Next, turn off pump and let everything settle to the bottom of the pool. This should take another 12-24 hours. When everything has settled set the multiport valve*** to the "vacuum to waste" posittion. Vacuum the pool going very slow so you dont mix it up again. *** If you have a cartridge filter you will not have a multiport valve or a backwash setting. You will have to manually remove the cartridge and clean it. There should be a valve near the equipment used to drain water from the pool. You can "vauum to waste" by removing the cartridge from the filter and opening this valve. Another thing to keep in mind is your PH, and Total Alkalinity. If you do not have a test kit or do not know what I am talking about you will have to take a sample of your water to a pool store and have them test it. Once the pool is clear you can lower the chlorine level to 1-3 ppm. It is unsafe to swim in a pool if you cant see the bottom I do not reccomend swimming if the chlorine level is greater than 5ppm

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You should be able to drain the pool completely to clean it. As you are scrubbing on your hands and knees check out the vinyl. Some minor tears you should be able to fix with a repair kit. As you're cleaning keep a sump pump or hose hooked up to help keep excess water out. My family every year had to scrub out our pool and from the sounds of this pool you should really only have to do this once(when you re-open this summer) and not worry about it too much in the future. Usually you would only need to super-chlorinate a pool as you fill it and vacuum as necessary. The other option might be to replace the liner and deal with the cost-it probably will be pricey, but then you've got a guarantee on the installation and you don't have to worry about cleaning out the liner to find it's in bad shape. Have fun!

cissy

First, the pool is probably way more than 15,000 gallons. I had an above ground 24 foot pool and it was 13,000 gallons, so I would at least double your amount. As far as cleaning, I would suggest that you totally drain the pool and get in there with scrub brushes and Comet cleanser and start scrubbing and see what happens. Our pool go-to guy suggested we use Comet cleanser at the water line to get rid of winter time pool scum on the walls of our pool and it worked fine. The life of a vinyl pool liner is usually about 10 years and since this pool has been neglected, the life may be gone from the liner, but it would be cheaper to clean than replace. Rinse the liner really well after scrubbing and see what you end up with. You will know while cleaning if the liner is worth saving. As far as the water table in the Detroit area....we live about 60 miles outside of Detroit and our water table is fine in our area. You can dig down quite far and not worry about water problems. I hope the pool filter is in good working condition, its the only way to keep the pool clean once you get the pool cleaned up and back up and running. Enjoy your pool.

Josie826

if its a vinyl liner pool that is that old you should not drain it more then half way or you can drain and fill at the same time because the vinyl will probably tare. you could try shocking it with chemical, and cleaning the filter then let it run for about 24 hours. to help clear up the water, which is what I would suggest. and also add an algaecide.to shock the pool add about 4 gallons of chlorine and a shock treatment. then let it run after a day or so check the ph and adjust if needed.

pooh

If you drain the pool, you will have to buy a new liner. Once the chemicals have reacted with the vinyl (after 1st year of use) and you take all the water out of the pool, the liner will shrink and then it will not stretch like it did when it was new. If the pool is fiberglass, you will need to consult someone in the fiberglass industry to get tips on cleaning. It is best that you contact someone in your area that sells the type pool your grandmother owns. I have had 3 pools and I HAVE NEVER HEARD ANYONE SAY USING COMET IS GOOD FOR A POOL!

Ma Dukes

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