(Part 2) Best pool cleaning tools & chemicals according to redditors
We found 193 Reddit comments discussing the best pool cleaning tools & chemicals. We ranked the 95 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the products ranked 21-40. You can also go back to the previous section.
If you really want to find out, you can get a simple water test kit that will show you the amounts of chlorine and copper in your water (along with other stuff like lead, mercury, etc).
The first and best thing you can do is go to TroubleFreePool.com and read everything in their Pool School section. Make sure you pay extra attention to the sections on the SLAM protocol and the chemical info. Feel free to message me (or post over there) if you have any questions.
Regardless of what people might have told you, pools can be pretty easy to take care of, especially after you get them going. Preventative maintenance is way easier than falling behind. Owning a pool is like having a pet: Even if you don't want to play with it, you still have to feed it. It's also like brushing your teeth: you can spend pennies/day, every day, or not do it for awhile and spend thousands of dollars fixing things.
As for basic equipment:
For a testing kit, I highly recommend you avoid testing strips, and splurge a bit for the TF-100 test kit with the SpeedStir, and the XL option. It's expensive, and worth every penny. If you're going to be closing this pool soon for the winter, I'd wait to buy the testing kit in the spring so your testing reagents are as fresh as possible when you open the pool.
If you go the TroubleFreePool route, you'll be a large purchaser of bleach. I buy it about 15-gallons at a time from Wal-Mart -- just plain, unscented bleach. Anything else adds unneeded and unnecessary chemicals to your pool. Pay attention to the date code on the jug ("19250" means it was manufactured in 2019 on the 250th day of the year, newer is better since chlorine degrades over time), and the percentage of chlorine in the bleach -- most generic laundry bleach is 6%, the extra cheap stuff (which you don't want) doesn't even show the percentage so don't buy it! "Pool chlorinating liquid" from Wal-Mart is 10% bleach, and some pool stores sell 12.5% bleach.
My 20k-gallon pool usually takes about a half-gallon/day of regular 6% bleach to keep the chlorine levels stable (sometimes added every day, sometimes added every 2-3 days). Other than initial setup in the spring when I add about $15 worth of chlorine stabilizer, and the occasional small dose of muriatic acid to keep the pH down, I rarely have to add anything else. Maybe a little baking soda when I first open in the spring, but nothing crazy. 99% of the "chemicals" I put in my pool is just plain bleach, and my water stays crystal clear and all chemical levels within range, all the time.
$2.7 million for water treatment chemicals?
If they get really stuck, they could probably go "cheap" (solid chlorine vs liquid or something more expensive) and still be 95%+ effective.
https://www.amazon.com/Zappit-73-Hypo-Pool-Shock/dp/B01F44CVMQ/ (50 pounds per bucket) "1 lb will provide 2ppm of available chlorine in 40,000 gallon pool"
2ppm would probably do the trick. You can drink up to 4ppm safely, although 0.5ppm is better - https://www.cdc.gov/safewater/chlorine-residual-testing.html
DryTec 23224 Extra Shock Treatment for Swimming Pool Chlorine Bag, 1 lb. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00WLWMM06/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_IlBSDbQ6509SQ
Thank you.
I was considering these:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ESQMA8M/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_yaIZCbCGK6VWK
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07P6JJQBM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_jbIZCbFJHS2QS
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IG9LZ4C/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_SaIZCbV8MKYDS
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004KSRJXO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_5aIZCbVKNHCPE
How would you compare the Suction Vacuum (w/wheels) vs Kreepy Krauly?
The ones that you recommended are priced similar to vacuums.
I'm all about confirming an issue before trying to resolve it - so you might use a testing kit to check the hardness of your water. Might be overkill - or might be enough to make you feel good about installing a water softener. I saw someone else mentioned the water heater might be full of sediment. I believe you're supposed to drain the water heater every year to help, but those things will build up over time no matter what. A test kit might also let you check your normal cold water - as well as your hard water to see if build-up really is a problem. Good Luck!
You could try a home test:ecoli
But for a full spectrum test you may want to send a sample to a lab. example
This exact thing - which comes in a Polaris bag - sells for $75 from Leslie's. That's right. - $25 per piece.
Muriatic acid? $18 for 2. Same thing from Home Depot is $12.
Hey, it can be convenient. But Leslie's is anything but reasonably priced. Those scrubbers for the tails of Polaris cleaners?? About 5x as high as elsewhere.
Completely agree with /u/AbsolutelyPink. Listen to her. Girl knows her stuff.
Hire a company or do it yourself:
https://www.amazon.com/MyMold-Detective-MMD105-Professional-Allergen/dp/B00LSOZT58
https://testittoday.com/product/air-quality-mold-test-kit/
Once you can confirm that your home is in a mold-elevated status, you can seek to have the builder pay for remediation.
This is what you want to drain with.
Blue Devil 100-Foot Backwash Hose for Pool with Hose Clamp, 1-1/2" W x 100' L https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JDHOR32/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_apa_i_6tCSDbZWJGRX9
Using this hose will not only make it faster to drain, but will likely stop your pump from overheating. Sump pumps are cooled by the water flowing through them, so eliminating back-pressure by using a bigger hose will help it stay cool (and not burn the motor out).
Before you drain. You pour in a hot tub purge and run the jets for a while. Then drain. There are other brands, but we use Oh Yuk
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B012GNCI44/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_apa_i_HfgRDbTD39X2J
I thought dichlor was liquid chlorine.
I bought this.
https://i.imgur.com/r3pnHR4.jpg
The choices on the calculator say dichlor trichlor cal hypo etc.
The jugs that I bought say chlorine and then it has a yellow circle around the number 2. So I figured that meant dichlor.
Sold out on Amazon so it doesn't come up on a. Search but here's the product page. Doesn't say much.
https://www.amazon.com/Kem-Tek-26489048431-Chlorinating-Liquid-pack/dp/B01994IVW6
Having worked in an area where these kinds of pools are really popular, here's what I'd recommend:
Use a basic algaecide like this (or whatever you can find in store that's similarly ammonium chloride based). The benefit of an algaecide is that it'll last longer than chlorine and that kind I linked doesn't require a ton of circulation. And it's cheap.
For your size pool you shouldn't have to put in more than a few cups once a week. You can see from the reviews that people just assume more = better and they end up with a bubble bath. Always read the directions! On that note, wait a day between adding it and any liquid chlorine. Chlorine doesn't distinguish between, well, anything. It'll just eat up your other chemicals if you dump them together (not to mention ammonium bases products or acids + concentrated chlorine = homemade chemical-weapon night night time).
Besides that, a floater with one or two chlorine tablets in it can't hurt during the summer at least. Tablets release chlorine slowly over time whereas the shock just nukes things for a short period. Together they balance each other. Just keep an eye on your PH with that test kit, and you should be golden.
Chlorine is a strong acid and oxidizer that can damage the components of an internal combustion engine beyond repair if allowed to circulate through the engine via the fuel supply. Chlorine should never be put in gas tanks. If you suspect that someone has put chlorine in your fuel, do not start your engine as this would allow your engine to be exposed to harmful acids that are especially damaging to aluminum.
https://www.amazon.com/Pool-Sanitizer-Chlorinating-Tables-42008/dp/B01JLY4DK8
So this combined with this other algae killer would probably be a good fight for the algae? Sometimes I’m out of town for work for 3-4 days at a time so if I can get something to keep the black algae at bay like these 2 then it would be worth it to me.
Kem-Tek Pool and Spa 60-Percent Concentrated Algaecide, 1 Quart 2 PK https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N9VN4XE/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_wo6cAbPT2T8JE
I'm making the same costume for my wife. I found flexible pvc spa hose on Amazon. It is rigid enough to hold it's shape, but flexible enough to bend: https://www.amazon.com/Sun2Solar-1%C2%BD-inch-Flexible-Above-Ground-Swimming/dp/B06W2N4Q1T/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=spa+hose&qid=1558119853&s=gateway&sr=8-5
I'm planning to add the "ribs" from her tentacles by using pipe insulation foam around the spa hose, and then shaping it with fine sand paper. Foam insulation is here: https://www.lowes.com/pd/Frost-King-1-in-x-6-ft-Foam-Plumbing-Tubular-Pipe-Insulation/3133247 . I'm still trying to figure out the best way to add that "alien skin" look to the tentacles. I'm looking into silicone molding, but it looks pretty advanced for me.
Good luck!
> I would've had to buy a 100ft hose which I'm not doing
Buy a 100' colapaible hose. https://www.amazon.com/U-S-Pool-Supply-Swimming-Backwash/dp/B071K99H1R/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1504964229&sr=8-1&keywords=100+foot+pool+backwash+hose
You will need to drain your pool partially from time to time and it is handy to have around
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PZZFFO6?ref_=ams_ad_dp_asin_1
Thanks to all who replied!
So it got me thinking about how to do it.
I was hoping it would be simpler -- "Buy motor, CAD up some connectors, wire it up, write simple code, go". ( Even that is too complicated, IMHO... )
So, what I've decided to do is make a simpler robot that is closer to what I imagine in difficulty, then scale up.
Here's my BOM so far:
I figure I'll make a more toy version first to see problems, then begin searching for a way to scale up. My initial hope is just to be able to haul the battery around on grass so I get a better sense of the problems I need to solve.
Thanks!
Maybe something like this? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JDHOPA2/ref=asc_df_B00JDHOPA25066245/?tag=hyprod-20&creative=394997&creativeASIN=B00JDHOPA2&linkCode=df0&hvadid=167163693584&hvpos=1o5&hvnetw=g&hvrand=8368670631483617218&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9032016&hvtargid=pla-311585149431