Swimming Pool Maintenance

I learned a lesson today - CAREFULLY READ THE LABELS ON YOUR POOL CHEMICALS.

I committed a major screw-up over the last two days. I've been faithfully testing the pool water to check for proper PH and Chlorine levels. For the past couple of weeks, the PH level has been slowly creeping up. I know that the PH needs to be lowered cause I'm starting to get a lovely green carpet on the walls of the pool and the chlorine just isn't cutting it anymore. So, I get out the 3.5 lb tub of what I think is "PH reducer" and start dumping this soft white, expensive powder into my pool yesterday. The water was a little cloudy but after consulting with Ross (aka non-pool expert either), we agree to leave it "settle" overnight to see what happens.

This morning, the pool looks no better so around 9 am, I decide to turn the pump on and give it a healthy dose of "PH reducer". By now there is about 1/2 lb left in this huge tub. My water is so cloudy it looks like fluffy white clouds in the sky. And, as the pool pump circulates the "PH reducer", I am watching the clouds becoming thicker and thicker. I'm thinking...WTH is wrong?

It is at that point I decide to re-read the label for further instructions.......not good...I've just put 3 lbs of PH BOOSTER into my pool.....

So, now what? I google "how to reduce the PH in your pool". Muratic acid...about a $1 a gallon.....I dump two gallons into my pool. PH is now approaching a normal reading. Probably only need one more gallon....

I'm becoming a pool expert....

Ross's new name is "Paul Bunyon".

He chopped down a tree today with a little, itty bitty hatchet (a boyscout sized one) and hand saw (the kind finishing carpenters use)...

Nasty large thing that was more of a weed. You can cut off the new growth and within days the damn thing is sprouting new leaves. We have a small problem...the damn thing is too heavy to drag. We have no idea what we are going to do but there was something mentioned about "quad and chain". My instincts say that this isn't going to turn out well.

I'll keep the dogs in the house with me.