I just had my pool refinished and bought a test kit having read that the test strips are not very accurate. I read the instructions in the kit and felt very intimidated. Watching this video gave me the confidence to sit down and actually go through the tests one by one. Thank you very much for making this video!
This video is informative; however, when adding drops of reagents it is very important to hold the bottle vertically so that the drops are all uniform in size to get accurate results.
Amazing information that you provide in your videos you have convinced me to purchase the Taylor 2006 FAS-DPD kit. And i have been using it and so far all of my pool problems are solved so thank you for all of the in depth guides you provide on here it is extremely appreciated.
Thank you so much for this video. I received this kit in the mail two days ago, as it was one you recommended in another video. and have been reading like crazy, but it's just really confusing! This really helped me understand how to test the water!
My test strips were telling me my chlorine was 3 ppm. Using my new Taylor K2006, and your video, I discovered my chlorine was actually 12 ppm. Similarly, my test strips measurement of pH was off. Bye-bye test strips, hello Taylor K2006. I doubt I'd have had given the Taylor kit a shot, had I not seen your video beforehand. Thanks again.
thanks for all your videos. forgive my ignorance but do you do all these tests on every single pool on your daily route? i would imagine not. you would run out of reagents etc on a daily basis if you did. i would like to start doing my own pool and then maybe get into the business. im so confused as to how often to test water as a business. i understand as a pool owner you do as often as you feel like. appreciate your help. again thanks for all you do and i plan on ordering your e-book.
Yes, we don;t run every test weekly out there. Chlorine and pH every week, Alkalinity once a month, Hardness every 3 months, CYA at the beginning of the season. The reagents should last you the entire season as a homeowner. Hope that helps.
Do I really need THIS nice a kit to test ONLY our 400 gallon Jacuzzi brand hot tub? It has TWO built in filters and we also use the mineral stick in the skimmer area. Used the test strips for over 25 years but the price of those has jumped from 3 to 5 dollars got 50 strips to over $12-$15.00! Switching to these type test kits but wonder if a cheaper, more simple kit is OK for just the wife and I on a hot tub ONLY? ( I am referring to the 2006 kit maybe being overkill by the way)
I bought this kit and love it. Had a crazy thing happen. I needed clorine I has 0.2 and 0.2 combined. I added 5 bags of shock I tested a few hours later and it was 5.O. It rained and next day I tested and I put in 4 scoops nothing. I tested with acucheck strip and it said 1.8. I tested again with Taylor kit 5 scoops again nothing? Why does the Taylor kit show no clorine where did it go ?
Hi. I enjoyed your video but was hoping you would also include information on what the ideal level for each test should be and what to add if the level was hi or low.
How often should I use the Taylor test kit? Weekly or once a month? I’ve been using it weekly which is great but takes some time as well. Figured I could maybe switch with test strips and use the Taylor test kit once a month
I'm SUPER new at this - what I got from this video was how to put droplets of chemicals in water to get it to turn colors - I need a step-by-step of color reading and what that means (good vs bad) and what to do next!! ANY suggestions would be great!! TIA~!.
I got the Taylor K-2006. I tested my salt water and used the 25 ML mark I added two scoops, it turned The brightest florescent Pin (does this mean I have plenty of total CL)? Then I added the R-0871 and it took me 38 drops just to get it to turn to “Clear” that’s a lot of drops. I hope I did this right...multiply 0.34 x 6 and got 2.04 Is this high? or within normal. I am just learning this....I have watched your video and a few others over and over. Guess Im not to bright when it comes to Chemistry lol, but I’m trying
Yes, that means your chlorine level is blazing. I would suggest just doing the Total Chlorine reading and not the combined chlorine reading at this time. You might want to turn down your salt % a bit. 😃
When you test for combined chlorine, do you use the same sample from the free chlorine test or use a new sample? With the edit in the video I can't tell if it is the resulting clear water from the FC test or a new pool water sample.
Every time I do these tests, I don't get the color goal for the Calcium Hardness and Total Alkalinity. Green to Red, but is it really when all of the green goes away? For the Red to blue, is it just when the red is no longer the dominate color? It just looks purple to me.
Got very light pink reading on chlorine test after 4 scoops of 0870, only took 1 drop to bring it to clear. Had a previous chlorine block. Pool store said block was over with a reading of 0.09 ppm for FC,0.42 for TT, and 0.33 for CC. What does that mean? Since then i have purchased the K-2006 kit . Do you think i have very low chlorine or very high?
Hello all, I have a 40k pool with a hot tub. I just tested my pool water with this kit and the levels came out good twice but I took some water to Leslie's Pool Co and they said my free chlorine is low 1.48 and combined chlorine was too high 2.81. Of course they recommended a bunch of product that will fix the problem. They said I need to shock the pool again. I'm really confused now. My water looks great but apparently it's not. Any advice is appreciated.
Hello, on the chlorine test I put one scoop of the powder and it turned pink, now yours took six drops and it changed mine I was about to 12 and no changes what does this means? On the CYA I did the test and I filled up the tube all the way up and I still the dark dot at the bottom, I had gone to the Leslie's about a week and they told me I was at 60 but with this shows nothing and the chlorine they told me it was at 4. Thank you.
I am very confused on which Taylor Kit I need. I have an old one. I also take my water to be tested free but would like to have a kit for back up. The only thing I find difficult is that I find it hard to tell the differences in the shades of color (Not much difference) What would you recommend for me? It’s 2017 Does Taylor have a newer Kit Out? I have a smaller pool 12, 000 gallon Salt Water Pool. Thank you!
I just tried the chlorine test following the instructions (first test on the video) and when adding the R-0871 the tube never turns clear. I swirled it, etc..... I wonder am I doing this wrong or if there is too much chlorine in the pool. I even went to about 30 drops. Any ideas?
It's possible you have really high chlorine levels especially if it is a salt water pool. Try another sample with 50% bottled water and 50% pool water. The diluted sample should change to clear.
Swimming Pool Tips, Reviews & How To -MrDgvb1 Hi, I don't have a salt water pool, it is a fresh water pool. I'll give the suggestion a try and see how it works. Will post an update, thanks again!
Swimming Pool Tips, Reviews & How To -MrDgvb1 Hey I just tried the half/half method with tap water/pool water and the recommendation worked. I put in a total of 23 drops of the R-0871 and it finally turned clear. Man, I must have to get the chlorine level down. Any recommendations?
I tested my Cyanuric acid and my solution never got cloudy and the black dot on the Taylor k- 2006 never got to the point to where it disappeared. My solution stayed clear. Can you tell me what that means?
The surface is very porous, the best thing I have found is called spray nine. It's super powerful shit and will clean almost anything, you can even dilute it with water if you need to. Spray it on, scrub with a bristle brush and then spray off well with a hose. A pressure washer also works wonders but if too strong can damage an older diving board or steps
The problem with a lot of these videos is they are only showing on side of the process. The a not really showing the side that is important, how do you take the test result and determine how much chemical is needed, which I think is the part that most people need help with.
great reference thanks. Once you do the CYA test it would be helpful to put the reading in context. My pool store said I needed to add 8 LBS of stabilizer into my new salt pool - that seems like a lot!
You will need to take a water sample into your local pool store to get a 2nd opinion on the Alkalinity. Your test shows it is pretty low. But it could be an error.
Thanks for your videos. I now have a clean sparkling pool. Mostly using household bleach. I have a question though. Where do you buy your refills for Taylor 2006. I have checked a few places on the web. However for those prices I can almost get a new test kit ?
The chlorine level is likely high - the strip was bleached by the high level of chlorine. If you notice a coloring before it goes white, you are too high.
Jon Hazlett The 2006C is for Commercial Pools so it comes with 2.0 oz reagent bottles instead of the regular .75 oz. The reagents expire so if it just your residential pool go with the standard kit.
Depends on the CYA level, but in general, with a level of 40, Cl- should be at 3-6 ppm (7.5-15% of CYA), which for a 10k-gallon pool would be 1/2 gallon (64 oz) of 10% bleach.
This is entirely way too complicated. I'm really disappointed in this ridiculous amount of mixing involved in the process of testing. Had I known it was this involved I would've stuck with the test strips that were working just fine.
Like anything, better procedures have a higher learning curve. Once you run these tests regularly, it feels second nature. You only have to test calcium (hardness) and cyanuric acid (stabilizer) once or twice a season. You only have to test alkalinity every few weeks. Chlorine should be daily; precise ppm maybe weekly, along with pH. If you have a salt-water chlorine generator, and borates, you’ll need to test chlorine and pH every one to weeks!
Tested today at pool store. Temp 75 Sat index 0.1 CYA 57 Total Chlorine 0 Free Chlorine 0 PH 7.8 Total Alk 143 Adjusted total Alk 126 Total Hardness 120 They had me add 4.7 lbs Lo N Slow And 3 lbs of BurnOut (fast dissolving shock) Lithium Hypochlorite
I just had my pool refinished and bought a test kit having read that the test strips are not very accurate. I read the instructions in the kit and felt very intimidated. Watching this video gave me the confidence to sit down and actually go through the tests one by one. Thank you very much for making this video!
This was insanely helpful and really made the kit a lot less intimidating to use. I can run through my testing very quickly now. Thank you!
This video is informative; however, when adding drops of reagents it is very important to hold the bottle vertically so that the drops are all uniform in size to get accurate results.
Amazing information that you provide in your videos you have convinced me to purchase the Taylor 2006 FAS-DPD kit. And i have been using it and so far all of my pool problems are solved so thank you for all of the in depth guides you provide on here it is extremely appreciated.
I know this video is older but helped me out a lot, thanks!
Thank you so much for this video. I received this kit in the mail two days ago, as it was one you recommended in another video. and have been reading like crazy, but it's just really confusing! This really helped me understand how to test the water!
May God bless you. God bless you for investing your time producing and posting this video. Thank you so much.
Thank you VERY MUCH for this excellent video. You brought me out of the dark, and into the light.
Sweet!
My test strips were telling me my chlorine was 3 ppm. Using my new Taylor K2006, and your video, I discovered my chlorine was actually 12 ppm. Similarly, my test strips measurement of pH was off. Bye-bye test strips, hello Taylor K2006. I doubt I'd have had given the Taylor kit a shot, had I not seen your video beforehand. Thanks again.
Thanks for the video walkthru! What do you do with the chemical water when done mixing it up and using? Dump back in the pool?
Your technically not supposed to but many do. I dump it in Planter or dirt.
Thanks for making these super helpful videos!
thanks for all your videos. forgive my ignorance but do you do all these tests on every single pool on your daily route? i would imagine not. you would run out of reagents etc on a daily basis if you did. i would like to start doing my own pool and then maybe get into the business. im so confused as to how often to test water as a business. i understand as a pool owner you do as often as you feel like. appreciate your help. again thanks for all you do and i plan on ordering your e-book.
Yes, we don;t run every test weekly out there. Chlorine and pH every week, Alkalinity once a month, Hardness every 3 months, CYA at the beginning of the season. The reagents should last you the entire season as a homeowner. Hope that helps.
Do you know how to maintain the test tubes clean without getting a nasty buildup? If it does, like mine, how do you combat this?
Best one I've seen!!
Awesome 👌
Thank you, sir!!
Do I really need THIS nice a kit to test ONLY our 400 gallon Jacuzzi brand hot tub? It has TWO built in filters and we also use the mineral stick in the skimmer area. Used the test strips for over 25 years but the price of those has jumped from 3 to 5 dollars got 50 strips to over $12-$15.00! Switching to these type test kits but wonder if a cheaper, more simple kit is OK for just the wife and I on a hot tub ONLY? ( I am referring to the 2006 kit maybe being overkill by the way)
I bought this kit and love it. Had a crazy thing happen. I needed clorine I has 0.2 and 0.2 combined. I added 5 bags of shock I tested a few hours later and it was 5.O. It rained and next day I tested and I put in 4 scoops nothing. I tested with acucheck strip and it said 1.8. I tested again with Taylor kit 5 scoops again nothing? Why does the Taylor kit show no clorine where did it go ?
You may have bleached out the reagents. Try diluting the test sample 50/50 with tap water. Also check CY and see what that level is.
Hi. I enjoyed your video but was hoping you would also include information on what the ideal level for each test should be and what to add if the level was hi or low.
You can use this online calculator for that www.poolcalculator.com/ -thanks!
This is such a great video. Thank you!
How often should I use the Taylor test kit? Weekly or once a month? I’ve been using it weekly which is great but takes some time as well. Figured I could maybe switch with test strips and use the Taylor test kit once a month
Yes, that will work fine.
Would you recommend the k-1005 or the k-2005? I am a homeowner and my pool is salt water. Thanks in advance.
k-2005 for sure.
I'm SUPER new at this - what I got from this video was how to put droplets of chemicals in water to get it to turn colors - I need a step-by-step of color reading and what that means (good vs bad) and what to do next!! ANY suggestions would be great!! TIA~!.
I got the Taylor K-2006. I tested my salt water and used the 25 ML mark I added two scoops, it turned The brightest florescent Pin (does this mean I have plenty of total CL)? Then I added the R-0871 and it took me 38 drops just to get it to turn to “Clear” that’s a lot of drops. I hope I did this right...multiply 0.34 x 6 and got 2.04 Is this high? or within normal. I am just learning this....I have watched your video and a few others over and over. Guess Im not to bright when it comes to Chemistry lol, but I’m trying
Yes, that means your chlorine level is blazing. I would suggest just doing the Total Chlorine reading and not the combined chlorine reading at this time. You might want to turn down your salt % a bit. 😃
Awesome video. Feeling ready to test now!
When you test for combined chlorine, do you use the same sample from the free chlorine test or use a new sample? With the edit in the video I can't tell if it is the resulting clear water from the FC test or a new pool water sample.
Same water sample
Ordered this kit. Thanks for the videos.
Every time I do these tests, I don't get the color goal for the Calcium Hardness and Total Alkalinity. Green to Red, but is it really when all of the green goes away? For the Red to blue, is it just when the red is no longer the dominate color? It just looks purple to me.
Maybe invest in a photometer tester to take the guess work out of it all.
Test for Alkalinity was 120, however the CYA was 50, therefore the adjusted Alkalinity should be 104 not 80, as mentioned when using the watergram.
What is the difference between the Taylor 2006 and 2005 kits? I bought the 2005 kit. I know 2006 uses powder and 2005 uses the liquid.
That is the main difference. The chlorine test. Everything else is the same.
Got very light pink reading on chlorine test after 4 scoops of 0870, only took 1 drop to bring it to clear. Had a previous chlorine block. Pool store said block was over with a reading of 0.09 ppm for FC,0.42 for TT, and 0.33 for CC. What does that mean? Since then i have purchased the K-2006 kit . Do you think i have very low chlorine or very high?
Shocking with lots of Cl- will bring it out of lock
how long are these test kits good for? A season or two? Do the chemicals degrade resulting in inaccurate test results?
TIA
The reagents are good for about 2 seasons.
I know some pool guys that just use the r2 reagent to test chlorine, is that a thing or are they just doing it wrong
They probably are not testing for combined chlorine. Which can be fine in most cases.
David, is this way of tasting water time effective when running a pool route?
Yes. Reagent testing is pretty fast. Test strips of course are easy and faster.
What are your thoughts on the Taylor Speedstir? Hoping you can do a video on it.
Funny, been testing one for 2 weeks now and love it. Just finished filming it so a video should be up by Tues if I have time to edit ;).
+Swimming Pool Tips, Reviews & How To -MrDgvb1 cool!
Here you go: ruclips.net/video/IRofeofrlCs/видео.html
I like it - I think it needs a carrying case with room for reagents.
thanks! I just purchased one on amazon.com.
Hello all, I have a 40k pool with a hot tub. I just tested my pool water with this kit and the levels came out good twice but I took some water to Leslie's Pool Co and they said my free chlorine is low 1.48 and combined chlorine was too high 2.81. Of course they recommended a bunch of product that will fix the problem. They said I need to shock the pool again. I'm really confused now. My water looks great but apparently it's not. Any advice is appreciated.
I would test it again myself and if the levels look good wouldn't worry about it.
Will this work on a hot tub and swim spa. I only ask because of the high temperatures
Yes.
Hello, on the chlorine test I put one scoop of the powder and it turned pink, now yours took six drops and it changed mine I was about to 12 and no changes what does this means? On the CYA I did the test and I filled up the tube all the way up and I still the dark dot at the bottom, I had gone to the Leslie's about a week and they told me I was at 60 but with this shows nothing and the chlorine they told me it was at 4. Thank you.
I scrolled down more on this post and found the answer, if I add 50 water and 50 pool what does this means? I have a lot of chlorine??
I am very confused on which Taylor Kit I need. I have an old one. I also take my water to be tested free but would like to have a kit for back up. The only thing I find difficult is that I find it hard to tell the differences in the shades of color (Not much difference) What would you recommend for me? It’s 2017 Does Taylor have a newer Kit Out? I have a smaller pool 12, 000 gallon Salt Water Pool. Thank you!
Look into getting a ColorQ Pro 7. It gives you a digital readout of the test results.
Thank you!
This kit looks expensive to own since you have to use like half a bottle of reagent to do certain tests
It actually breaks down to about .03 cents per test. The refills are pretty affordable.
Do you discard the tested water back into the pool?
They say you are not supposed to - but everyone does. It doesn't do any harm to the pool water.
I just tried the chlorine test following the instructions (first test on the video) and when adding the R-0871 the tube never turns clear. I swirled it, etc..... I wonder am I doing this wrong or if there is too much chlorine in the pool. I even went to about 30 drops. Any ideas?
It's possible you have really high chlorine levels especially if it is a salt water pool. Try another sample with 50% bottled water and 50% pool water. The diluted sample should change to clear.
Swimming Pool Tips, Reviews & How To -MrDgvb1 Hi, I don't have a salt water pool, it is a fresh water pool. I'll give the suggestion a try and see how it works. Will post an update, thanks again!
Swimming Pool Tips, Reviews & How To -MrDgvb1 Hey I just tried the half/half method with tap water/pool water and the recommendation worked. I put in a total of 23 drops of the R-0871 and it finally turned clear. Man, I must have to get the chlorine level down. Any recommendations?
I tested my Cyanuric acid and my solution never got cloudy and the black dot on the Taylor k- 2006 never got to the point to where it disappeared. My solution stayed clear. Can you tell me what that means?
It means your CYA level is below 30 ppm. Which means you will need to add some to your pool.
Thank you for replying. Is there a certain brand that you would recommend?
I like the liquid conditioner. Easy and safe. A bit more expensive.
Love your videos. How can you clean a white diving board?
Not sure on that one.
The surface is very porous, the best thing I have found is called spray nine. It's super powerful shit and will clean almost anything, you can even dilute it with water if you need to. Spray it on, scrub with a bristle brush and then spray off well with a hose. A pressure washer also works wonders but if too strong can damage an older diving board or steps
Thanks I will give that a try
Great video, thanks!
Do you recommend an algaecide for weekly maintenance?
Would say no. PoolRx or a Phosphate and Enzyme blend work best. Borates are my top choice though.
I don't get how adding drops in a test kit will fix your pool
The problem with a lot of these videos is they are only showing on side of the process. The a not really showing the side that is important, how do you take the test result and determine how much chemical is needed, which I think is the part that most people need help with.
great reference thanks. Once you do the CYA test it would be helpful to put the reading in context. My pool store said I needed to add 8 LBS of stabilizer into my new salt pool - that seems like a lot!
Seems like a lot but it also depends on your pool size.
Hey man where can i get this test kit? I looked it up on amazon but they dont ship to Puerto Rico
Not sure. Maybe on eBay for shipping to Puerto Rico?
I did the alkalinity test and it turned pink right away after R008 chemical was added. How do I calculate that?
You will need to take a water sample into your local pool store to get a 2nd opinion on the Alkalinity. Your test shows it is pretty low. But it could be an error.
Thanks for your videos. I now have a clean sparkling pool. Mostly using household bleach.
I have a question though. Where do you buy your refills for Taylor 2006. I have checked a few places on the web. However for those prices I can almost get a new test kit ?
+Ahmet Erdemir The refill price is high, I get wholesale pricing so it is a little better but not much. Like printer ink it is a necessary evil...
Well you don't have to buy a new test kit you will have to buy more drops or you can get a refill bottle from Leslie's
Oh my god I just tested with two different strip kits and the chlorine level is 0.0 how could it go from 5.0 to 0.0 in one day ?
The chlorine level is likely high - the strip was bleached by the high level of chlorine. If you notice a coloring before it goes white, you are too high.
Tested pool store was 0. Adding 3 bags last night. 6 hours later was 2.2 this morning it appears to be holding. Tested this morning and now at 2.0.
Not sure what was eating the Chlorine the first time I shocked the pool but 2 days and it's holding now.
Should I lower my ph if it's at 8.0?
A bit on the high side. 7.4-7.8 is more ideal as it makes the chlorine more effective.
What's the difference between the 2006 and the 2006C kit?
Jon Hazlett The 2006C is for Commercial Pools so it comes with 2.0 oz reagent bottles instead of the regular .75 oz. The reagents expire so if it just your residential pool go with the standard kit.
Cool. Thanks for the help!
What kit would you recommend to a residential pool owner for the most accurate results?
This one is solid.
What should I do go o my pool if my chlorine is at 1?
Depends on the CYA level, but in general, with a level of 40, Cl- should be at 3-6 ppm (7.5-15% of CYA), which for a 10k-gallon pool would be 1/2 gallon (64 oz) of 10% bleach.
what kind of gloves do you use?
Here are the gloves I use. They sell them at Costco and Amazon - Wells Lamont Nitrile Coated Work Gloves
Help.... When I add two scoops...the water never changed color....what does this means?
+Tom Lam Means zero chlorine in the pool. If there is chlorine present the color will change.
Thanks
What if adding the scoops turns it white and not pink?
Sounds like zero chlorine in that case and maybe some combined chlorine.
@@SPL I started using Fresh N Clear for like 2 months because the guy at Leslie’s said I could use that instead of the regular shock.
@@SPLNow there’s algae growing, I think I’m gonna go back to the regular stuff.
Should I shock it?
Yes, add some chlorine - it is too low.
What’s with the gloves ?
Reagents stain or cause irritation.
It's not accurate! My total alkinty was 240ppm and I did checked with leslie pool store and the guy told me it's 140ppm !
Could be a bad ALkalinity reagent. It happens.
Or Leslie’s isn’t the most accurate.
Skip to 2:51
Kind of a pain it looks like. But GREAT video.
It's a lot of steps for sure. 👍
I test my pool at home too
This is entirely way too complicated. I'm really disappointed in this ridiculous amount of mixing involved in the process of testing. Had I known it was this involved I would've stuck with the test strips that were working just fine.
Test strips are easy and not a bad option at all.
Totally agree, Way too involved for me.
Like anything, better procedures have a higher learning curve. Once you run these tests regularly, it feels second nature. You only have to test calcium (hardness) and cyanuric acid (stabilizer) once or twice a season. You only have to test alkalinity every few weeks. Chlorine should be daily; precise ppm maybe weekly, along with pH. If you have a salt-water chlorine generator, and borates, you’ll need to test chlorine and pH every one to weeks!
Pool is 38,000 gallons
What is your Conditioner level (CYA)? That is a monster of a pool.
Tested today at pool store.
Temp 75
Sat index 0.1
CYA 57
Total Chlorine 0
Free Chlorine 0
PH 7.8
Total Alk 143
Adjusted total Alk 126
Total Hardness 120
They had me add 4.7 lbs Lo N Slow
And 3 lbs of BurnOut (fast dissolving shock) Lithium Hypochlorite
Just tested Chlorine is now 2.2 I hope it holds now
The pH now looks like 7.2 (it rained)
Low pH also causes chlorine to burn off faster.
Hello again, im in charged of a pool that has a heater now. What Temp should i maintain the pool water at? I checked it and its set to 80 f.
80 is a good temperature.