WaterNet Online

well after three years of the pool, it finally happened, my neice was baby sitting and the little kid didnt make it out of the pool, it was scooped out and vaccumed, I have since shocked the pool, was that a mistake?, total chlorine is 20ppm and free chlorine is 12ppm, PH is 7.2, total hardness 250, total alkalinity 120, cynauric acid 50. What else should I do? how long before anyone can swim safely? the kids are out of school!!

Thanks for the help!

I'm no pro, but at 20 ppm total Cl with 8 ppm combined Cl something is wrong. 

A normal shock should raise total Cl to 10 ppm or so.  In my pool, this is normally enough to free up any combined Cl.  I keep out of the pool until total Cl is under 5 ppm.  By then, there is usually no combined Cl. 

I would suggest stopping any addtional clorination until total Cl is under 5. 

Scooped out is good, and vacuuming  will remove debris from the pool, but not the bugs from the pool water. The chlorine will do that over a period of time and the levels you indicate should do it. I too however would question those readings. Also, most homeowners will not have a kit that will test those levels, so I am wondering how it was tested?