SeaKlear AP71 WinterPill Winterizer Pill, Translucent Light Yellow, Pack of 1

Reviews seem to be one or the other of two extremes. “My pool was green when I took the cover off.” or “My pool was crystal clear when I took the cover off.” I’m with the “It works.” crowd.I closed my above ground pool in September even though it was still warm enough to swim because I was going out of town for six weeks and I didn’t want to have to deal with it in the cold at the end of October. I followed the instructions, tossed the pill into my pool, 15X4, and put the cover on. I checked it now and then and the water continued to be clear month after month.March 12, about six months after closing the pool, we had a heck of a storm come through. Plenty of rain, but it was the wind that made the news. They said we hadn’t had winds like this for a decade. My cover came off and blew into the pool. This is one of those covers that looks more like a big round tarp with a steel cable that tightens around the side of the pool. (Thank goodness it went in the pool or it would likely have ended up in the next county.) As expected, a LOT of dirt and debris ended up in my pool.March 14 the winds had subsided and I decided I needed to get to work on the pool before all that dirt and debris becomes a permanent part of it. I took the cover out of the water and stared in dismay at all the debris in the pool. That was when I noticed it. If not for the dirt I have no doubt that the water would have been 100% clear. So that’s early September to mid March. Six months. That’s what is claimed by the product and it seems to be what I got. Except for about a three square foot section on one wall of the pool. There I saw a patch of green growth. To be fair, this is the side of the pool that gets the most sun and it has been almost exactly six months since I put the Pool Pill in the water.So, the Pool Pill advertises that it last six months. In my case, it appears that is the far limit. It’s March and I still have a lot of work cleaning out all that dirt, but the Pill does seem to have done it’s job. If I hadn’t had to close my pool early then I probably could have gone until April, but I suspect I still would have seen the beginnings of algae growth.This is the first time I’ve tried the pill and I think it did it’s job well. I didn’t quite get the full six months out of it unscathed, but I think it did a splendid job. No chemicals, except for the pill, and no running the pool filter all this time. In contrast, in the summer I run my filter 24/7 and am always vacuuming and adding chemicals yet I can still get algae blooms and I resort to shocking the water. If I wasn’t doing all this stuff all summer, what would my pool be like? Yet, the Pool Pill kept my water clear for six months all by itself with no help and no intervention from me.Next year I’ll buy two pills so I don’t have to worry as the pool closure nears six months. I’ll toss one in when I close it and toss another in four months later. I intend to close the pool in October this year, but prefer not to open it until end of April or early May. Pushing the limits of a single Pill so I’ll go with the two pill thing.If not for the wind storm I wouldn’t have all this work cleaning out my pool. Normally, to start up my pool, I just vacuum any dirt that made it’s way into the water, drop in a couple of chlorine tabs, a bag of shock and about thirty ounces of Dawn dish soap to kill any tiny wildlife that might take up residence in my pool. (The soap sticks to them and suffocates them.) Another benefit of Dawn is that it breaks the surface tension of the water so flying things like wasps can’t land on the waters surface so they don’t hang around the pool. No coming up from under water to feel a wasp sinking its stinger into your neck. I use Dawn all summer.All I know is that after using the Pool Pill for six months and doing nothing else I’m not having to scrub a pool full of algae. Having that one small patch of green algae simply tells me that six months is the high limit as far as the Pill is concerned. As far as I’m concerned, the Pool Pill worked.Just a thought: I have a couple of small waterfalls in my backyard. They can tend to grow algae pretty fast and clog things up like cholesterol in a coronary artery. I have no fish so I just add a piece of chlorine tablet to them to kill the algae. I only do it a few times in the winter but pretty much weekly in the summer. I wonder what would happen if I tossed Pool Pills into the wells. Yeah, we’re going to find out.

Came as described

as advertised.

I have ordered this item, aquapill WinterPill AP71, 14.2oz, 4”, for treating up to a 30,000 gallon pool five (5) times through Amazon over the years.On two occasions, the Amazon supplier or warehouse sent the smaller WinterPill AP75 that is 4oz, 2.75”, and treats up to 15,000. So buyer be aware and alert to item received; many warehouse workers don’t know the difference and for the latest item I received, the package had an incorrect warehouse label of AP71 on a AP75, even though the UPC showed the AP75 SKU number.Other than that, I do believe the WinterPill does help during the covered season. You just have to make sure pool it is clean and balanced well before covering. Good effort on opening and closing makes the entire pool season easy.

We bought this 4 years ago. When we closed our pool, you just puncture the ball and drop it in your pool, it doesn't get easier. I didn't have high hopes in the spring, and expected the green water we get each year when removing the winter cover. We were shocked to have crystal clear water!! I tell all my friends to buy it! We have added in the Spring Pill since we are so happy with this one.

overpriced and not that effective

I didn't think this product would make a link of difference going through the whole winter with no pump and no added chemicals without get all nasty and algae everywhere. However this product has changed ALL that! Now you must start

I purchased this last year prior to closing my pool thinking that perhaps this could simplify the process and save a few dollars, and the reviews were pretty good for this thing so I gave it a try and after opening to a disaster a few weeks ago I can safely say that I will never use this again and could not more strongly steer other potential buyers away from this Winter Pill trash.Basically you take it out of the package, shake the ball, then use the included pin to pierce the ball of chemicals and drop it into the pool so it slowly releases the chemicals and keeps the pool in decent shape until opening season rolls around. Yeah right. I pierced it very carefully to ensure it was done properly and guess what? When I opened the stupid ball was still mostly full and my pool was damn near black and full of algae. Worst opening ever, all because of this thing. Spend the extra thirty or so dollars and buy the standard closing kits. This is not worth the savings or the hassle of bringing your pool back. Think partial or full drain and refill or at the least tons of backwashing and hundreds of dollars of chemicals to rebalance your levels.One of the worst purchases I have ever made. At least I still have a half full Winter Pill to remind me not to cheap out at future closings. This thing is terrible and not worth the risk.Maybe it does work for most people, but it didn't for me and that is a lot of stuff to go through if your ball decides to simply float around while the algae develops.