In a perfect world, you’d be able to easily clean up a
murky, algae-filled swimming pool. Unfortunately it’s not
that easy to bring your green pool back to a clean, crystal
clear swimming pool. With time, effort and money though, you
can clean the brackish water.
The best way to avoid a green pool is by diligently keeping
up with swimming pool maintenance. Many pool owners will
find that no matter how diligent they are, they can be faced
with a “green pool” occasionally. If you work with a
swimming pool maintenance professional, chances are you
won’t be faced with this pool dilemma, though.
Cleaning the algae-filled swimming pool will not be easy but
can be done. Here are some steps to take to get your pool
back to being swimmable:
- All debris needs to be removed from the pool. Use a large
leaf net – not a skimmer as you can stir up the water and
make it temporarily worse. Don’t vacuum the swimming pool if
you cannot clearly see the bottom of the pool or if you have
a lot of large debris on the bottom. Doing this could damage
the vacuum or clog the skimmer, filter or underground
plumbing. - You have to adjust the pH and alkalinity levels
using a pH plus, pH minus or alkalinity plus chemicals. The
levels must be within the proper ranges or the water will
never clear. - Be prepared to shock — Super chlorinate — the
pool to kill off algae and bacteria. If your pool is filthy
and green be prepared to use dozens of gallons of liquid
chlorine over a period of days before you see the water
begin to clear. Begin by adding three or four gallons of
water. If no visible results are noted overnight, add three
or four more gallons the next day. Keep up this process
until the water changes to a light green, cloudy white or to
clear. At this point, you cannot overshock the pool. The
more you add the more quickly it will clear. Shock is
available in power or liquid form. The liquid form typically
works faster. - You should plan to run the filter 24 hours a
day and backwash three or four times a day if you want to
see quick results. Remember that green water will quickly
clog your filter so you will have to backwash several times.
Just as you can’t overshock the pool, you can’t
over-backwash the filter either. The more you run the pool,
the more you backwash, the quicker it will clean. If you’re
using a DE filter, you will have to add new DE to the
skimmer that is closest to the filter after each
backwashing. Having a DE filter is more work than a typical
sand filter but if you’ve got a green pool a DE filter will
clean it more quickly than sand.
Follow the steps above and
you should see results in about a week. If you don’t see
results though, it may be because your filter isn’t
functioning correctly. You should plan to contact a pool
professional because if the filter is not working properly,
the pool will not clear up.
After the water is clear, you will likely see debris and
algae floating on the bottom of the swimming pool. If it’s a
small amount, you can vacuum it up. If it is large amounts
of debris, you should contact a pool professional to have
the swimming pool professionally power vacuumed to save wear
and tear on your equipment.
Daily maintenance and chemical balance testing will prevent
your pool from getting green and keep it algae free. If pool
maintenance is not something you’re prepared to perform on a
daily basis, it’s best to contact a pool contractor to
perform it for you.
Robbi Hess is a writer/editor/blogger with more than 20
years experience as a writer on assignment. She is a
professional writer on assignment who has served on the
staff of newspapers, magazines and with book publishers. You
can see more about her at http://www.robbihess.com or
http://www.lipsticking.com
Article Directory: EzineArticles
Daily maintenance and chemical balance testing will prevent
your pool from getting green and keep it algae free. If pool
maintenance is not something you’re prepared to perform on a
daily basis, it’s best to contact a pool contractor to
perform it for you.
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