Boy, have I been getting texts, emails and lots of questions asking “WHAT TO DO WHEN YOUR POOL TURNS GREEN”. I’m going to try to make this short.
Throughout my website I have many articles explaining in detail how to prevent a pool from turning green. I will highlight the most important things to focus on. You can’t leave anything out of the equation…you cannot skip a step. It’s understandable if your pump suddenly goes out; most people are at work while their pool is running and don’t notice until the pool turns green. It’s best to run your system at a time when you will be home everyday, so you’ll know when a problem occurs.
When you see your pool is beginning to turn green- Pour in 2-4 gallons of liquid chlorine. It is fast acting and will determine if the water can be saved. Be sure your ph is around 7.2 (7.6 if you have a painted or vinyl surface). . Simultaneously…clean your filter, then leave it running until the pool clears up. If the water doesn’t clear up in a day, two max, you may have to drain your pool.
Brush the walls and floor. Algae is killed easier when it is suspended. After it dies, it will settle to the bottom of the pool. Vacuum it up, then clean your filter again. Do not attempt to vacuum algae when it is alive…it will clog your filter up immediately.
If you can’t brush the algae off the wall right away, give the chlorine and acid time to work. Many times, in hard water areas and when ph is not monitored, algae will begin to grow on the walls, then the calcium creates a film over it. THAT’S why you need to keep an eye on your ph balance. If this is your situation, a product that removes metals from your water will help soften the calcium. I prefer [easyazon_link asin=”B0017SSGJG” locale=”US” new_window=”yes” nofollow=”yes” tag=”lucpoo-20″ add_to_cart=”default” cloaking=”yes” localization=”yes” popups=”yes”]Bio-Dex Protect All Supreme[/easyazon_link], followed by another product of theirs…[easyazon_link asin=”B0017SR6B0″ locale=”US” new_window=”yes” nofollow=”yes” tag=”lucpoo-20″ add_to_cart=”default” cloaking=”yes” localization=”yes” popups=”yes”]Aquadex STAIN OFF[/easyazon_link]. Works surprisingly well.
Again, throughout this site I have tried to break down certain aspects of maintaining your pool. Because there are so many different situations, I believe it’s best to focus on how to prevent a pool from turning green. However, since your pool is green, otherwise you wouldn’t be reading this, may I suggest you read the section on Algae; there are a few more tips that may help out.
The nature of water is to provide nutrition, thus its natural state is to grow algae. We are attempting to prevent it from being what it was created to do. Maintaining a clean and healthy pool is easy only if you approach water with respect, and understand the science behind it. Otherwise, you will constantly be fighting with water…and water simply wants to find its balance.
I hope this helps. Again, there is a lot of information that can be pulled from a variety of articles. But in the meantime, get liquid chlorine in that pool asap.
All the best,
Lucy
