And by small we're talking anything from 0. Swimart pool technicians have tested all types of 'cloudy' water, which starts off slightly dull and, when left untreated, can turn completely opaque. Here's how you can tell the difference:. Dull — you hardly notice this stage but this is when pool water starts to lose its lustre. Hazy — while you can still see the bottom of the pool, it's hard to make out the details.
Cloudy — the water looks milky and, while you might be able to see the bottom of the shallow end of your pool, you're unlikely to see the bottom of the deep end. Trees, wildlife, and algae spores cloud the water with pollen, sweat, algae blooms, hair, feathers, and other organic matter, making it difficult for the filter to quickly clean the water.
However, fixing these environmental issues is typically as easy as adding a pool clarifier to the water. This chemical acts as a coagulant, bonding together the loose dirt, pollen, and other small debris, which increases the size of the loose particles and makes it easier for the filtration system to pick up the particles.
After applying the pool clarifying coagulant, it can take up to 24 hours for the pool water to clear up. Unfortunately, environmental factors, like nearby construction or wildlife, may be outside of your ability to control.
If the pool is frequently contaminated, add a pool clarifier to your regular pool maintenance schedule to help maintain the clarity of the water. The range of pump and filtration problems starts with simple human error and extends to worn-out or broken parts. During the swimming season, the pump and filtration system need to run for at least 8 hours every day to properly clean and filter the pool water.
The jets also need to point downward in order to move the water at the bottom of the pool through the system. Regularly empty the skimmer basket and backwash the pump and filtration system to help prevent clogs. Clear the clog or hire a pool repair professional to clear the clog before restarting the filtration system to avoid further repairs. If any parts are severely worn or broken, they will need to be replaced. The filter media also can become dirty and clogged over time.
It needs to be removed and chemically cleaned with a filter cleaner. However, some people may prefer to replace the filter media. First, use a pool test kit to test the chemical composition of the pool water. Invest in an accurate pool test kit that tests for chlorine levels, bromine levels, pH levels, total alkalinity, calcium hardness, and cyanuric acid.
Low levels of chlorine or bromine may not be able to kill algae spores, resulting in algae blooms and cloudy pool water. Chlorine levels should range between 1 to 3 parts per million ppm and bromine has a slightly wider range between 2 to 6 ppm. Kept pump running all night and was told all I would have to do the next day was clean the filter and it would not be cloudy.
I went out at am and pool is still cloudy. I pulled the filter cartridge from pump GPH and it was like new, nothing on it. Why is it still cloudy? Yes Aquamahn, the post worth reading to keep away cloudy water and have a trouble-free pool in the summer. Hi Ginger, please take accurate readings for other chemicals in the pool especially the alkalinity, calcium hardness, and any stabiliser you are using and make sure they are all balanced before adding chlorine.
Chlorine will not balance until all chemicals are balanced. I have an in ground concrete pool that has a painted surface. The ph is 7. I have been battling with this for a month now. Hi Chrissy, you are not doing anything wrong, just keep vacuuming the pool till all the sand are removed. Also make sure your chemicals are all balanced all the time to avoid pool problems like cloudy water and algae.
My pool water is cloudy and i have been doin everything right. I found out that one of my kids through sand in my pool. So I been vacuuming making sure the filter is clean I have good levels.
I just dont know what else to do can someone help me figure out what i need or if im doin something wrong. Hallo Teresa, to reduce the pH, you need to add pH reducer into the pool. Unfortunately, for Calcium Hardness to be reduced, the pool has to be partially drained and replace with fresh water. Hallo Smith, confirm that all chemicals in your pool are well balanced especially Chlorine, pH, TA, and Calcium hardness.
Again, runoff water which sometimes carries phosphates and nitrates into the pool might be the cause of the persistent cloudy water, so try testing for these substances.
However, if you just opened the pool recently, don't mind as the water will eventually clear up as you continue maintaining the chemicals in the water. On another though, make sure that there are not debris in the pool since pool floc works only when there is dirt in the water. Finally, your filter might be clogged, try backwashing your filter so that you can be sure it's not the filter. Hi Sam, if chlorine level is OK, the cloudiness could be as a result of small debris.
Try pool flocculant and then vacuum the pool. Hello, I have a 30, gallon in-ground pool with a liner. We had it opened a couple of weeks ago. We purchased new filter cartridges 3 days ago and have been cleaning them once a day. The water levels seem balanced. The water is still cloudy - blueish color. When the company came to open the pool, they added 25 alkalinity as well as 25 calcium. I have used clarifier as well. We have a variable speed pump - we have been running it at RPM for 24 hours per day for the past 3 days.
What can i do to clear it up? This is kinda a hard job being that it's a Well and you cannot drain the water and replace with a fresh one. The only option for you is to saturate the Well water by adding a strong acid like Muriatic acid as directed; while this will not directly reduce the Calcium levels, it will balance the water and take care of the hardness caused by the Calcium. Good luck! Hi Rupra, the cloudiness must be as a result of insufficient chlorine in the pool. Test for Chlorine and ensure that it is 3ppm.
Also measure for all other pool chemicals like pH, Alkalinity, Calcium Hardness and see that they are all balanced. If chlorine and all other chemicals are balanced but the pool is still cloudy, try using pool clirifier and then vacuum the pool as the white substance at the bottom might be particles or dirt accumulated when people are swimming. Hallo Tammy, the first step you should take is make sure that your pH remains stable between 7.
Try using a stronger pH plus so that you can get the pH higher faster. After the pH is stable, take the reading for chlorine and make sure that total chlorine is reading 3 ppm and not less. Chlorine level cannot stabilize unless your pH is stable so work on it first. The cloudiness is always due to low chlorine levels. I am new to pools.
I have a 30k gallon built in pool that has been cloudy for several days. I took a sample to the local pool store and the only level off was a low PH below 6.
I purchased GLB up because the PH was low and I'm not sure how long it takes to work or how to know if it's even working. I don't know what my next step should be because it doesn't look like any changes habe occurred.
Thank you for your response!! It was very prompt I think! I have not heard of this so I will definitely give it a try! Hi Katertater, phosphate remover may just reduce phosphate levels in your water but will not clear up the cloudiness.
There must be another course of the cloudiness may be pH or alkalinity levels if not chlorine. If all chemicals are OK but your water is still cloudy, you will have to try pool floc to collect all the particles at the bottom of the pool first and then vacuum the pool, or use pool clarifier which will remove all the particles through the filter.
High level of phosphate means your water has some foreign bodies like dirt, body lotion, hair products etc etc that needs to be removed. Finally, continue adding chlorine shock after using pool floc or clarifier and run your pump high for 24 hours and you will see some change. Sorry for the late response though. I have an above ground 24 ft round gallon pool. Up until about 2 weeks ago the water has been crystal clear.
We maintain out pool very well. My husband tests it everyday and adds chemicals when needed. We have backwashed the pool, vacuumed the bottom, shocked it and it is still very cloudy.
Took a water sample to out local pool place and they tested the water and all levels tested perfect. Chlorine was a little high but all the other areas was great.
They did a phosphate test and we have a high level of phosphate. Purchased phosphate remover yesterday, poured the whole bottle in the pool as told and used two bags of shock as told and today the water is still cloudy. Even more cloudy then yesterday. Can't see the bottom of the pool. I don't know what else to do and really want the pool nice and clean for Labor Day weekend.
Hi 4boymomrealness, a light green color means your pool is developing algae. An algaecide should make some changes, however if you notice no change, you will have to use a little of liquid chlorine to shock that pool until it clears up and do it fast before algae gets too much: Add 1 pound of chlorine to your gallon pool and watch it for a few hours as it clears up.
The pool is not safe for swimming until the green color and cloudiness clear up. Hello, all of my chemical readings in the pool are at almost perfect levels and my pool is still super cloudy. I went to my local pool place, and they said try algae cleaner, did that, scrubbed and vaccumed bottom and sides.. Still really milky light green color.
What can I do to clear it?? Is it safe for my kids?? It's an above ground gallon pool, had it for years, this has never happened for this long before, always was able to clear it, but this time ots been about 2 weeks. Thank you so much for any help or advice you could give.. Yes Bonebrake, add more chlorine and make sure it is stable at 3 ppm all the time. If your pool is located where there is a lot of sunlight, you can add a sterbilizer Cyanuric acid in your water to help keep chlorine stable.
Just see that you balance all the pool chemicals in your water and everything will be OK. Everything finally tested where they are suppose to except the free chlorine that said it was low on the test strip. The cloud sits on the bottom usually on the opposite side of the filter. I usually vacuum because I have tried to use the stuff that makes the particles go to the bottom of the pool and it's usually clear water after that until I vacuum and all the cloudy stuff goes back into the water.
The particles go right through that cloth bag that they give you with the cheap vacuum that you use with the hose. If the chlorine and everything is testing fine would I still shock the pool to get rid of this cloud?
This cloud has got smaller now that everything is testing better but it's still there. Does it take awhile after the chemicals are balanced before this cloud will go all the way away? Hi Bonebrake, how are your chemicals reading? I suspect your chemicals especially chlorine not in the correct balance.
Ensure that Total Chlorine is always 3 ppm and combined chlorine not more than o. Also, ensure that your pH is within the range 7. If all the chemicals are balanced but your water is still cloudy, try using pool clarifier to clear the cloudiness.
Vacuuming may not help unless you are certain your pool water has some particles. I have a 14 ft round above ground pool. I have had nothing but issues with the pool this year. I finally got all the chemicals where it is suppose to be but it keeps getting this cloud that settles in the bottom of the pool.
When I go to vacuum up the stuff at the bottom of the pool it just goes through the filter bag and makes the pool cloudy all over. So much that you can't see the bottom of the pool. When the chemicals where not as controlled I had a slimy stuff that would go into the filter. The filter I have jus sits on the side of the pool and uses a size A paper filter.
The vacuum I use is just one that uses the hose and has a bag that gets debris off the bottom but this cloud just goes through it.
I have used it one of chemicals this year to get control over this and still has issues. I thought is was algae starting but it wouldn't go all the way away and it's not green. The cloud isn't green it's whitish.
Hi sunny, from the look of things, the problem is caused by your chemical readings: Your free chlorine is a little lower. You need to raise the level of free chlorine to settle between 2. That means you need to shock your pool using chlorine and make sure you do free chlorine test on a regular basis and adjust the level as appropriate and you will not have a cloudy pool.
Also, Alkalinity TA should be kept between 80 and ppm for pools with liners and between and ppm for pools made of plaster, which means the TA is slightly higher and you need to lower it a little using using muriatic acid.
Muriatic acid also lowers the level of pH and extra care needs to be taken not to add a lot of it. Finally, your Calcium Hardness is too low: If you have a plaster pool, you need to keep calcium hardness between ppm and ppm and do it as soon as possible to avoid dissolving calcium out of plaster, tiles, and concrete.
This could be the main reason why your pool water looks a little cloudy all the time. My pool has a little cloudy, I can see the bottom, but the water not very clear. Every reading is good: FC 1. Then vacumm on Waster or Drain. I have done that, but the water always a little cloudy. Hi Portia, algaecide is not very necessary to use if you are using chlorine shock in your pool unless there are some signs of algae presence in the pool.
Just make sure your chlorine is always 3 ppm by shocking your pool regularly and you wont have any algae growth in your pool. However, if you feel algae cleaner is good for you, you can do it on a weekly basis by adding. For pH up, 1, gallons above ground pool will need about half a cup, while pH down may be as little as less than a quarter of a cup depending on how far your pH has drifted.
I have a above ground small 1, gallon pool how much algae cleaner and ph up or down do I use for such a small pool! Hi Bob, you can use pH Reducer to get the level down to the range of 7. Hi Sheila, ensure that pH is between 7.
If all the readings are ok but water is still cloudy white , that means your pool has some dirt, try using water clarifier to collect and remove any dirt that may be present in your pool and all will be fine. I'M happy for your progress Matt. Yes, once you get chlorine stable at 3 ppm you can swim.
You will need to add more of liquid chlorine shock and maintain it at 3 ppm total chlorine. Hi, I'm nearly there now just getting the chlorine in How often then should I test the water and re-balance etec if neccessary?
Thanks so much again for your help. Also, you can use some Borate to help stabilize the pH and all will be fine. About the foam, I think it has taken too long to clear up, you can try one of the best foam removers to clear the foam. Me again hello!
I'm baffled the foam is clearin as you said but still there. Hadnt added anything yet to raise TA any ideas please this won't be sor ted before winter at this rate lol. Douglas, try using more liquid chlorine shock and a stabilzer Cyanuric acid if that can work for you; 0 free chlorine may be also as a result of excess sunlight which can be controlled using Cyanuric acid.
Also, Zinc helps prevent reaction between free Chlorine and Brass or any other metal, you can give zinc a try if all fail to work for your pool. Vacuuming may also work in case you have debris in your pool, you can use pool floc and then vacuum the pool using a manual pool pump.
Barack, thank you for your reply, it was very much appreciated. That may be the cause of my cloudy water, I can't seem to raise the free chlorine level, it's at 0 despite everything else being OK.
I keep putting burnout in the pool but it dose't raise the free chlorine level. According to the pool company, there are a lot of people in this area Upstate NY who are having the same problem of not being able to rise the free chlorine level. Hi, Douglas, even in a right concentration, Chlorine reacts with any metal including stainless metal objects through corrosion. So the brass object will put free chlorine to more use and may make your pool water look cloudy due to low free chlorine in the pool.
Would a brass object in the pool make the water go cloudy and prevent a rise in the chlorine level? Hi, Terri, Sorry for everything. Which color is your pool water? Is it green, yellow, or black? If your pool water has one of the colors means you have pool algae. To get rid of algae, first, ensure that pH is reading between 7. Secondly, you need to use more chlorine shock up to 12 ppm and leave it to work on the algae until the color clears up.
If the pool is cloudy though, that means you have low free chlorine levels, ensure you do chlorine test and if it is below 3 ppm, add chlorine shock to raise the level up to 3 ppm total chlorine , alternatively, if you have a test kit that can test for chloramine, ensure that chloramine is 0 ppm or not more than 0.
If you are certain your pool is not affected by algae, and it is not cloudy too, that means you have sand in your pool as a result of a faulty sand filter: If that is the case, vacuuming the pool won't help the situation and you have to replace the sand urgently, after replacing the sand, you can use pool flock to collect all the debris present in your pool to the bottom of the pool then vacuum it to remove all the particles and your pool will clear up.
Feel free to communicate any progress or problem for more help. I have an In-ground Pacific oval shaped pool with an offset step in the shallow end. The pool is size 17 by 35 feet. The liner was replaced in and the loop lock cover was installed in It has a sand filter.
I didn't open it last year. I didn't know that was a big no no! My filter has been running 24 hours a day for two weeks. I have put in 25 gallons of shock. The pool guy I hired to help me says that I have 2 inches of slugged on the bottom of the pool.
I guess everything has been getting through the loop lock pool cover that looked fine to me. I know the sand needs changed which I have asked them to do many times now.
I don't want to kill the filter or my electric bill fund. What do I do in this situation? Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Blimey - what a lot to do - yes have been skimming the soap off for a while now even before I wrote to you water underneath looks lovley though! I am just using a cardboard strip you dip in the water and then compare to a chart.
Thanks again will be on it again tomorrow. Hi, did you try using hand skimmer to remove the foam? About the chemicals, you could have used liquid chlorine for faster results since it dissolves faster than chlorine tablet. I am not sure of the test kit you are using but make sure Total Chlorine is 3 ppm free chlorine at least 2. The pH also is still too low, use pH increaser to raise pH levels to 7. Total alkalinity should be kept between 80 and ppm which means your TA is still too low, use baking soda alkalinity increaser to raise the TA level.
Hi, me again! Sorry for another question - I've "inherited" this pool and trying to get it round. Amazingly I had done most of the stuff you kindly sent me on your last post but I then took a reading of the pool:.
Chlorine tablets dissolving slowly as I write, not sure how to get the other two readings up though - could you advise please I think that may help get rid of the soap suds too?!
Thanks again Matt. Hi, Matt, the foam is obviously caused by the expired pool shock you used. The form will eventually clear up just give it time, or you can speed up the process by using hand skimmer to remove excess foam. Once the foam clears and your pool is still green, make sure you shock your pool with a good and high-quality chlorine shock or algaecide.
Also, ensure that the pH and Alkalinity readings are within the recommended levels before shocking the pool. Hi, my pool was green I shocked it but the shock stuff was 6 months out of date with hindsight! I know have a saopy type film on the top of the pool and it just bubbles when it goes through the filter. I have added chlorine but waiting for it to dissolve Karen, are you using a sand filter? If so, the brown silt at the bottom of the pool means your sand filter is faulty letting sand to come out into the pool making it appear cloudy.
Stop vacuuming the pool and ensure that your filter is ok. Hi Orlando, NO, you cannot add chlorine shock, pH increaser, and metal control at the same time. If both pH and free chlorine are reading low, the first thing you should do is to ensure that pH level is somewhere between 7. Secondly, shock your pool so that free chlorine reaches 1. Free chlorine of zero will make pool algae grow in your pool. Thank you. I have been vacuuming because there is a fine brown silt that is collecting on the bottom of the pool.
Hard to vacuum as it is so fine it dispurses like a puff of dust as soon as the pump is turned on. Frustrating mess. Hi Barack, my question is this I've been going through this process to de-cloud pool since last Wednesday. Also free chlorine remains at 0 and I cannot get up, how can I fix this? Hi Karen, total or calcium hardness will not make your pool appear cloudy. Calcium hardness of ppm is needed mainly to protect pool parts such as tiles, plaster, or concrete from corroding.
If your chemicals especially chlorine reading is ok, you can try vacuuming the pool if that will help. Also, check to ensure that your pool filter is working properly and filter medium ie sand not worn out if any. Pool water is cloudy and when using a test strip it shows all levels good except very low total hardness.
Everything I read states this will not cause a cloudy pool but high hardness levels will?
0コメント