The following questions have been asked by pool owners through the years. Our answers are written below.
Your swimming pool has algae and algae makes water turn into a cloudy green. Treat it as early as possible by shocking your pool and giving it a good dose of algaecide. Test the water too in case it needs an alkalinity increaser.
A yellow or sometimes greenish dust can appear on your pool’s floor and walls. This is caused by an algae infestation – the mustard algae kind. You would need to shock your pool and give it a dose of algaecide that kills mustard algae.
Black spots on your pool’s walls or floor mean your pool is suffering from a black algae infestation. You will need a good algaecide specifically produced to kill black algae to get rid of these spots. It must be noted that they are difficult to kill but with a little patience, you can definitely remove them from your pool on your own. You can contact a professional team of pool cleaners to get rid of the infestation, too if they prove to be more difficult to remove. The pool must be brushed after applying algaecide. Experts note that brushing will soften the black algae’s outer coating.
The short answer is yes. These single-celled organisms come in different shades, the most known of which are black, yellow, green, and pink. Whichever color you are dealing with, one question lingers: are they dangerous?
Algae slime can coat the skin of anyone who enters a pool full of green algae. This slime can also coat all parts of the pool making them very slippery. While algae, in general, is not really harmful, it must be noted that their presence also indicates that there are bacteria in the pool. It also means that viruses and parasites must be present too. If you get in an algae infested pool, you can get diarrhea, ear infections, and even fever.
Does your pool contain cloudy or smoky water? There are many reasons why this is so. Poor filtration or pool water circulation may be the culprit. The solution is to clean everything that has something to do with the pool filter including the pump strainer basket and skimmer baskets. You can also do some backwashing to make your pool water crystal clear again. For more information on backwashing, take a look at our article “What is Backwashing and How Does it Help Your Pool?”
Improper water balance can also be the culprit. To solve this problem, you would need to test for pH, calcium hardness, and total alkalinity and then adjust accordingly. If calcium hardness is high, adjust the chemical balance of your pool after draining half of the pool’s water. For high total alkalinity, get a pH reducer and add some into your pool. It is also possible that your pool has excess organic waste that’s why it looks hazy. If you think it’s due to too much organic waste, you can shock your pool water.
If you’re seeing pink slime in your pool, you are dealing with a pink bacteria. To treat it, you would need to double shock your swimming pool. The right dosage is 2 lbs of shock for every 10,000 gallons of water. Wait for two days and then give your pool an algaecide treatment.
Get your test kit to find out if the pH is at the proper level and adjust as necessary. If the water is sudsy or foamy, it means you have used too much algaecide. You can avoid this by switching to an algaecide that is not as foamy. It is also advisable to change the water in your pool altogether.
If you don’t have a saltwater pool but the water in your pool is salty, the total dissolved solids might be high. Test the water first to find out if this is the case then empty half of the pool and replace it with clean, fresh water.