Did you know something is living in your pool?
It’s called algae. Algae is a living plant organism that can clog your filters, affect water circulation, and render your pool chemicals less effective. It’s easy to ignore a little pool cloudiness or dark debris by your stairs, especially when you use your pool often.
But on sunny days, algae on the bottom of the pool photosynthesize and rapidly multiply, growing into a pool-sized problem. Um, gross?
Follow the steps below to send that algae packing and prevent it from retaking residency in the future with pool algae treatment.
Identify the Type of Algae
Three main types of algae live in swimming pools. These types are green, mustard, and black.
In pools, green algae are the most common, but it’s also the easiest to prevent. It floats freely and sometimes presents as cloudy, green-looking pool water.
If the algae cling to the surface of your pool and resemble yellow or brown dust (or even slime), it’s mustard pool algae. This type is harder to treat, can reoccur, and is resistant to chlorine.
Black algae form a protective crust by attaching firmly to your pool’s surfaces.
Once you’ve identified the type of algae living in your pool, you can move on to treat and prevent it from coming back.
Test Your Pool Water
When fighting algae, always start by testing your pool water to see if your water parameters are unbalanced. If your Free Chlorine level is low, it creates the perfect environment for algae to grow.
Strive to maintain a Free Chlorine level between one and four ppm. If it’s low, apply chlorine and sanitizers to restore levels to normal and stay on top of pool algae control.
Clean, Clean, Clean
Now, it’s time to clean your pool water and surfaces. Skim the surface of the water to remove visible debris. Then, brush the pool walls, and vacuum and empty any skimmer baskets.
If there are areas with visible algae and little or no circulation, concentrate on these areas first.
Get into the habit of cleaning your pool this way regularly, and you won’t have to deal with algae in the future.
Apply a Pool Shock
You can achieve crystal clear water by applying a pool shock.
Shocking your pool will help remove contaminants that cause algae to grow. It also helps to improve your water filtration system. The type of algae you have will determine how aggressive you need to be when shocking. The more resistant the algae, the more shock required.
For algae removal, use calcium hypochlorite shock. Determine the dose for your pool by following the package instructions, then multiply that by two, three, or four (depending on which type of algae you’re fighting:
- Green Algae: Shock x2
- Yellow or Dark Green Algae: Shock x3
- Black Algae: Shock x4
You’ll end up with too much cyanuric acid if you use stabilized chlorine, which can cause worse problems than algae.
Remember to save pool shocking for dusk or night. Sun will eat up chlorine before it has a chance to kill any algae.
Clean Your Filter
Clean your filter following your owner’s manual to remove dead algae, mineral build-up, and organic contaminants.
Give your pool’s entire gallonage the change to run through your new filter by letting it run continuously for 24 hours. Then, test your pool water weekly to prevent algae in the pool.
Bring Out the Best in Your Pool
Now that you know how to keep your pool water bright and sparkling, maybe it’s time to consider a remodel?
You’ve invested a lot of time and money into your pool, so you should feel excited to walk out your back door.
We’re here to help with that. Contact us today to discuss our pool remodeling and renovation services.
