How to Correct Swimming Pool Problems

The cause of a pool problem, such as cloudy water, can be the result of one thing or a combination of factors. Improper backwashing, chemical imbalance, chlorine addition at the wrong time, poor filtration, algae ready to bloom, sand channeling, bather load and outside contaminants all can cause cloudy water. Proper pool care will eliminate most of the field, thereby reducing your detective workload and making it easier to isolate the cause and treat it. Pool problems can all be resolved by following daily, weekly and seasonal routines. Follow these steps.

Things You'll Need

• Six-way test kit
• Iron and copper test kit
• Alkalinity increaser
• pH plus
• pH minus
• Calcium hardness increaser
• Scale and metal out
• Chlorine pucks
• Chlorine shock
• Extension pole
• Leaf net

Instructions

1. Purchase a large test kit that contains tests for alkalinity, pH, calcium hardness, free chlorine and total chlorine. Buy a separate kit for copper and iron if there are metals in your water. Buy the kit with the drops rather than the test strips because although strips work by giving you a color choice defining a range of results, drops are specific and give an easier to understand result.

2. Add the balancing chemicals beginning with alkalinity, then pH, followed by calcium hardness. Get these three foundational blocks set first before adding chlorine.

3. Place the proper amount of a metal remover product into the pool, if your source water contains metals, prior to the addition of chlorine, or else your water will turn brown or black. Binding metal molecules to the solution is how this product effectively incapacitates the metals so they cannot react to the chlorine.

4. Add chlorine pucks to your skimmer basket and never let the skimmer go empty. Test for free chlorine several times a day until you are comfortable with how many pucks to use at one time.

5. Dissolve chlorine shock in a bucket of pool water and then dump it into the skimmer. Perform this weekly ritual in the evening so that the chlorine has a chance to sanitize overnight.

6. Test the next day prior to bathers to make sure that the sun has pulled out the bulk of the chlorine shock and the huge spike in chlorine has returned to a normal level.

7. Confirm the directional flow of the return fitting, ensuring that it points down and away from the skimmer. Allowing this stream of water to hit the bottom of the pool creates a circular motion moving all water, not just the surface, into the skimmer to begin filtration.

8. Correct any mismatches in your filtration system by reviewing the manufacturer's recommended size pump for your canister. Too small a horsepower fails to dislodge trapped dirt during backwashing. Too large a horsepower forces its way through the sand bed creating unnatural channels that dirty water will flow through and return to the pool. Both conditions cause cloudy water.

9. Adjust your chlorination to compensate for a heavier than normal bather load. Test for free chlorine to make sure that the level of chlorine remains between 1.5 to 3.0. Allowing it to drop below this level will mean less sanitization, cloudy water and the possibility of algae beginning to form.

10. Empty both your skimmer and pump baskets regularly. Be sure to skim the surface with a net attached to your extension pole to remove heavy contaminants, such as flowering trees or pollen. Remember that anything organic that gets into your pool will breakdown, such as leaves, so remove them as quickly as possible.

Tips & Warnings

• Change the sand after three to four years of use. Use a concentrated algaecide weekly.