Why is my pool green and cloudy
How To Clear A Green Pool FAST | Swim University
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is your pool water green well the good
news is you don't have to drain your
pool and start over to get rid of it
here's a quick guide on how to kill pool
algae fast and keep it from coming back
let's dive in
real quick before we continue if you
want more help taking care of your pool
be sure to grab our free pool care cheat
sheet at swimuniversity.com
cheat sheet it's totally free and will
help keep your pool clean and clear all
season long first why do i have a green
swimming pool well the culprit for green
water is pool algae if it's light green
the algae is likely just starting to
take hold but a deeper green means you
have a bigger algae bloom problem green
algae happens when your chlorine levels
are too low when your chlorine levels
are low your chlorine can't sanitize the
water and algae can start to develop
algae can also grow if your pool filter
hasn't been running properly and the
water hasn't been passing through your
filtration system if you've added
chlorine and you're running your filter
and the algae just won't go away here's
how to fix green pool water fast make
sure you follow every step in order to
make sure you're as efficient as
possible
1. brush the pool walls and floor attach
a pool brush to a telescopic pole and
scrub the pool walls floor steps and any
surface the algae might be clinging to
the goal is to get the algae floating in
suspension in your pool water giving the
chlorine a better chance to kill it if
you have a concrete pool it's best to
use an algae brush algae is tough and
will stubbornly clean to the pool's
surfaces especially porous concrete so a
heavy duty brush works better than soft
nylon bristles in this case two test
your alkalinity and ph using test strips
or a liquid test kit test the ph and
alkalinity levels your ph should be
between 7.4 and 7.6 it's okay if it's a
bit lower since you'll be adding shock
later that actually raises the ph your
total alkalinity should be between 100
and 150 parts per million again it's
okay if this is a bit lower if your ph
and alkalinity are too high now is the
time to adjust them start with lowering
your alkalinity first which should bring
your ph down in range then retest your
water and if needed adjust your ph
afterward adjusting your ph and
alkalinity at this stage will ensure the
shock treatment will be as effective as
possible also testing your water can
happen before brushing it won't affect
the algae killing process and if you
need more help balancing your ph and
alkalinity be sure to check out our
other video on pool water chemistry
three shock your pool with chlorine to
kill algae this is the most important
step in clearing up a green pool because
shock is what kills the algae pull shock
contains a high level of chlorine that
will kill algae and sanitize your pool
water for the best results use a calcium
hypochlorite shock aka cal hyposhock
that contains at least 70 percent
available chlorine if you usually use a
non-chlorine shock you must use a
chlorine shock to kill algae
non-chlorine shock just won't work to
get rid of algae spores and keep in mind
it's best to shock at night otherwise
the sun can burn off the shock and it
will be less effective so how much shock
do you need to kill the algae in your
pool
it depends on the color of the algae a
normal shock treatment is one pound of
shock per 10 000 gallons of pool water
but that's if your pool isn't green if
your pool is a light green you'll need
to add double the shock to your pool
water if your pool is dark green you'll
need to add triple the amount and if
your pool is black you'll need to
quadruple shock your pool for example if
you have a 20 000 gallon pool or about 7
500 liters and your water was dark green
you'll need six bags of shock that's a
triple dose if you need more help about
how to add shock to your pool water be
sure to check out our other video
four run your pool filter for eight
hours and shock again if needed as you
let the shock work run your filter
system for at least eight hours
overnight but if you can run the filter
24 hours a day until your pool is clear
this will help clear your water faster
if the pool is still green or teal in
the morning hit it again with the same
amount of shock the following night and
by the next morning it should be cloudy
blue in this case cloudy water is
actually a good thing
if your pool is cloudy blue that means
you've successfully killed all the algae
and it's floating in the water keep your
filter system running for at least 24
hours to get the dead algae out of the
water and to ensure the shock has fully
dissipated if you want to speed up the
process you can use a pool clarifier to
help clear the water more quickly or if
you want a more powerful treatment to
clear up the cloudy water use a pool
flocculant keep in mind that you'll need
to vacuum your pool after using this and
it only works if you have a filter with
a waist setting
five clean your filter make sure you
backwash your filter or change the
cartridge after all the algae is gone
all that dead algae is caught in your
filter medium so now it's time to clean
it if you need more help on when and how
to backwash your sand or de filter be
sure to check out our other videos
number six test your water again and
adjust your pool chemicals when your
pool isn't green anymore or you have
cloudy blue or clear water test your
water again this time test for ph
alkalinity calcium harness and your
chlorine levels and add chemicals as
needed to balance things out once you
make sure all your levels are where they
need to be you're ready to enjoy your
pool again
so now that your pool is clear how do
you keep pool algae from coming back
well the best way to keep algae away is
keeping your chlorine levels in the
right range this means testing your
water at least once a week or more often
if you're noticing fluctuations if you
notice your levels are a bit on the low
side don't wait for things to get worse
add chlorine immediately and if you have
a saltwater pool make sure your
saltwater generator is keeping your
chlorine levels consistent if you want
to take more preventative measures you
can also add algaecide during your
regular pool maintenance but your best
bet is to just stay on top of your
chlorine levels if you need more help
with pool maintenance grab our free pool
care cheat sheet at swimuniversity.com
cheat sheet and if you found this video
helpful leave a comment hit the like
button and subscribe for more pool
maintenance tutorials throughout the
season that's it thanks again and happy
swimming
