Cloudy
pool water is a very common issue and it can be both easy to fix as well as
complicated depending on the cause. Often it can be a combination of things
causing the cloudy water and this will require a combination of things to clear
up the pool.
Here is a common scenario that you may run into if it is multiple issues causing the
cloudy water. Say there was a pool party over the weekend and the pool is very
cloudy on Monday. It could be a combination of the heavy bather load plus the
pool running out of chlorine or the chlorine combining with the organics in the
water creating Combined Chlorine or the filter is dirty due to the suntan
lotion and organics in the water. You can see how all of this comes together
and how each of these can contribute to the cloudy water.
So, it is
not always as simple as the causes and solutions below. If it is a combination
of things it may take longer to correct it, or you may need to do more steps.
For example, in the above combination, you can backwash the pool filter or take
it apart and clean it. Run the pool pump for 24 hours and add chlorine to a
shock level of 10 ppm. If you just added the chlorine but did not clean the
filter or run the pool 24 hours the cloudy water issue may not go away. Or if
you cleaned the filter and ran the pool for 24 hours but didn’t raise the
chlorine level to 10 ppm the cloudy water may persist. Below are some common
causes and the solutions but keep in mind you may need to combine the solutions
in a scenario with multiple causes.
#1
Cause: No chlorine in the pool. It seems like a simple thing but it happens all the time. If you get busy and forget to
check the pool, unusually hot weather, heavy rain or a pool party all can zero
out your chlorine level.
Solution:
Simply bringing the level of chlorine up to 10 ppm in your pool will reverse
the cloudy water - known as "Shocking the pool." Also, run your pool
for a longer time to help speed up the process.
#2
Cause: Combined Chlorine. Ever smell
a chemical like the smell at a hotel or the local YMCA? Chlorine has no odor and
what you are smelling is Combined Chlorine. Chloramines are what is now in the
water and not only do you get an ammonia smell but the water will be cloudy.
Solution:
Raising the chlorine to 10 ppm will cure this. Sometimes you will need to raise
it to 20 ppm, basically, super chlorinate the pool to kill the Ammonia that has
formed in the water.
#3
Cause: Not running the pool long
enough. You need at least one cycle of water through your pool each day. One
cycle is all the pool water going through the pool filter and then back into
the pool. If the chlorine is fine but the water is cloudy chances are you are
not running the pool long enough.
Solution:
Set your pool to run longer.
#4
Cause: A filter leak. This happens
mainly with D.E. filters and a filter leak can cause your water to be very
cloudy or partly cloudy.
Solution:
Take the filter apart and inspect it and if there are broken grids simply
replacing them will solve the problem.
#5
Cause: Adding Soda Ash or Baking Soda
to the pool. When you add a base to the pool it can become cloudy for a short
period of time. After a few hours or by the next day it should clear up. A good
way to avoid this is to add the base directly to the skimmer.
Solution:
Manually vacuum up the dust on the pool bottom, the pool will clear up very
quickly,
#6
Cause: High Alkalinity or High
Calcium Hardness. Not very common but this could also cause your pool to be
cloudy. But these need to be very high for this to happen.
Solution:
Add Muriatic Acid to lower down the Alkalinity.
These
are the basic causes for cloudy pool water and they are easily corrected. It
could also be something unusual but these are the most common causes I run into
on my pool route.
YouTube Video Index: http://poolmandave.blogspot.com/2014/03/swimming-pool-tips-reviews-how-to-video.html – A
list of all of my videos.
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