Stained and cloudy pools are a turn-off. Hygienically they are laden with health risks, though in most cases it is not your fault; but it is bound to happen. Forgetting to check your filter pumps, not covering your pool, throwing a pool party with a bunch of friends and workmates, or bad weather are some of the reasons to why a perfectly good pool may suddenly turn cloudy.
The moment you realize that your pool is cloudy, it is time to do something about it. Before you efficiently deal with the problem, you need to find out the cause. This helps in knowing how to restore your pool to normalcy and preventing future instances.
A Pool Can Turn Cloudy For Any Of The Following Reasons.
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The Environment
Anything from the environment that comes into contact with your pool can cause the water to become cloudy.
- Birds are coming down for a swim especially for above ground pool constructed in a compound near trees.
- Bad weather
- Pollution and dust from nearby construction sites
- Algae on the walls and bottom of your pool when you go too long without cleaning your pool.
In these cases, cleaning and removing the algae, debris, and anything that may have contributed to your pool being cloudy and shocking it afterward will do you fine. Shock your pool once a week depending on the size of your pool and the number of contaminants hovering around.
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Pool Accessories
Suppose you’ve completed the process of cleaning your pool, but it’s still cloudy, then some other underlying severe problems should be considered.
Calling for professional pool cleaning services might be the best choice but considering it is your pool, it is better to get to know your way around in case of an emergency or future requirements.
- Check if your pump is functioning properly, clean it if necessary.
- Filters are supposed to be cleaning and filtering correctly as per the settings and set the timer at least 8 hours a day. Also, confirm if the filter is appropriate for the size of your pool.
- Make sure that the water circulates in a circular manner. Aim your return downwards to synchronize.
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Pool Chemicals
A home testing kit will be the best way to test the chemical composition of the water in the above ground pool. Among the substances that you should check for include;
- Chlorine should be around 1-3 ppm
- Total alkalinity around 80-130 ppm
- Calcium hardness around 180- 300 ppm
If some or one of the chemicals is off, making your pool more acidic or more basic, add the chemicals in vice versa proportions to balance the pH of the pool water.
You are advised to retest your pool water after 12 – 24 hours. Even after the pH has balanced, keep running the filter system.
Other Options Clear a Cloudy Above Ground Pool Include:
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Pool Clarifiers
– weekly use of these clarifiers will be the best maintenance strategy for your pool. Pool clarifiers take the tiny particles that are the most probable source behind your cloudy pool and combine them together creating bigger particles that you can pick up with the filter.
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Pool Flocculants
– Flocculants are chemicals that work extremely fast in clearing a cloudy pool. They push all the cloudy particles to the bottom of the pool. This way, you can easily vacuum them. This is more effective because the cloudy particles don’t end up in the filters and back in the pool again.
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Filter Systems and Bottom Drains
– This can be used if your pool is not too cloudy. Just keep stirring the cloudy water to raise the particles so that they can go through the filter.
Conclusion
Routinely checking up on your above ground pool will save you considerable amounts of labor and time in ensuring that it is fit for use. Maintaining a clean pool is not as hard as it may appear. You can quickly clean your pool with a robotic pool cleaner. It is all about keeping up with the routine check-ups and making sure your pool stays covered whenever not in use. Ultimately, the health of your loved ones is paramount, so keep a keen eye on your pool to make sure it stays clean and healthy for you and for them.