After opening up your pool for the spring, being away for a while, or for any other reason, you may have found your pool turns from blue to green. Here we will give you information about how to turn it from green back to blue.
1. Muck debris out of the pool
Use a telepole and a heavy-duty net to clear out any debris you can see along the surface. Then run your net along the bottom of the pool to catch anything that may be resting along the bottom of the pool
2. Sweep the walls and floor
Once all the debris are out, you will want to stir up anything that has settled along the walls and floor. This can be done by using your telepole and attaching the brush and then giving a forceful brush until you see dust and algae beginning to stir up the pool.
3. Test the water
This can be done using a home test kit, test strips, or by taking the water into a local pool store.
Make sure your pH and Alkalinity measurements are within the accepted range. The calcium stabilizer, and sanitizer levels can be fixed later.
First, add sodium bicarbonate to the pool to increase the low alkalinity and then test the pH about 10 minutes later. If the pH is too high add acid using a dosing chart. If it is still below 7.2, add more sodium bicarbonate until the pool is at least 7.2 pH.
4. Add Sanitizer (Shock)
Use shock, known in the pool world as calcium hypochlorite, to super shock your pool. This can be done by adding 2-3 lbs. of shock per 10,000 gallons of water.
5. Circulation, circulaiton, circulation
Once you have super shocked your pool, you should run your pump and filter 24/7 for at least 24 hours. You should begin to see a difference within 8-16 hours. If this does not clear up you may need to rebalance the pH and shock again. If this does not work then a flocculant is necessary to drop the algae to the bottom of the pool and vacuum it out. See our blog post for how to do this here:
If you would like to avoid the headache of these steps, give our office a call, text, or email at 971-373-6313 or blackrockpoolsoregon@gmail.com for service to the western Portland metro area.
We also offer free chemical and supplies deliveries on orders over $150.00.