In an earlier posting we promised to give you some real-world advice regarding how to clean up algae problems in pool water. We have personally, and successfully, used the following instructions more times than we care to remember and feel safe saying that they will work for pretty much anyone as long as their pool filter, pump and other equipment functioned properly.

1. Brush pool surfaces -– Algae will usually first appear on the walls and bottom of the pool as a slimy coating and as long as it remains attached to a surface of some kind, any chemical used to treat he algae infestation will have a difficult time doing its job. Brushing all pool surfaces puts algae into suspension with its vulnerable underbelly exposed so the chemical shock treatments can completely and quickly penetrate the algae bloom.

2. pH Reduction -– Some people dispute the value of this step, but chemically speaking MOST of your chlorine-based granular/powder shock treatments work more effectively in a poll with a pH level in the range of 6.8 to 7.0. One should OBVIOUSLY test the pH level in their pool prior to adding any chemicals to raise or lower the pH.

   Also, check for other critical water parameters such as alkalinity, stabilizer, calcium hardness, etc. at this time, too. If you want your pool shock treatment (in the next step) to work as effectively and quickly as possible, you MUST have your water properly balanced first.

   Need a test kit? Take a look at Taylor-Test-Kits.Com.

   

3. Shock the Pool -– At this point you should add chlorine shock treatment (unless you use a biguanide sanitizer system!!!) to your pool water at a rate of roughly one pound of shock per 10,000 gallons of pool water. NOTE: Not all shocks come in the same strength so you will have to read the directions on your package(S) carefully before use!

   Your pool will most likely get a little cloudy at this point due to dead algae floating around. You pool’s filter, if operating properly, will take care of this problem shortly.

   

4. Algae Treatment or Phosphate Removers -– Now that you have killed the algae blooms, you may also want to remove the nutrients that allowed the algae to flourish in the first place. Without phosphates, future algae will not have a chance to grow.

   Need a test kit to determine whether or not your pool contains phosphates? Take a look at the Phosphate Test Strips manufactured by Pool Check.

   

5. Swimming Pool Clarifier -– Once dead, the algae will float around in your water making it appear cloudy… until your filter has a chance to remove it. Adding the proper dosage of pool water clarifier will speed up that process and leave you with crystal clear pool water as long as you remember to backwash your filter each time it gets clogged up with dead algae.

An important thing to remember about cleaning up algae problems: Your pool filter will have to work a lot harder than it normally does as it filters out the dead algae floating around in the pool after the shock treatment does its job. You may have to backwash several times before your pool returns to its normal condition.

For all you people with DE Filters, depending upon how long ago you last cleaned the fingers/grids in your filter you may want to do so before and after this massive filtering effort. You will want to use a DE filter cleaner for the task.

Need a new or longer backwash hose so you can direct your chlorinated waste water stream away from your flowerbeds, neighbor’s lawn, etc.? InTheSwim.Com carries backwash hoses in 25′, 100′ and 100′ lengths.

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