Identifying, eradicating cloudiness in your pool
- September 9, 2013
- Pool Maintenance and Renovation,
Whether it’s the middle of the summer or height of winter, you might notice that your pool is a bit cloudy. This can be caused by a variety of issues, while each of the catalysts for the cloudiness will dictate a relatively unique response. A cloudy pool doesn’t always translate to a health or sanitary risk, but should still be mitigated because of the potential problems that could occur.
Before you take a dip in your Phoenix pool, you should consider ensuring that it has clear and comforting waters by hiring a service provider such as Poolman, which will take care of all your needs. The average homeowner might be leaving the identification process to guesswork, which will rarely lead to the most beneficial results when you take your dip.
A professional pool service provider will know exactly what is causing the cloudiness, and then can take the measures necessary to get you back in your home-based oasis in no time.
Identifying the problem
Cloudiness in the pool can arise from tens, if not hundreds of, different factors. What makes the process of identifying the source of the cloudiness so difficult is the fact that so many of the causes will have very similar signs. However, you can sometimes narrow the causes down by paying attention to how you’ve been treating the area.
Organisms and chemicals
Dead algae is one of the most common causes of cloudiness in the pool, while you’ll be able to tell if this is the problem if you’ve had a greenish tint in the water that has now turned gray. If you’ve taken measures to kill the algae and completed the task successfully, the gray and murky tint of the water will be a tell-tale sign that dead algae remains.
Live algae can also cause cloudiness, though this will be more of a green tint.
Excessive use of certain chemicals, such as sodium bicarbonate and calcium chloride, used to increase alkalinity and calcium, respectively, can cause cloudiness. Additionally, inconsistent use of these chemicals, as well as chlorine, could also lead to cloudy water in the pool.
For chlorine, inconsistent use often translates to more bacteria and other organism entering the water, then being killed when you try to clean it. This highlights the importance of keeping your pool consistently chlorinated throughout the time it’s open.
Equipment issues
A cloudy pool will often indicate that certain equipment is not working properly, especially piping, suction pumps and drains. If you notice that you’ve had a growing problem with the quality of the water, chances are the filtration system and pumps are functioning at full health or even at all.
Filters can get gummed up, especially when not cleaned and replaced regularly. Filter piping will sometimes get cracks or other damages over time, especially when climates shift a bit more erratically.
Pump impellers and sand swimming pool filters can also be the causes of the issues. Essentially any and all equipment in your pool is susceptible to ageing and general wear, and if any component stops functioning properly, you might end up having an issue with cloudiness.
Don’t wait for the problem to start
For these reasons and more, you should always hire Poolman to check up on your equipment and service your entire pool regularly. No matter what time of year it might be, or how much you are using the pool, you’ll be happy you kept a regular Phoenix pool service schedule when you’re finally ready to dive in.
Poolman can take care of all your maintenance, repair and cleaning needs, ensuring that you won’t ever have to battle against a cloudy pool.