In our warm Texas climate a green pool can happen really fast. With proper prevention and consistent care this should never happen to you, but there are situations especially when a home has been sitting on the market for a long period of time that this happens. Anytime that chemistry becomes imbalanced you are at risk of the pool turning green. If you have an unattended to leak in the pool, or haven’t been staying up on adding chemicals, have a large amount of debris getting into your pool, or are not brushing the pool consistently. There are many different variables that can contribute to a pool turning green.
While a green pool is definitely unattractive it can also be unhealthy. So how do you clean up a green pool? Depending on how much of a “swamp” the pool has become you have a couple options. If the pool is only slightly green and you can still see through the water it may be possible to clean up the existing water with several treatments. This can be quite a bit of work and chemistry but the pool should be clear in a few visits. A filter cleaning to remove all algae spores will be critical as well. For a DE filter a complete breakdown and thorough cleaning of all grids. For a cartridge filter the cartridges will need to be cleaned daily (or sometimes even more often) during this process. A sand filter will have to be backwashed and depending on the length of time the sand has been in the filter it may be a good time for a bed change out.
If a pool is swampy or the bottom is not visible, pumping the pool, cleaning or even chlorine washing the pool walls and refilling is the better more cost effective way to go.
Always keep in mind that the key to a healthy pool is circulation and as soon as a pool sits without movement for too long it is in danger of becoming unhealthy and green. In our climate a pool must run for a bare minimum of 8 hours per day in hot summer months longer would be even better. A good rule of thumb for a pool run time is 1 hour per 10 degrees of outdoor temperature. For example 90 degree days would equal 9 hours of run time per day. A filter should also always be kept on a strict cleaning schedule. We keep our clients on a schedule of 6 month cleanings for DE filters and sometimes more frequently for smaller cartridge filters. Sand filters are very different and can go several years without a sand change out. We follow manufactures recommendations for cleaning.
