I had the crazy one.
So when pool chemistry goes awry, as it is wont to do the latter part of June every single year, I am clueless. And impatient.
In the middle of June, our pool looked like this:
And today it looks like this:
And here it is today:
Hmmm... notice a change? Yes, it is a different color. Copper-colored, to be exact.
As I understand it, what had happened was this: the chlorine and pH levels dropped. A lot. We added a ton of chlorine (and repaired the automatic chlorinator, leaving it set on MAX-10).
Then we filled the pool with about 8" of water because between the lack of rain and the prevalence of diving championships, the water level had fallen significantly. The unbalanced chlorine and pH helped leach copper out of the pipes in the pool heater. Mind you, if the heater were a little newer, it would have been plumbed so that when it's off the water flows around the copper pipes and not through the copper pipes. But no, it's old, so water flows through the copper pipes of the pool heater whether it's on or not. Over the course of a week, the pool went from pristine blue to pond-muck green-brown. Lovely.
Only here's the thing... now the water chemistry is near-perfect. It's the pool liner that's stained. I feel like I need to call Bill Murray and invite him for a swim.
Other pool-or-pond, pond-would-be-good-for-you visitors we have include insects...
...and amphibians...
We are waiting on someone who majored in science and understands chemistry (i.e. won't kill every living thing in the neighborhood) to get off work one evening while it is still light and finish the de-staining treatment.
In the meantime, I'm headed poolside to chat with the enchanted creatures who have taken residence in our backyard
4 comments:
Hey, Norma! Tracey's little sis here. I jumped over to read your post about your pool. My most pool proficient husband (we had a pool in Florida 5 years before moving to NC and we're now going on our 2nd summer back in Florida with a pool,) believes you have an algae problem. To diagnosis this, if the green can brush off, it is algae. However, just brushing it off will not rid your pool of it. You will need to buy some algaecide. First, you will have to determine how many approximate gallons of water your pool has and then buy the appropriate amount of algaecide to rid your pool of the algae. Algae grows in fresh water and once you see the tale-tale sign of discoloration, no amount of chlorine nor correct pH level will kill all the algae - hence the need for algaecide. Once it has been treated, the algaecide will keep it from reoccurring. Hopes this helps! (We currently have a salt water filter for our pool and my husband is a big believer in those!! MUCH less chlorine and super easy to maintain - especially in Florida!)
Hey Aunt A! You are SO sweet. I would love to hear more about the salt system. We are contemplating replacing our chlorine system. It is getting expensive!
When all this occurred, we had just done an algae treatment a couple of days earlier. We (by "we" I mean Jimmy) use algaecide weekly and phosfree monthly. Last year was the Year of Algae.
Actually, what's on the liner is stained. You can't rub it off, no matter how hard you try. It is a copper brown color that looks green in the water, but the water itself is perfectly clear. It's crazy. The pool guys gave us some metal stain remover, but we had to wait to get the chlorine levels down into the normal range to stop the copper leaching. Jimmy poured it in tonight, so we'll know something in 24 hours.
Is algae an issue in a salt-filtered pool? What are the pro's and cons y'all have found with that system? We have friends who just bought a house with a pool that has a salt system, but their pool inspector told them salt is more corrosive than chlorine. I'd never heard that before. Have you heard that?
Thanks for commenting! I am excited about learning from you guys! :)
Wayne did a little exploring last night and learned that with your copper pipes AND heater - a salt system would be the worst thing you could do. The salt system is more corrosive - to metal pipes and pool heaters. Wayne read it can be done with copper pipes, but you would have to constantly be on top of the levels and it would not be worth your time. Here in Florida, we have little fear of freezing temperatures, so most, if not all, pools here are piped with PVC. Algae does not grow in salt water and we only add a huge bag of salt the first of season and the system continues to charge the water. Wayne adds a little chlorine from time to time (especially when it rains 2+ inches everyday,) but it is no where near the amount we used to buy without the salt water system. We enjoy ours because we don't have the chlorine smell, it doesn't burn the eyes and our swim suits last longer. Bottom line, unless your pool system is free of any type of metal (that is not stainless) and you are not going to use a heater, I would not entertain the idea of a salt water system. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news!
Oh my. I was afraid there'd be something I keep us from doing it. We open the pool in late April/early May, so we really need the heater. *sigh*
In good news, citric acid is what takes the stain off the pool liner. The pool is a beautiful blue again. Pictures soon.
Thank you SO MUCH for sharing all the knowledge with us. You are so sweet!
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