A green pool is a nasty problem to have, especially if you only discover the problem when you’ve got your towel out, sunscreen on and you’re ready for a swim! It’s not always a matter of simply adding chlorine and salt to fix the problem.
A green pool is a nasty problem to have, especially if you only discover the problem when you’ve got your towel out, sunscreen on and you’re ready for a swim!
Let’s address the most common myth first; a low chlorine level is not always the reason why the pool has gone green. In all cases, we recommend a thorough water test first, before taking any other action. An algae outbreak is the ideal time to make friends with your local pool shop, like us, at Pool Gear Australia, as we can test your water with state-of-the-art systems that take less than a minute.
Your water test will help establish what type of algae you’ve got in your pool. Algae is generally brown, green, blue or mustard, with each type requiring a different treatment strategy.
From there, we can determine how bad the algae issue is, and the cause behind it. It can come from having no chlorine and if that’s the case, reviewing your cleaning and maintenance schedule is highly recommended. Algae growth can also be caused by rain, a build up of lead litter, the filtration system being turned off or phosphates in the water.
Despite the assumption that dumping chlorine and salt into the pool will fix the problem, often this only masks the true issue, which can mean reoccurrence of the algae blooms. The interior lining of the pool also influences which cleaning treatment system we recommend.
Often, the treatment plan we recommend has multiple steps to get your pool back to crystal clear and sparkling. It’s certainly possible to DIY, but if you’re not sure, we have a great team on the Gold Coast happy to help you out.
As always, prevention is better than a cure! We recommend regular professional pool maintenance, even through winter, using an algaecide when needed to prevent the dreaded green pool outbreak!