Tips on How to Fix Your Cloudy Pool Water

When your pool looks like pea soup or like a swamp no one wants to swim. Aside from being unappealing, cloudy pool water can harbor harmful bacteria and damage the circulation system. Moreover, this problem can cause accidents and injuries. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that before you get into the pool, you must ensure that you can see the drain at the bottom of the pool’s deep end. After all, cloudy pool water can be a drowning hazard.

Reasons Why Pool Water Becomes Cloudy

Before you treat the symptom, it is important that you fix the root of the problem. Here are some of the potential causes of your cloudy pool water:

• Chemical imbalance: If there is too little or too much chlorine, calcium hardness, alkalinity, pH levels, or stabilizer, the water can get cloudy.
• Malfunctioning filter: A faulty pool filter can result in poor circulation, causing the water to appear cloudy.
• Debris and other environmental factors: When pollen, dust, and leaves build up in the filter, they can impede the cleaning process. It is worth noting that run-off water, dead insects, and bird droppings can also make the pool water cloudy. Keep in mind that run-off water brings phosphates, nitrates, and other chemicals into your pool.
• Human pollution: People’s sunscreen, sweat, urine, and beauty products can deplete the chlorine in your swimming pool. If you do not ensure the right levels of sanitizers in the water, it will appear cloudy.
• UV exposure: The sun’s ultraviolet rays break apart the hypochlorite ions created by the sanitizing chlorine you add to your pool. Once they evaporate in the air, there will be more contaminants in the water.

How to Make Your Cloudy Pool Water Clear

Now that we’ve identified what made your pool water cloudy, let us discuss how you can clear it up. Here are some of the best methods for resolving this problem:

Solution 1: Use a Pool Clarifying Chemical

There is a type of chemical that is specifically formulated to clean up your pool water. Pool clarifiers use coagulation to clump together the tiny particles that clog your filter. This process makes it easier for your filter to remove the small particles.

Solution 2: Use Pool Flocculant

Pool flocculant also clumps the small particles together, making them easier to remove. The only difference is it attracts the particles to the bottom of the pool. So, instead of letting the filter do all the work, you will need your pool vacuum to remove the particles. There are just some factors you need to remember when using this process:

• You need to vacuum the particles manually because using your automatic system won’t do the trick.
• Keep the hose running because you will naturally lose a significant amount of water while vacuuming the cloud particles.
• You need to shut down your filter while vacuuming. This process usually takes about half a day.

Solution 3: Help Your Pool Filter

Of course, you can let the filters clear up your cloudy water. However, you need to keep them running for a long time if you want to choose this method. On the other hand, you can help the filters do their job effectively. Here are two methods that you can speed up the filtering process:

Method 1: Use Your Skimmer

You need to get the debris and particles to float on the surface of the water. Well, you can do this by using your pool brush. You can move the brush around the water to get the particles in motion. Eventually, they will end up floating on the water’s surface. When this happens, you can use your skimmer to remove them. In this way, your filters won’t have to work twice as hard, speeding up the filtering process.

Method 2: Let the Drains Suck the Particles

Do you have an inground pool with a bottom drain? If this is the case, then you have the freedom to choose the less labor-intensive option. While allowing a flow of clean water, the bottom drain can let the filter suck water from the pool floor.

You can still use a little hack for pools without a bottom drain. Take your manual vacuum cleaner and connect it as usual. This time, place it in the middle of the pool and let it vacuum upside down. This hack method forces the unit to pull water from the bottom.

It may be frustrating to deal with cloudy pool water. However, it is not as devastating as many people believe it to be. That said, it is still important to address the issue immediately. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reminds us that people can contract recreational illnesses by swallowing contaminated pool water. So, make sure to follow the methods we shared above.

Keep it Clear

To prevent your pool water from getting cloudy again, we recommend that you use a pool cover. Having one can prevent debris, dirt, and the elements from getting into the water. If you want to eliminate the hassle of covering and uncovering your pool, contact us and we’ll provide the ideal solution.