why my swimming pool water gets cloudy?

ali b

Answer
Your filter might not be working properly. Have you changed the sand or cartridge within the last 5 years? If not, this could be the problem.

You could also be getting an algae problem, in which case you should look into getting some algaecide into your water as soon as possible.

Have you recently dumped in a lot of chemicals? If so, it could be stirring up your water and making it seem cloudy. If it is still cloudy or hasn't improved in a day or two, then it's not from the burst of chemicals.

You can try a water clarifier. You can buy it in a liquid form (often called Clear Magic, Clear Blue, True Blue, etc) or a cube form. It's a coagulant, meaning it bonds to the junk making your water cloudy. After putting it on, leave your pump on for at least 8 hours. The junk should be settling at the bottom and you can use your pool vac or automatic cleaner to vacuum it up.

You should also bring a sample of your water in an old water bottle to your local pool store, they can test it for free and tell you if there is some sort of chemical imbalance in your pool.

How do you open an inground pool????

Q. We bought a house in January. We have never owned a pool. The water is black. Is that normal?? How do we treat it successfully?? PLease help I dont want to have to pay the pool company 500 to open it. Thanx a bunch
Ok apparently I p.issed someone off cuz I put this in the marriage divorce category But I thought that since alot of married ppl have pools this would be the best place to ask.

Answer
Well black water is not normal unless the pool plaster is black. Most pools have white plaster. Just FYI the sparkling blue water you see in your pool is actually the blue sky reflecting on the white plaster. Okay steps to open a pool.
1. If it has a cover on it take it off.
2. Locate your cleaning equipment ie: hoses, leaf rake, skimmer net, pool vacuum, pole(s).
3. Locate the skimmers (in pool deck) and make sure they are free of leaves and debris. They should have removable baskets in them.
4. If you have a lot of leaves in the bottom of the pool you will need to take your leaf rake (which is actually a net) and start getting the leaves out of the pool. Get out as many as you can.
5. Now you will need to see if the pool pump is working. Turn it on and see if water is coming into the pump and back into the pool at the "jets" located on the side of the pool.
6. I would try to get as much of the cleaning done with the sand that you have in your filter now. If the water flow is poor you will need to backflush the filter to get all of the large debris out of the sand. This is done by turning or pulling a large valve that will reroute the water to an outlet usually connected to a hose that you will run out to the yard or street. There should be a small clear PVC area that you can look at as the water comes out. It will be very dirty at first then it will clear up somewhat. After backflushing turn or move valve back. This should improve water flow going back to the pool.
7. Now you can hook up your manual vacuum to one of the skimmers. Make sure that the basket stays in the skimmer and place a vacuum plate over the skimmer basket so that the leaves you vacuum up don't actually go into the return lines to the filter. If you have 2 skimmers I would recommend plugging off the second skimmer so you have all of your suction going to the vacuum skimmer. If you can also shut off the main drain at the bottom of the pool. There usually is a valve that you can turn that will allow water to return to the filter by the skimmers or the main drain or both. Just turn that valve off to the main drain.
8. Now you can turn on the pump and you should be able to start vacuuming the pool. It will vacuum strong for a short while but then the suction will start to lessen. This is notifying you that you need to backflush to filter again and check the skimmer basket. Backflush and continue on.
9. Just be aware that as you start to vacuum the pool and if there is a lot of dirt in the pool it will become very cloudy and you will be unable to see the bottom where you have vacuumed. At this point you can keep going on the best you can or you can stop, disconnect and unplug the skimmers and let the water circulate for awhile (few hrs) and let the cloudiness settle. Then you can start up vacuuming again.
10. This will get the pool clean eventually and it will take some time. It will not happen overnight.
11. After or when you are pretty close to having the pool cleaned you will need to go to your local pool supplier and get a water test kit and the chemicals to help get your pool within the proper pH. You will probably have to shock it several times. Your local pool supplier will be able to help you on this part.
12. If you have the pool clean and you are still seeing a lot of black or green stuff on the plaster you probably have algea. Green is okay, black is bad. Again your local supplier will be able to help you with that.
13. Change the sand in the filter. This should be done every other season.
14. Invest in an automatic pool cleaner. I highly recommend Polaris. They have 2 types that will work in any pool.
15. If you have a pool company do your chemical treatments DO NOT USE GAS CHLORINE!! That stuff is highly acidic and will eventually destroy your plaster finish on the pool. Not to mention you really shouldn't swim in the pool for at least 3 days after treatment.

Well I'm sure this is long enough for you to read. If you have any questions feel free to email me or contact me on 360. I have had a pool now for 11 yrs including 2 major leaks, 3 pool pumps, many automatic cleaners etc. If I can help you let me know.

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keeping a above ground pool clean?

christmas

Hi, about two weeks ago we purchased a above ground pool for my kids. It is a pain trying to keep it clean. I shocked it on Monday of this week & it is already turning green. I don't know what I am doing wrong. I keep the filter on during the day & turn it off at night. What do you buy & do to keep your above ground pool clean? Thanks

Answer
If its getting green that quickly you're probably not keeping enough chlorine in the water. Get a test kit and check the chlorine level daily until you know exactly how much you need to put in every day to keep it right. Or get an automatic chlorinator that feeds chlorine into the water whenever the pump is running.

what is the best above groung automatic pool cleaner?

chris j

what do u guys and gals think the best above ground AUTOMATIC pool cleaner is the best. i have a baracuda zippy now it did ok for a while now its just dead. please give me some SERIOUS answers. i know my kids can do it. im looking for some advice. thanks you in advance.

Answer
I do realize you said serious advice ... but I can't help myself. Actually I have a "spider" cleaner that I sometimes have used in my above ground pool - BUT ... in all seriousness - I now have a "pool boy" ... not the speedo kind - but a gentleman that comes weekly from my pool chemical supply place for a cost of only $35 weekly + chemicals. Money well spent! Just wanted to let you know to check into it because it is probably more affordable than you realize. The fellow brings chemicals and adds them as needed and that cost then is added to my charge ticket.

It is nice to not have to worry about time consuming (although relaxing) cleaning. It never gets out of hand due to weather or heat etc. All we have to do is come in from work & enjoy the water.

Good luck.

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how to decide on size of replacement of filter and pump for inground pool?

Pebbles

I have a standard 18X36 pool with a De filter and a 1HP motor/pump with a SF of 1.5, and want to replace my DE filter with a sand and my current pump also. I have had nothing but problems with my DE filter pressure and I want to lower my maintenance, I am sure it is due to my staying on top of it but neighbors have sand and they do not have these problems plus I have automatic pool cover so that unless open the pool usually insnt that dirty. I have gotten several quotes and each with different models, I would like to know what model you all would recommend that I narrow my choices to so that I can make this decision with better information. I just want to make sure that I am getting the correct size and series and brand that will be the best for our pool, and getting the best bang for our buck. Thank you, I appreciate your help and support on this.

Answer
Too bad you had problems with DE usually a good choice, I recommend Cartridge Filters but for your pool I would recommend a 520sqft cart filter. Check out Pentair at pentairpool.com for the clean and clear plus. They also have a large DE called the FNS which is a cartridge filter you put DE in making it a snap to remove the cores for cleaning and not having to go through the exercise of putting a leaf type DE filter back.

If you want sand Pentair does that too. Check the Triton.

For a pump I would stay with nothing larger than what you have since shure it will circulate the water faster but at a greater cost. Pentair makes a variable speed pump 4 or more speeds in two models but since you dont have a spa you would not likely be interested though the Intelliflow has an interesting feature, it is the only pump on the market that will save it self or someones life due to suction blockage. It montiors flow and senses blockage and shuts off immediately, wheather it be a full leaf basket or a living blockage.

How long should I run my pump?

JON Z

I have a 20' X 40' in-ground pool with a 4' shallow end and a 12' deep end.
How long each day should I run my pool pump?
I use powdered chlorine.

Answer
I run mine about 12 hrs per day, for a similar sized pool and 2 HP Challenger pump. That amount of time is sufficient to keep the pool sanitary, well mixed (no hot or cold spots), and for the skimmers to catch most of the floating leaves etc.

I run my Polaris (automatic cleaner) about 4 hours per day as well. It gets the crud that falls to the bottom of the pool.

While it's true that pool pumps are designed to run continuously, running them more than necessary chews up a lot of electrical power (a 2HP pump costs about $5/day or $150/month to run continuously; cut the run time to 12 hours per day and you save $75/month) and reduces the ultimate life of the pump and especially its motor (motor replacement for a 2 HP/240V can be $300 or more).

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What's the best automatic pool cleaner?

ce

Polaris, Aquabot, Dolphin, Orion or some other one?

Answer
I have a Polaris 360. Does a good job for the amount of money. Gets stuck in the corners quite allot. I've had it for 3 years and the only thing I have had to do is change the wheels. They were worn down. I also have changed the bag that collects the debris.

Can anyone tell me what the best automatic in-ground pool cleaner is?

kittenscla

I just got an in-ground pool and am looking to purchase an automatic cleaner. I haved checked out all the info I can, but can't seem to come to a decision! I don't want to spend $700-$1000 on a product only to find out it doesn't work! I don't mind spending the money if I know it's going to be worth it!

Answer
Depends on the kind of dirt you need to pick up. Generally speaking, "suction side" cleaners that constantly vacuum your pool (hose goes into your skimmer) are best when you have mostly dust and dirt. They tend to have difficulty with larger debris like leaves and needles. If that is you main debris then I suggest a "pressure side" cleaner. Some of these have a booster pump, some don't. But they all use a hose with water pressure to propel them. They have a debris bag that will collect the leaves very well, but dust and dirt may go through the bag.

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What is the best automatic pool cleaner (sweeper)?

Terry N

I have an inground pool and hate to vacuum the pool. What is the best one out there?

Answer
The absolute best would be a booster pump powered Polaris, any model. If your budget doesn't allow spending 1800 bucks then my vote is for both the Kreepy Krauly and the Hayward Navigator. Both have their strengths and weaknesses and a lot will depend if this is a concrete or vinyl pool. Kreepy's have a tendency to plow through just about anything, but they also tend to get stuck on many pool shapes unless you purchase the optional back up device for them. The Navigators don't tend to get stuck, but they are also not as adept at climbing walls or powering through heavy debris.

How do you use the hayward aquabug automatic pool cleaner?

Kevin D

Answer
PLUG IT IN AND TURN IT ON AND TOSS ONTO THE POOL

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my automatic pool cleaner is not working?

Justice

what should i do ro check out to see wny my automatic pool cleaner(polaris turtle) is not working?

Answer
I cannot find the website for polaris, seems they were sold not too long ago. I could be wrong on that.

If your turtle plugs into the skimmer or fitting in the water and there is not a separate pump to operate it, likely the turtle is a suction side automatic cleaner.

Suction side automatic cleaners all have something in common and that is when your filter is getting dirty the amount of water going through your cleaner and filter is way down. Inside your cleaner is a water paddle wheel that makes the turtle go.

Check your turtle to see if the passage ways are clean and clear and the hose is also, then clean out your filter. A clean filter should develop about 16-20psi when clean. When dirty and needing cleaning the pressure is about 26-30 or a 10 psi gain. Best to clean before 10 psi but surely by 10 psi.

You're welcome!!

What is the best automatic inground pool cleaner? What brand and price?

Francaise

Its a vinyl inground pool. Rectangular 18x36. Also budget is an issue, I am looking at spending $500 or less.

Answer
After 25 years of hearing how great floor head systems are, I have come to a conclusion. If your pool would have stayed looking nice with any cleaning system in your pool, it will stay nice with a floor head system.
If you plan on owning a pool for 5-6 years, or longer, in my opinion the best cleaning system(Dollar for Dollar) is a Polaris 280 with a booster pump and a separate time clock. The reasons are as follows:
1.)Low cost of repairs. I have clients with Polaris 180âs that are 25 years old. (The 280 has the same drive system.) Total repair costs in 25 years are less than $300.00 total (Not counting bag replacements.) I Personally, have owned a Polaris 280 for almost 5 years and have not spent a dime. (other than on 2 bags, and one of them was torn by my kids, and the other by a big pine cone. )

2.)It will clean most pools spotless in 10-20 minutes per day. You have seen our (5) 40â plus Ponderosa pines that overhang our pool area. Not counting steps and love seat, if we keep the bag cleaned, the floor stays spotless.

3.)Initial installation costs should be in the $1400.00-1600.00 range. Floor head systems are usually about double the initial expense. Also, the motor for the cleaning system is usually a 2 H.P. or larger, and the pool needs to run for substantially greater times to even get close to what a Polaris will do in ½ hour or less. Also, if you are not the initial purchaser of the system, you will not get a lifetime warrantee. Replacement gear systems, floor heads, ⦠can average more than $200.00 per year after the first 2 year, not to mention if the cleaner is not working correctly, i.e. heads jammed in the up position, actuator gears jammed, ⦠you are running that large motor with absolutely no cleaning going on. Any way you look at it, running a ¾ H.P. booster motor for 20-30 minutes is going to be a lot cheaper than running a 2 H.P. for 3-4 hours. Add into this that most motors run for more than 2 hours per day seem to have a life span in the 5-6 year range, and that a 2 H.P. motor is about double the cost, I cannot see spending the money.

4.)Suction side cleaners have a lower initial cost, but are annoying because either they will not pick up sticks, twigs, small rocks, ⦠or they will, and then they will completely stop working until you spend 10 minutes pulling them out and cleaning the debris out of them. Some of these will end up needing replacement parts just because of punctured diaphragms, ⦠This is in addition to an average annual repair cost of about $200-250, after the first year or two. In less than 5 years(More likely 3 years), if you add in electricity savings, pool cleanliness and thus chemical costs savings, and electrical savings, you have more than paid for the Polaris. If you add to this the fact that, if you have a suction side cleaner, you will have had to bring it in to the shop at least 4-5 times, having a non-functional cleaning system, thus a horridly dirty pool at least 4-5 times, the fact that often it dies a slow death each time so your pool doesnât look right for months prior to each rebuilding, and the repeated hassles of needing to unplug the system when ever any ârealâ debris ends up in the pool, and I wonât have anything else in my pool, or my families pools. To summarize, If you are buying a cleaner and are selling the home quickly, I would probably go with a pool Vac(if there are no rocks, sticks, big leaves, ⦠In other words, dirt only, but your annual repair costs will be high) or a Kreepy Krauley if you have anything else(Or want 40% less repair costs than the Pool Vac).

5.)Floor heads, or suction cleaners destroy the natural water flow around the pool which is responsible for moving the debris around to the skimmer on the surface, and for moving silt, and dirt to the main drain. Therefore, the surface areas of both sides of the pool(If the cleaners are functioning properly) will be an average of 20-40% dirtier than the same pool with a pool vac, return lines properly adjusted, and approximately ¾ of the suction of the pool going to the main drain. Also, since almost all of the suction for a suction side cleaner is directed to the cleaner, and thatâs run through an extra 30 feet or so of corrugated hose, the water flow is greatly reduced, and to get the same water filtration you will need to run that system approximately 25% -30% longer than a system without a suction cleaner. Thatâs 1 ¾ hrs longer running a 1 H.P. motor than is needed to run the ¾ H.P booster. Also, as a suction cleaner picks up debris, assuming it doesnât get plugged up and stop functioning all together, the baskets will fill up and all the suction to the pool will decrease or stop. There are times during the year where about 60% of the repair work I do is related to suction cleaning systems picking up too much debris. Note: This is never covered under any warrantee.

There is more that I could add, but I am too tired to do so now. Installation is as follows:

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What are the approximate costs for upkeep of an above ground pool?

Charmian O

My wife and I are looking at buying a house, and it comes with an above ground pool (Looks like about 15' x 30'. I've heard from a lot of people that the maintenance and upkeep of a pool is more expensive and time consuming than it's worth... but not one of the people I've heard that from has a pool. I know the insurance will be higher (Don't know how much, but I know it'll be higher)... but I don't know anything else. How much /month or /year is the cost of the chemicals and maintenance? How much time is involved in keeping it up? Thanks!

Answer
Total chemicals for an above ground pool in the snow belt should top $250 for the season. If you stay on top of the pool and test frequently this should really be $150. Testing takes 30 seconds and will tell you what to do if the water is not balanced. the more often you test and balance the cheaper the annual bill will be. If you attempt do maintain your pool once/ week you will have a few weeks when the water turns green. This will cost you $30-$50 and 2-4 hours of time to clean up the mess. If you and your wife are very busy people and cannot dedicate the time to test and balance you will have a nightmare. I tell my customers to test and balance chems every other day. If they have a party or itâs 100 degrees out then you want to do this daily. Cleaning the pool and filter will take you 1 hour per week (if you have many trees in your yard you may need to do this twice per week). Opening and closing a pool is very easy, however if you havenât done this pay somebody and watch!!!! We have hints about removing the cover without allowing the muck water to fall into the clean pool water. (roughly $175-$250)

I look at it two ways:

If you like the house but donât like the pool, tear it down; around Chicago the rate is $300- $700 for removal.

If you like it but cannot dedicate the time hire a svc company again in Chicago the rate is $35- $50 per weekly visit (this includes the cleaning).

Testing will take you ten times to understand fully (two weeks). All chemicals have instructions on the rear for the proper dosage.

The best product that will make your pool 50% less maintenance is an AUTOMATIC chemical feeder... this puts a constant amount of chlorine or bromine into your pool all the time. Most people screw up and water turns green because they forgot to add some chlorine... this way even if you forget to test a couple of days you know the pool is still having some chlorine added to it. These run between $50 and $100 installation is cake if you have a drill.


Good luck

Asking price for a 27 foot above ground swimming pool?

Dain K

I have a 27 foot above ground swimming pool (3 years old) that I am trying to sell. It is in very good condition with a pump/filter, solar and winter covers, and accessories such stairs and automatic cleaner. The liner is fine now, but it may need to be replaced when torn down, but no idea. Is $1500 too much to ask? $1000? $500? I'm clueless on this.

Answer
Dain, i already answered your question on this with your other question when you referred to your pool as a 24 foot Round pool.

I gave it a second thought after posting, and seeing this message, IF you want to sell your pool, or get rid of it, you might want to post an ad for used pool equipment. A Pump/motor usually goes for 3-400 bucks, and the filter could be a few hundred more, but the equipment is used, so if you get someone to buy it for 500 dollars you should consider yourself lucky. Place an add for the equipment, and as a bonus they can have the pool for free. you might get a taker, But refer to my other message where i talked about liability. You don't want to be held responsible when the pool leaves your yard, so should something happen in 2 weeks, whether it is faultyequipment or improper installation, just make sure you dont get caught up in it.

It makes no sense to try and make a few bucks back on your pool that is 3 years old, and then by some string of bad luck, have someone come knocking on your door looking for damages because the ladder or steps failed and someone got injured. Sure it could be from the new owner installing equipment improperly, and you have no control over it, But is it really worth the hassle? Sell your used equipment, people will buy it. Especially now where people are going to have equipment failures and problems from the past winter, and dismantle your pool and put it on the side of the road, i guarantee someone will load it and take it away, even if there is no equipment.

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Anyone have a Hayward Viper Pool Cleaner that doesn't work well?

Man in the

I've got a year old Hayward Viper pool cleaner that stops after about 5 minutes. Pressure is fine, had internals check. Any ideas?

Answer
heres a link with a few tips on automatic cleaners...maybe one will fix your problem: http://www.swimming-pool-information.com/automatic-pool-cleaner-problems.html

Do you know how hard these above ground POOLS are to keep clean? How much do the chemicals cost? What brand is

cloeen

the best to buy? Did you put sand under yours?

Answer
I've had a pool all my life and enjoy every second of it!

If you manually clean your pool you shouldn't spend more than 1-1 1/2 hours per week on it - thats it! I spend 1-2 min per day just testing the water and keeping my chemicals balanced. The majority of my time is cleaning the bottom. I purchased the Hayward Aqua Bug which is an automatic cleaner and it cleans my pool for me! The best $120 I ever spent! All I do is skim the top of the pool and hop in! I spend MAYBE 30 min per week total doing everything!

As far as chemicals - I use Bleach, Borax and Baking soda! Plain unscented bleach will sanitize your pool just the same as the expensive shock or chlorine you buy at the pool stores. I'll post the websites that will help you!

Good Luck

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How do you open an inground pool????

Q. We bought a house in January. We have never owned a pool. The water is black. Is that normal?? How do we treat it successfully?? PLease help I dont want to have to pay the pool company 500 to open it. Thanx a bunch
Ok apparently I p.issed someone off cuz I put this in the marriage divorce category But I thought that since alot of married ppl have pools this would be the best place to ask.

Answer
Well black water is not normal unless the pool plaster is black. Most pools have white plaster. Just FYI the sparkling blue water you see in your pool is actually the blue sky reflecting on the white plaster. Okay steps to open a pool.
1. If it has a cover on it take it off.
2. Locate your cleaning equipment ie: hoses, leaf rake, skimmer net, pool vacuum, pole(s).
3. Locate the skimmers (in pool deck) and make sure they are free of leaves and debris. They should have removable baskets in them.
4. If you have a lot of leaves in the bottom of the pool you will need to take your leaf rake (which is actually a net) and start getting the leaves out of the pool. Get out as many as you can.
5. Now you will need to see if the pool pump is working. Turn it on and see if water is coming into the pump and back into the pool at the "jets" located on the side of the pool.
6. I would try to get as much of the cleaning done with the sand that you have in your filter now. If the water flow is poor you will need to backflush the filter to get all of the large debris out of the sand. This is done by turning or pulling a large valve that will reroute the water to an outlet usually connected to a hose that you will run out to the yard or street. There should be a small clear PVC area that you can look at as the water comes out. It will be very dirty at first then it will clear up somewhat. After backflushing turn or move valve back. This should improve water flow going back to the pool.
7. Now you can hook up your manual vacuum to one of the skimmers. Make sure that the basket stays in the skimmer and place a vacuum plate over the skimmer basket so that the leaves you vacuum up don't actually go into the return lines to the filter. If you have 2 skimmers I would recommend plugging off the second skimmer so you have all of your suction going to the vacuum skimmer. If you can also shut off the main drain at the bottom of the pool. There usually is a valve that you can turn that will allow water to return to the filter by the skimmers or the main drain or both. Just turn that valve off to the main drain.
8. Now you can turn on the pump and you should be able to start vacuuming the pool. It will vacuum strong for a short while but then the suction will start to lessen. This is notifying you that you need to backflush to filter again and check the skimmer basket. Backflush and continue on.
9. Just be aware that as you start to vacuum the pool and if there is a lot of dirt in the pool it will become very cloudy and you will be unable to see the bottom where you have vacuumed. At this point you can keep going on the best you can or you can stop, disconnect and unplug the skimmers and let the water circulate for awhile (few hrs) and let the cloudiness settle. Then you can start up vacuuming again.
10. This will get the pool clean eventually and it will take some time. It will not happen overnight.
11. After or when you are pretty close to having the pool cleaned you will need to go to your local pool supplier and get a water test kit and the chemicals to help get your pool within the proper pH. You will probably have to shock it several times. Your local pool supplier will be able to help you on this part.
12. If you have the pool clean and you are still seeing a lot of black or green stuff on the plaster you probably have algea. Green is okay, black is bad. Again your local supplier will be able to help you with that.
13. Change the sand in the filter. This should be done every other season.
14. Invest in an automatic pool cleaner. I highly recommend Polaris. They have 2 types that will work in any pool.
15. If you have a pool company do your chemical treatments DO NOT USE GAS CHLORINE!! That stuff is highly acidic and will eventually destroy your plaster finish on the pool. Not to mention you really shouldn't swim in the pool for at least 3 days after treatment.

Well I'm sure this is long enough for you to read. If you have any questions feel free to email me or contact me on 360. I have had a pool now for 11 yrs including 2 major leaks, 3 pool pumps, many automatic cleaners etc. If I can help you let me know.

What is the difference between in ground and above ground cleaner?

Dez

I am looking for an automatic pool cleaner, but i found out that there are two type. one is in ground and one is abover ground. I dont know what's the different between the two.

Answer
It's referring to the type of pool you have. Above-ground cleaners mainly cover the bottom of the pool. Since the sides in most inground pools have either curves or slopes between the floor and the walls, (above-ground pools usually have right angles) the cleaners are generally able to climb the walls and clean them as well. (And, generally there will be a big price difference between the two types; in-ground cleaners generally cost a lot more.

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