You’re all ready to go and jump into the swimming pool, but the water isn’t clear! It was yesterday. What gives? Even worse you’re having a houseful of guests coming over for a pool party and it’s cloudy. Why is the pool water cloudy? You give your pool contractor from Seahorse Pools in Fort Worth, Texas a call, in a panic and let him know the water is cloudy.
What do you do?
Why is the pool water cloudy?
One of the first things we will check when we come out to your swimming pool to give it a look and determine why it’s cloudy we will check:
- Is there adequate circulation?
- How is the water filtration?
- When was the water last tested and what were the readings?
After we’ve checked the above three items we will get into the nitty gritty of the water chemistry itself and the pool pump pressure and the cleanliness of the pool filter and skimmer basket. Here are other items that need to be addressed if your water is cloudy:
- The pH levels
- Alkalinity levels
- Calcium hardness — high levels lead to cloudiness
- Poor circulation and water filtration
- Low chlorine levels
- What is the water temperature? High water temps can lead to cloudy water
To address cloudy water and get the pool back to swim condition you need to asssure you are running the pool pump at least twelve hours a day in the summer. It may seem excessive, but when the pool is being used a lot and when the water temps are rising it’s necessary to circulate the water thoroughly and assure it’s being turned over completely at least once per day. Pool pumps are built to run twenty four hours a day so relax if you need to run it longer than you have been.
Test the water regularly. If you’re not testing frequently — even daily — in the summer the water chemistry can change quickly and lead to cloudy water. If we’ve tested and checked everything and find the chemistry is way out of line, we may recommend shocking aka super chlorinating the water to help clear it up. This treatment will mean you won’t be able to use the pool for a couple of days so it is our last option, but sometimes you just can’t avoid it.
If you’re a do-it-yourselfer with your pool cleaning and maintenance and you just can’t get the water clear, give us a call and let’s schedule a pool cleaning and maintenance visit so your pool won’t have to remain out of commission.