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A Pool Owner’s Biggest Enemy: Algae

Imagine this scenario: You put on your swimsuit, you grab your towel, and you slip into your flip-flops.  You are so excited to swim in your pool today; the weather is perfect.   You walk down to your pool and remove the cover when out of nowhere, you have…ALGAE!!  Your once clear pool is now green, cloudy, and algae-filled.  An algae-filled pool is not a pleasant sight to see, but it happens even to the best of pool owners. Typical questions asked by pool owners who are suffering from algae issues are, “What is algae and where does it come from?”, “How do I prevent algae from growing?” And “How do I get rid of algae?”.  I hope after reading this, you are more familiar with how you can prevent this situation from happening to you.

What are algae and where do they come from?  Algae is a plant-like micro-organism that needs moisture, sunlight, and warmth to grow.  It can be found in the cleanest and clearest of swimming pools, but when it blooms is when it becomes a problem. So, where do these micro-organisms come from?  They can come from soil, trees, pets, and even from a freshly washed swimsuit.  There is no magic chemical to remove all algae from the air or water sources; the best defense is prevention.

How do I prevent algae from growing? If you want to hinder an algae bloom in your swimming pools, your best defense is going to be prevention. Prevention includes every other week application of algaecide, keeping a healthy residual of sanitizer (you want to maintain a level of 3-5ppm of chlorine in your pool) and maintaining a proper pH level of 7.2 - 7.6.  If your pH level is too high or too low, it can lower the effectiveness of your sanitizer.  Another rule-of-thumb for pool maintenance is “open early, close late.”  What this means is open your pool early in the Spring before the warm temperatures take effect, and close it late in the Fall after the warm temperatures have disappeared.

How do I get rid of algae?  If you, unfortunately, have an algae problem, you now need to take steps to rid the pool of the green mess.  Although there may be just a few steps to rid a pool of algae, it can be time-consuming and costly at times.  Follow these necessary steps to rid your pool of algae:

  • Step One - Kill all live algae with an appropriate algaecide and dose, in combination with a dose of sanitizer.
  • Step Two - Clean out the dead algae as soon as possible.  Do this by brushing the bottom and walls of the pool daily, moving the debris towards the main drain.
  • Step Three - Clean your filter regularly of the dead algae.  

It is important to remember when you're killing an algae bloom that your pool is going to look worse before it gets better.  The key is to be consistent with the above steps and be patient.  Also, if you are experiencing cloudy water even after these steps, and your water is balanced, you could have an issue with phosphates.  Fighting phosphates is like algae but can become pricey to manage.  To determine if you have phosphates, have your water testing professional at Dolphin Pool & Spa perform a phosphate test free of charge.

Watch Dolphin Pool & Spa’s YouTube video on algae here: