• Cloudy water is a nuisance, it does not look nice and it can create a safety hazard. There are five causes why pool water gets cloudy. Cloudy water results from one or more of the following:

1. Improper water balance

2. Low sanitizer or oxidizer level

3. Poor or inadequate circulation/filtration

4. Extremely high bather load

5. Chemical incompatibility

• These five causes will cover probably 99 percent of all cloudy water problems you are likely to encounter on a daily basis.
• There are a few other causes such as a car being driven into the pool, a flock of geese lands in the pool or some deliberate act. But even those might be covered under our broad causes above.
• If you correct, check or perform these five causes, you will have crystal clear water -

1. Balance the water.

• Adjust all chemical operation parameters to the proper range. High levels of calcium and magnesium hardness, high total alkalinity and high pH can all cause cloudy water. NSPI Recommended Ranges:
• Min. Ideal Max.pH 7.2 7.4-7.6 7.8
• Total Alkalinity 60 ppm 80-140 ppm 160 ppm
• Calcium Hardness 150 ppm 200-400 ppm 500-1000 ppm

1. Check for proper sanitizer or oxidizer levels.

• Bacteria and algae can cause the water to look cloudy. Superchlorination or shock treating with a non-chlorine treatment chemical may be required. The chlorine or bromine in the water can combine with contaminants brought in by a rain storm, dust storm or a heavy use period and become less effective. The water can turn hazy, cloudy or dull.  Superchlorinate by adding “enough” chlorine to bring the FAC (free available chlorine) up to 10 ppm or higher and keep it there for at least four hours – the longer the better. All chlorine products that can be used for superchlorination have label directions for using specific types of chlorine products. Follow label directions.
• Shock treat the water by adding one of the following non-chlorine shocking chemicals: potassium peroxymonosulfate, sodium persulfate, hydrogen peroxide or sodium percarbonate. Follow label directions.
• Again, superchlorinating and shock treating chemicals should already be on hand making this the next easiest step.

3. Check your circulation/filtration system.

• If the filter is not properly sized to the pool or the circulation/filtration system is not operating a sufficient number of hours per day, cloudy water can result. Most circulation/filtration systems must operate a minimum of six hours every day. Check the filter grids in the D.E. (diatomaceous earth) filter. Make sure they are clean, in good condition, not frayed or torn.

4. Sometimes the problem is just too much stuff brought in by swimmers.

• This is usually suntan oils and lotions, soap, makeup and other personal care products. The best way to stop this from clouding the water is to have swimmers shower or rinse off before entering the water. If you cannot police this and get people to do it, you may have to deal with the problem. Most clarifiers are not real good at removing bather- introduced stuff.
• However, enzymes can be a great help in these situations. Enzymes work slowly, but they do reduce the soap, oil and grease to carbon dioxide and water.

5. Chemical incompatibility.

This usually happens when a chemical is added to solve a problem and it doesn’t work. Then, another chemical is added to solve the same problem. It also happens when chemicals are added too close to one another.

Follow the above instruction for clear water in your swimming pool.

For any questions regarding your swimming pool, contact us here.

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