Why Is My Swimming Pool Raleigh Green?

Earlier this year you finished a backyard family pool just in time for the summer. Your kids enjoyed it all season long, but now that the temperature is dropping, you look out the window one day and notice your pool is bright green. You have three options in a situation like this, you can leave it as it is, and allow your backyard oasis to turn into a backyard swamp. You could call Rising Sun Pools and Spas, the best swimming pool service Raleigh, or you could learn how to handle the murky situation yourself! If you are more of a DIY type of person, Rising Sun Pools is here to provide you with everything you need to understand about your green pool, and how to tackle it. 

This green color in your swimming pool means one thing: algae. Algae is a small plant that can easily find its way into your pool and thrive in untouched, untreated water. Any body of water that contains nitrogen and phosphorus, and isn’t protected by chemical treatments, makes for a welcoming place for algae begin feasting on debris and bloom almost as instantly as overnight. In the case of algae overcoming your swimming pool, here are the steps it takes to get back to being swimmable. 

  1. Assess the situation. How deep is the green color of your pool? Has it been left for only a few days or a few months? The darker the green, the murkier the water. Depending on how dark the water is, you may need to drain the pool and just start fresh. That is a hassle in itself, so hopefully, you caught your pool in time to save the water. A tip to know if you should drain the water is if you stick a net into the pool 8 inches, see if you can see the tip of the net still. If you can see it, you’re in luck, you can save your pool! If you can’t see 8 inches underwater, your pool is too far gone. 
  2. Test the Ph levels. Any pool owner, swimming pool service Raleigh or not, should own a pool chemical testing kit. Once you clarify the Ph levels of your pool, you need to balance it to a level of 7.2 or just below that. 
  3. Here comes the shock. The Ph levels of your pool have hit 7.2, now it is time to shock the water! By shock, we don’t mean to tell it something unbelievable, we mean to put super levels of chlorine in the water. Liquid and granular amounts vary, so refer to the user’s guide, directions, and contact your local swimming pool service Raleigh provider such as Rising Sun Pools and Spa for more help if needed. This breaks through and disrupts the algae’s nucleus, preventing it from reproducing. During this process, your water may look a bit cloudy, but it should clear up after a while. 
  4. Filter out the funk. Shocking your pool does nothing but kill the active algae. To remove the algae, you will now turn on your filter, and let it run for at least 24 hours. Expect this to be the most demanding part of your cleaning project, as you should be cleaning your filter multiple times throughout the filtration process. Once the first 24 hours is up, clean the filter and scrub your pool. Replace the filter, and let it run for another 24 hours, and repeat this process until your pool is clear. 
  5. Be sure you were thorough. The worst thing that can happen is you spending days cleaning out your pool, and you miss a few flocks of algae, and within a week it is back to a swamp again. A flocculant clumps dead algae together for easier filtering.

Once you have your backyard pool under control again, one of the most important steps to remember is to keep it clean! Check the Ph, chlorine, and other chemical levels daily, and filter the pool as much as you can. If your pool becomes too much of a hassle for you, just contact Rising Sun Pools and Spas, the best option for swimming pool service Raleigh NC. 

Rising Sun Inground Pools and Spas- Raleigh NC 

Backyard pools provide a place to relax, exercise, and have fun with family and friends, however, this can’t happen when your pool is green. Rising Sun Pools and Spa has just the swimming pool service Raleigh your green and murky backyard oasis needs. Contact our team of pool cleaning professionals today.