It’s mid-summer, and you’ve been working hard all week. On Friday afternoon, you find yourself daydreaming about that peaceful swim you’re going to have on Saturday morning. Before you know it, the work day is over and you’re driving home. You wake up the next morning, eager for that refreshing dip in the pool you’ve been craving.
You slip on your swimsuit, grab your sunscreen, and make your way to the backyard. As you open your sliding door and look into the cool, clear waters of your pool, you notice something different.
What should be crystal clear rippling waves of blue has been replaced by white cloudy pool water. What happened? You’re pretty good with pool maintenance, and the pool heater is running fine, so what could be causing it?
What happened? You’re pretty good with pool maintenance, and the pool heater is running fine, so what could be causing it?
You’re probably not sure at the moment, but one thing is certain. Learning how to clear out cloudy pool water is your number one priority.
But rest easy. Because in this post, we show you how to get pool water clear in no time.
Why do I have cloudy pool water? | Cloudy pool water causes
Cloudy pool water is mainly a chemical related issue. That’s a fact. But what causes those chemical issues can vary from cases to case. Let’s explore the most common cloudy pool water causes.
Filtration
Your filter is the first place you should check. A filter system that isn’t working properly won’t be able to effectively capture and contain the contaminants that enter your pool. Giving them time to accumulate and alter chemistry. It’s important to run your filter at least 8 hours a day and monitor your PSI. But we’ll talk about this more in a few.
[Pool pump problems? Here’s how to troubleshoot your pool pump]
Environment
Anything that enters your pool has the potential to affect your water’s chemistry. This includes everything from natural bodily oils, lotions, and hair to factors including weather, animals, trees, gardens and nearby construction. Most contaminants will act similarly in terms of how they affect chemistry. Either absorbing/using up too much chlorine or raising pH too high.
[Have cloudy pool water after rain? This post explains how rain affects your pool]
Chemistry
A lack or excess of certain pool chemicals can affect your water in a number of ways. When it comes to cloudy pool, the usual culprits are a lack of chlorine or insufficient pH levels. But Calcium Hardness and Total Alkalinity can also play a part.
Now that we’ve got the causes covered, let’s go over the ways you can fix cloudy pool water.
How To Fix Cloudy Pool Water
Test your water first
Before you show you how to fix cloudy pool water, it’s important that you test your water. This will help you quickly pinpoint the root of your cloudy water problem.
So grab your pool test kit, and follow the included instructions. Here are ideal pool chemical ranges:
Free Chlorine: 1-2 ppm
Total Chlorine: <.3ppm
pH: 7.2 – 7.8
Total Alkalinity: 80 – 120 ppm
Calcium Hardness: 180 – 220 ppm (higher levels are acceptable up to approximately 400ppm)
If any of the levels are off, specifically chlorine, add the appropriate chemical to get it back in balance. But if your levels are looking okay then head over to your filter.
[Have some questions about pool chemistry? Our Pool Owner Guide has the answers you need]
Check that your filter’s pressure gauge is around its clean reading/starting pressure. If it’s more than 8 PSI over, your filter is likely contributing to the problem. In which case, you’ll want to clean out your filter medium. Which means changing your filter cartridge, or changing the filter sand.
Once you’ve tested your water and checked your filters, it’s time to move on to fixes.
Cloudy Pool Water Fixes
Cloudy Pool Water Fix 1
-Clarifier
Using a pool clarifier is one of the simplest ways to fix cloudy pool water. Here’s why.
In most cases, it’s often what we can’t see that affects pool chemistry the most. The microscopic contaminants that are nearly invisible to the human eye. Pool clarifier works by clumping together these micro particles into bigger, more easily filterable clumps. Which makes them a lot less likely to continue getting past your filter system.
We recommend going with a coagulant, which is just a special type of clarifier that works by clumping together contaminants. Be sure to follow the instructions on the product and pay special mind to any required wait times.
So if you were wondering how to clarify your pool, ironically enough, a pool clarifier is your answer.
Cloudy Pool Water Fix 2
-Flocculant
If time is of the essence, then flocculant is your go to, cloudy pool water remedy. It can fix cloudy pool water the fastest, but calls for some extra effort on your part.
Flocculant interacts directly with the particles causing the cloudiness in your pool. Binding to them and weighing them down. The end result being one solid white cloud sitting on your pool floor. Allowing you to easily vacuum out the contaminants in one shot.
Unlike clarifiers, flocculants do not directly clear out cloudiness. Rather they force contaminants into one spot, making them easier to manually remove.
Cloudy Pool Water Fix 3
-Bottom drains and filter
Use your bottom drains and system as the finishing touch to your efforts. Although in theory, you could use them to quickly suck up the cloud created by flocculant, you shouldn’t. In the end, you’d be doing more harm than good. Clogging your filter system with the physical equivalent of a surprise uppercut to the gut.
So once you’ve gone either the flocculant or clarifier route, then you can safely use your filter to get your water circulating. Backwash the filter for a few minutes, then run it normally for about 8 hours. When everything is said and done, your pool water should be looking crystal clear and inviting as ever.
Closing remarks
We hope this article was helpful. It’s much easier to fix cloudy pool water than most would think. It’s all just a matter of narrowing down the root cause, and applying the appropriate fix. But if for some reason you’re still battling with cloudy swimming pool water, a professional swimming pool service can find the solution.
