Having a pool in your backyard can be an incredible feature. Not only does it look great, but it also provides you and your family with an easy way to cool off on an uncomfortably hot day. More so, swimming pools are the central location of fun for many households.
However, they can be a lot of work to maintain and keep clean. One of the biggest problems that pool owners face is the accumulation of green algae, a substance that grows because of a lack of proper sanitation and filtration. It can also form due to a very high pH.
If you are struggling with green algae, there are various ways in which you can go about eliminating the problem. Below, we will discuss three methods that you can use in order to get rid of green algae in your pool.
How to Get Rid of Green Algae in Pool
Here are the best methods to use to get your pool back to tip-top condition.
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Method One: Shock Your Pool
When it comes to getting rid of green algae, shocking your pool is probably the easiest and quickest method to use. In fact, there are only four basic steps that are included in this process:
Step One: Sanitise Your Pool
The first thing that you will need to do is clean your pool using a heavy treatment of chlorine. It does not matter what type of chlorine you use – many people prefer granular, while others stick to liquid. However, it is important that you ensure that it is non-stabilized.
Step Two: Lower Your Pool’s pH Level
Secondly, you will need to go about lowering the pH of your swimming pool. This can be done using pH Down Tablets or HCl (whichever is more readily available to you). By lowering the pH, the chlorine will be way more effective.
Step Three: Check the Pool System
In order to evenly disperse the chlorine throughout the entire pool, you will need to ensure that your pool system is working correctly. You should also set the system to run for 24 hours without switching off at any point. On top of this, you will want to clear your pool filter of any debris or blockages.
Step Four: Test and Rebalance the Pool Water
After two or three days, you can go about testing and rebalancing your pool water. If you notice that the pH is too low, you should make the necessary adjustments before swimming in the water again. You can also set the pool system to run normally once again.
Method Two: Use Flocculant
Floc (also known as flocculant) is a substance that many pool owners use in order to keep their water clean and clear of any unwanted substances. In short, it combines all of the small particles in the pool and these then settle on the floor. Once they have collected on the pool floor, it is very easy for you to go about clearing them out of the water completely.
Even though this method requires more work than shocking, it is also more effective and can be extremely reliable if done appropriately. More so, it is important to note that you should not use this technique if you have a cartridge filter, as the filter element will become clogged.
Step One: Set Your Filter to Recycle
The first thing that you will need to do when floccing your pool is set your filter to the ‘recycle’ or ‘recirculate’ mode. In short, this will prevent any water from flowing into the filter. It will spin the water around, ultimately helping mix in any chemical that is added to the pool.
Step Two: Add the Required Amount of Flocculant
You can purchase floc in powder or liquid form. While it does not matter which you buy, you should always read the instructions on the back of the package in order to ensure that it is added to the pool correctly.
Step Three: Let Your Pool Water Circulate for a Few Hours
After you have added the correct amount of flocculant, you will need to let the water sit for a couple of hours. This is done in order to ensure that all of the substance is mixed in. You can then switch off your pool pump and let the water sit overnight.
In this time, the flocculant will begin binding the particles in the water together and settling them on the pool floor. The next morning, you should find a layer of fine particles on the bottom of your pool.
Step Four: Set Your Vacuum Multiport to Waste
Now you can go about finding and hooking up your pool vacuum cleaner. However, before you turn the filter back on, make sure that the multiport valve is set to waste – this will prevent the thick sludge from going through and breaking your filter.
Step Five: Add Your Hose to the Pool
When your vacuum is set to ‘waste’, you will lose a lot of pool water. In order to replace it as you go along, you should set up your garden hose and allow it to fill your pool with clean water.
Step Six: Vacuum the Bottom of Your Pool
When you start vacuuming your pool, you will notice that some of the thick sludge is kicked up and dispersed into the water. This makes it very difficult to clean out all of the algae, as you will no longer be able to see it.
For this reason, you will need to leave the pool for an hour or so in order to let the sludge resettle on the floor. In fact, this may need to be done a couple of times if you wish to get every single bit of sludge out of the water.
Conclusion
There are various methods that you can use in order to eliminate algae from your swimming pool. For starters, you could simply shock your pool. This is the quickest and easiest method of the lot. You could also add flocculant to your water – this substance combines all particles in the water and settles them on the pool floor.