Algae in Swimming Pools

Learning how to clean algae in swimming pools is easy...albeit a temporary toxic nightmare...but it is easy.

I’ve had my above ground pool for about 5 years now, and as it is with everything else in life...maintenance is the best option! When you regularly maintain your backyard swimming pool – in other words, get the leaves out, vacuum it occasionally, and ensure that the appropriate chemicals are added on a weekly basis – you won’t have to worry about learning how to clean algae in swimming pools, because you won’t have any.

Unfortunately, we all have moments in our life when we let things go, and the problems magnify. That’s what happened to me last year, and within about one month’s time, I had a serious algae problem on my hands.

Literally, the entire bottom and sides of my above ground pool was coated with brown/green algae. I tried to vacuum it up, but it didn’t budge. Then I tried to scrub the bottom of the pool (yes, I was in it at the time...how gross!) but that only served to stir up an algae mess, and then I couldn’t see the bottom of the pool, only the “pea-green soup” water I was standing in...ugh!

So I was able to find someone to come out a take a look at it, which is hard to do when you have an above-ground pool as most service people only work on in ground pools. Needless to say, over $150 later, my pump was working better, but I still had the “algae in swimming pools” to worry about. His advice was, ”You’re gonna have to shock the heck out of it!” (Only he didn’t say “heck” if you know what I mean...I’m just trying to keep it clean here, people.)

I have to admit, I didn’t believe him. Because I added like 6 bottles of shock, and there wasn’t much of a change. So I decided to ignore the problem, and pack it up for the winter. What a great decision!

Guess what?

That’s right, the algae was waiting patiently for me this spring.

I do believe I half-expected it to go away...hmmmm...

So I called yet another service person who only works on in ground pools, and I heard those same words:

”You’re gonna have to shock the heck out of it!”

This time, I paid attention.

He told me that to make any kind of dent in the algae in swimming pools, you need to add a ridiculous amount of shock day after day until it clears up. Because my pool is so large – 30 foot round – I needed to start with 8-10 bottles of shock the first day, then maybe 6 or more the next, until the algae was dead. Once it was dead, I was able to vacuum the bottom of the pool.

He told me that when dealing with algae in swimming pools, attempting to vacuum living algae was futile because it wouldn’t work. (I already knew this from my attempt last year.) I didn’t ask why, this time I just did what he told me.

So I purchased the spring start up kit, along with 30 bottles of shock. After all, I wanted to make sure I had enough!

I filled up the pool, turned on the pump, and then added the spring start up chemicals. Then, one by one, I added the 10 bottles of shock.

The improvement in the amount of algae the next day was amazing! I still had several patches of algae left, but the water had cleaned up substantially.

The next day I added 6 more bottles, and of course, kept the filter running the entire time. After about 4 days, I cleaned the filter in the pump as it was covered with algae from the bottom of the pool. I replaced the filter, turned the pump back on, and let it run another week.

Once again I turned off the pump and cleaned the filter. Now my pool is finally ready for use!

Oh, if you’re thinking about skipping these steps and emptying the water out of your pool to clean up this algae problem...DON’T! This will cause the liner to shrink, and you’ll ruin it. I’ve heard this expert advice from several pool professionals AND I’ve seen it numerous times on the web.

When cleaning algae in swimming pools, take extra caution with a few steps:

• Do NOT place your solar cover on the pool while you are shocking the heck out of it! The chlorine will eat through the cover and you’ll end up buying a new one.
• Do NOT go into the pool during this time! The chemicals make the pool extremely toxic, and the water should be tested for safety before entering. Those little test strips from the pool store work well. Make sure that the chlorine levels are where they should be before you go swimming.

For more information on pool care, follow these links:

Swimming Pool Season Closing
Solar Covers
Pool Vacuums
Pool Games
Kids Swimming Pools

There’s also some good hot tub info available if you’ve got one of those too! (Or maybe you’re just looking – see what’s involved in hot tub care before you make your decision. It may be easier to maintain than you think!)

I hope this information helps you clean the algae in swimming pools mess that you’re dealing with.

Happy swimming!

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