How To Prevent And Treat A Green Algae Bloom In Your Pool

When you own a pool, keeping it clean is a small daily task that helps remove the leaves, bugs, and other debris that can feed the growth of algae. Algae are tiny one celled plants, that feed off of the decomposing debris in your pool, along with needed sunlight for energy, as well. There are lots of things that you need to do to prevent an algae bloom in your pool, and a couple of ways to treat one as well.

Prevention Is The Key To Not Having A Problem

Every little speck of dirt, insects, leaves, and other debris that falls into your pool should be skimmed off by the filter and removed. This prevents all of that debris from decomposing and turning into fertilizer for algae to feed on and grow.

In addition to the debris, every person that gets into a pool leaves behind body oils, dander, dead skin cells, and other contaminants. All of which will also turn into fertilizer for the algae. That's why it's important to run your filter daily, skimming the surface, and filtering out as much of the bacteria and algae as possible.

Then, you should at least weekly, vacuum the pool in the morning before anyone has disturbed the contaminants that settle on the bottom. All of this is what the algae need to feed on in order to take over your pool and turn it green.

Applying Chlorine And Other Disinfectants

Chlorine is toxic to algae and will kill it as long as the concentration is strong enough. However, killing all of the algae in your pool, won't remove the fertilizer that the algae feeds on, your filter needs to do that.

If you've woken up to a totally green pool, you've had an algae bloom, is what it's called. You'll need to head on down to your local pool supply store and get some strong chlorine related chemicals and instructions on how to kill the bloom.

Usually, it will entail treating your pool with what is called a "shock treatment" which is a much higher than normal level of chlorine. This will clear the pool in a short period of time, but you'll want to concentrate your efforts on actually cleaning the water. If you don't clean the water of the fertilizer that is contaminating it, the algae bloom will reoccur over and over again. 

The real secret of getting rid of a green algae bloom in your pool, is not to have one in the first place. Run your filter, remove the floating debris from the skimmer, vacuum the settled debris from the bottom, and keep your pool clean at all times. It also helps to install showers and insist that everyone shower before entering the pool. Mats to wipe the feet on are also helpful, especially if you have grass around your pool. And finally, if you have the pool located in your backyard, under or near a tree, that's a huge source of insects and leaves, you might have to cut it down to save your pool.

Keeping your pool clean and algae free is a daily task that shouldn't be ignored, even on cloudy days. Just a few minutes to clean the skimmer, start the filter, then a once a week vacuum will go a long ways towards preventing an algae bloom.