Chlorine Generator causing cloudy pool

Causes and cures for cloudy swimming pool water.
Milky pool water, white, pink, brown, purple, black cloudy water.
swim_spa

Re: Chlorine Generator causing cloudy pool

Postby swim_spa » Fri 14 Sep, 2018 15:08

Wow, I actually have the same exact problem too...our pool is about 3 years old and the water turns a cloudy white only when the chlorine generator is on. The water clears within minutes of the chlorine generator turning off. Someone mentioned checking the water content for metals and calcium...I'm going to give that a try and see what turns up. Otherwise, we've tried everything our pool professionals have recommended. Anyone actually find a solutions for this yet?


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Re: Chlorine Generator causing cloudy pool

Postby Denniswiseman » Fri 14 Sep, 2018 16:15

As I previously stated it's quiet normal for the chlorine gas to produce bubbles when running. The fact that it clears when the SWCG isn't working confirms it
Try running at a lower percentage and see if that helps
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Re: Chlorine Generator causing cloudy pool

Postby CarThomas317 » Sun 26 May, 2019 13:40

Did anyone find a solution to the problem? I am having the same problem. I’ve had an intex saltwater chlorinator for 3 years and always had crystal clear water. Like always, I shocked the water and ran the filter for two days. Today I took the cover off, filter running, no problem. As soon as I turned the chlorinator on the return jet became cloudy and affected my water clarity immediately. Took the chlorinator apart and cleaned the cell. Still cloudy. I don’t typically use cyanuric acid and have never had a problem maintaining chlorine level or water clarity, so CA level is low. pH, akalainity, chlorine levels, and salinity all good. Hardness is low but I have a vinyl liner and my understanding is that hardness range is relevant for concrete pools and otherwise only relevant if it is HIGH because it will cause scale on hardware. My hardness has always run low and I’ve always had crystal clear water. Do I have to replace my chlorinator? I’d love to know why this is happening. Unlike the others, the cloudiness does not immediately clear, it is not bubbles. I’ve never experienced the bubbles causing cloudiness phenomenon.
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Re: Chlorine Generator causing cloudy pool

Postby Teapot » Sun 26 May, 2019 15:44

The bubbles mentioned are a very fine fog usually, which takes time to clear. Posting water test results lets us look at where your water is at. You say you are not using CYA, that will mean the chlorinator working harder to maintain the chlorine level=possible more fine bubbles and definitely a shortening of the cells life. Salt not only provides the source for the chlorine (a gas) but also has a great deal to do with the conductivity of the water, less salt or too much salt can affect this.
Please come back with the test results (not from dip strips) as dip strips are practically useless.
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Re: Chlorine Generator causing cloudy pool

Postby Vinsan » Wed 29 May, 2019 09:47

I had the same problem as just described. This is the 4th year and never have had cloudy water. Water testing shows everything is fine. So the last time I acid cleaned the T 15 cell was Aug 2017. Last year I cleaned it (twice) only using a hose so after running the pool 6 days this year and getting cloudy water I decided to backwash again and acid clean the cell last Saturday.
On Sunday the cloudiness was better, on Monday better still , yesterday no cloudiness and today after 2.5 hours it is still perfect.
Use a 4:1 ratio of water to Muraitic acid. For a t15 cell 8 oz of acid added to 32 oz of water is perfect. By a cell stand, mix in a bucket and pour in cell . Soak 5-10 minutes.
Rinse and reset timer by pressing Diagnostic Button for 3 sec.
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Re: Chlorine Generator causing cloudy pool

Postby Teapot » Wed 29 May, 2019 10:47

Did you read the part where they said they had already cleaned the cell?
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Re: Chlorine Generator causing cloudy pool

Postby Vinsan » Wed 29 May, 2019 12:45

Yes I read that he "cleaned the cell" but how ?
Did he use acid or just water via a hose?
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Re: Chlorine Generator causing cloudy pool

Postby mgzych » Fri 19 Jul, 2019 19:57

Thanks, Vinsan. Glad to see some anecdotal feedback on what has worked. I have the same problem and will try the cell cleaning with the muriatic acid. If I can mimic your results, I’ll share.

Mark
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Re: Chlorine Generator causing cloudy pool

Postby mgzych » Sat 03 Aug, 2019 10:12

Sad to say that cleaning the cell didn’t help with my pool having this same problem. Used a muriatic acid solution to soak cell internals for 15 minutes. Rinsed and reinstalled...no change.

Anyone else?
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Re: Chlorine Generator causing cloudy pool

Postby Teapot » Sat 03 Aug, 2019 11:37

Is 15 minutes enough to dissolve a year or so of calcium?
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Re: Chlorine Generator causing cloudy pool

Postby mgzych » Sat 03 Aug, 2019 19:42

Hmmm...I don’t know. But it didn’t really bubble like the instructions indicated it might. So I wasn’t really sure there were any calcium deposits to dissolve to begin with. Is there any way to tell if it’s been cleaned “thoroughly?”
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Re: Chlorine Generator causing cloudy pool

Postby Teapot » Sun 04 Aug, 2019 00:17

Shine a torch and look if it's not the type with a removable cap.
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Re: Chlorine Generator causing cloudy pool

Postby mgzych » Sun 04 Aug, 2019 16:09

Do you think calcium deposits on the cell are causing the bubbles? Why would that be?
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Re: Chlorine Generator causing cloudy pool

Postby cachis » Tue 12 Nov, 2019 02:10

Hi All,
came across this thread and im wondering if anyone has a solution to the problem I have been facing since last week. The gasses from the chlorinator dont seem to be mixing into the water and they are coming out of the return jets and causing the pool to be cloudy. As soon as I turn off the chlorinator the pool is perfect.

Theres more to this story. Up until last week everything was fine for years with the pool. Last week I removed the cartridge filter and put in a new Astral H2flo 25inch filter with Glass media. After a few backwashes i run it through the pool. The interesting thing i have found is as follows. If i run the water through the new filter and into the chlorinator i have immediate cloud. I can see a very large amount of gasses in the chlorinator chamber. But if i turn the filter to recirculate, I have no cloud and the chlorinator gasses look normal even at 100%.

Its all pointing to the new filter and the glass media. but why? I dont understand. I have had the water chemistry checked twice in one week and all levels are great and also the pool looks crystal clear and very inviting to swim in.

As soon as I turn the lever to pass the water through the filter and even have the chlorinator on at even 10% the gasses hit the pool return jets and in 1 min the pool is fully cloudy.

Its doing my head in i cant work out how to fix this apart from putting the old cartridge filter back.

Chris
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Re: Chlorine Generator causing cloudy pool

Postby mgzych » Tue 12 Nov, 2019 13:35

I can offer a little more info from my own experience...

Along with the tiny bubbles/cloudiness spreading from the returns when the chlorinator was on, I noticed that there were larger air bubbles burbling into my pump strainer. I managed to eliminate the pump strainer bubbles by closing the valve from my main drain. So, I guess I have an air leak in that line somewhere. The interesting thing was that once I'd eliminated that air from the system, the tiny bubbles/cloudiness no longer appeared when the chlorinator was running. So, I've deduced that, in my case at least, it was air that was already in the system that was "feeding" the chlorinator to produce the tiny bubbles/cloudiness, rather than a dirty cell or some other intrinsic aspect of the chlorination process.

Hope this helps!
Mark

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