milky pool

[Jay]

Seba,

When you turn off the pump, let everything settle to the bottom.

Then vacuum the floor of the pool and set the valve for waste.

Get the algea out that you killed.

You will lose some poool water doing this, so all you have to do is add water.

If you vaccum the bottom and turn the pool back on and it's still a little cloudy, you will need to add floculant. To make all those really small particles stick together and fall to the bottom.

After they all stick together and fall to the bottom, you then vacuum the pool.

[f-150fx4offroad]

i have the same milky color problem and i had this problem from last year.I'm not happy with it. i went to the pool shop with sample of water and i find out that there is nothing really wrong with the water. I'm not liking the color of the water at all . the worst part is that when the water is still everything sinks to the bottom and the water is clear but once the water starts moving it gets that milky water color. I'm trying a lot of stuff and nothing helping. I'm not adding chemicals but I'm still shocking and filtering.

CAN ANY ONE HELP OR FIND THE SOLUTION!?

We have been having alot of stormy weather. I took a sample of pool water in to be tested. Was instructed to purchase 10 lbs of ph increaser, 25 lbs calcium hardness plus , and told to double shock. I was told to add 3 cups ph increaser in a bucket of water and broadcast into the shallow end, and to repeat this in the middle of pool and then in the deep end.. A total of 9 cups. Leaving some left over from my 10 lb bucket purchase. The next day I was to do the same thing with the calcium hardness plus. 3 cups mixed in a bucket of water in shallow end, 3 cups mixed with water in middle, then 3 cups mixed with water in deep end. I was instructed to repeat this every 4 hrs. or once in the morning and once in the evening until all 25 lbs of the calcium hardness plus was all gone. I shocked as instructed. All seemed fine the day after all this was done but I had a wild hair to add just a few more cups of ph increaser. just 3 cupfuls. The ph wasn't reading as "PINK" as I would like on my test strip. I thought nothing of it as I diluted the ph increaser and threw it across the pool as before. A bucket in the shallow, a bucket in the middle, finally, a bucket in the deep. Now my water looks like skim milk. I can't even see the bottom. Not sure yet what I'll do. If I take a sample to the pool store, I'm sure they will be able to tell me what to do. Money is sure an issue for us all these days. My husband says everything is about sales and they'll just try to sell me more chemicals. Thought about shocking it again and let the pump run, run, run as mentioned above. Maybe some clarifier?? I'll keep reading here and see what others are saying.

[chem geek]

Try reading at the Pool School and getting yourself a good test kit (either the Taylor K-2006 or the TF100 from tftestkits.net). You could have dead algae or you could have too high a pH, TA or CH (over-saturation with calcium carbonate). You can use The Pool Calculator to calculate dosing and calculate the saturation index, if you had test numbers.

[Guest]

I am going crazy trying to clear my milky pool up this year!! I am so comforted by all the people out there who have the same issue, but noone is providing a good solid answer. I am cracking up at all the comments. Please help my milky water, I feel like my pool is a toxic wasteland with all the chemicals I have used nothing works had my water tested a two places did what they told me to and after spending all of my 401k on fixing the problems its still not fixed I guess a least when I am old I won't have any money but I might have a milky pool to bath in.

[chem geek]

Sorry you are having problems and no one is helping you. Do you have your own good test kit (the Taylor K-2006 or the TF100 from tftestkits.net)? Do you have a full set of water chemistry numbers you can post? Cloudy water can come from a variety of conditions. It could be over-saturation of calcium carbonate if your pH, Total Alkalinity (TA) and/or Calcium Hardness (CH) are too high. Or it could be algae growth or dead algae. It could be lotions, oils, and other chemicals if your filter is malfunctioning (e.g. channeling in a sand filter).

Please post a complete set of water chemistry numbers and give more information of how the pool got milky in the first place. Also, describe the pool -- in-ground vs. above-ground; plaster vs. vinyl vs. other (pebble-tec, etc.); size of pool in gallons; number of skimmers and floor drains and returns (where water flows into the pool); size of pool pump in HP (if you know it); type of filter (sand vs. DE vs. cartridge).

[Guest]

Hello chem geek. Thank you for responding. I have spent another day trying to fix my cloudy pool. My pool is 18x36 inground When we opened it last Wednesday it was cloudy from the start. Normally when we open it for the year it is clear with just worms at the bottom. The place that opened my pool just added powder shock and said it should be clear by the next morning. Well it was not and is still not. I have tested it repeatedly with a pool place, at home with test strips and another pool place with electronic testing I have shocked it to death I have added 4 rounds of ph plus and last thing they said was the alklinity was high so to add muratic acid every 3hours diluted it first 2 gallons half gallon at a time i thought for a minute today i saw a little clearing however it was probably a mirage from staring at the water for so long. tonight its still cloudy please help its been 4 long days. My pool is now a toxic wasteland I stuck my arm in to test the water and now my arm is glowing... I have to joke because I am going nuts...please let me know what you think.

[Guest]

Gem Geek sorry I did'nt answer your last questions. We have a sand filter in which we changed the sand 2 years ago. One skimmer one floor drain two returns vinyl liner pump is 1/2 to 3HP thats what my info on the pump has. My test strip is reading no clorine. Thats because when i dip it the clorine bleaches the test strip. I will try to get the water tested tommorrow again at the pool place.

[amy]

I am searching the net because of the same problem! milky cloudy pool water and noone can help me!!!! I have tried everything!!!!! Hoping someone has a good answer because the pool store just keeps selling me chemicals and nothign works!

[Denali]

I am searching the net because of the same problem! milky cloudy pool water and noone can help me!!!! I have tried everything!!!!! Hoping someone has a good answer because the pool store just keeps selling me chemicals and nothign works!

Hi,

Is the pool store testing your water or just suggesting chemicals based on the condition you describe to them? What you need is a full test of your water so that you know the following levels:

free chlorine
total chlorine
pH
TA
CYA
CH (calcium hardness)

If you can get those numbers then we can help. Without them it's just guess work. It also helps to know they type of pool you have (above ground, in ground, vinyl, plaster) and size. A listing of the type of equipment you have helps also.

[nitromag57]

i would say change the sand in the filter just to be sure every at least every 2 years this usally solves this you probaly have green sand and crap in there, shut off pump close lines from pool, losen drain cock on filter take off filter head look inside of sand tank i bet theres green stuff in there....

[Lorna]

When your pool water is clear.........vac the bottom very slowly, but don't filter it. Put your filter on waste and it will remove the sediment on the bottom. Your water will remain clear as long as you vac the problem directly out of the pool and filter. What you will be doing is getting rid of the very fine waste particles and not sending it through the filter again.

[Bjorn]

What do your test results on the ph and chlorine level show Is it possible to vacuum it up?

[amy]

Wooohoooo!!!!!!!! We used Flok a second time and replaced all the sand in the filter. We woke up the next morning and WHAM! CLEAR! First time in a year!!!! Thank you!

[evil_jen]

OK so here's the deal with your cloudy water. If you are getting algae blooms you are not keeping your chlorine levels high enough. I had used those water test strips for sometime and kept having problems with the pool. I later found out that they are not very accurate. It is better to buy a chemical dropper kit. These are much more accurate and they will help you maintain the proper chemical levels. If you had a large or small amount of algae at any point then shocked or super chlorinated the pool, what usually happens within 24 hrs is that the algae dies off and you end up with a milky looking pool. The only way I was able to rid my pool of this cloudiness was to purchase a flocculant (which is different from a clarifier) and add it to the pool. There is a trick to it though...You add about half of a bottle, let the filter run for a couple hours, then turn it off and let the water sit. The algae particulate is too fine for most filters so this chemical will bind the particles and send them to the bottom of the pool. Once this happens (give it a night) you will then have to vacuum this stuff at the bottom of the pool out to waste. Regular filtration will just make your water cloudy again. Make sure you prime your vacuum before you turn the pump off or you will disturb what has settled.
Good luck...Hope this helps

[sherbear]

I am glad to know that I'm not the only one with pool problems, I have learned that it is a very good ideal to have your water tested some as we do have softeners. Or you may have hard water,but either way it shouldn't be that hard to maintain. I have also learned to not mix brands. Stick with one, and dont add too many at one time.