white mucous-like stuff floating in pool

[Guest]

When i opened my pool this year there was tons of this white cloudy mucous-like stuff floating in the pool.
I thought i had gotten rid of it by constantly filtering my water for a few days and shocking it.
Now 4 months later it is comming back. All chems are in range and water is crystal clear.
The only way to describe it is an almost transparent white milky mucous like stuff that you have to wear goggles and go underwater to see.
Anyone else have this problem?

[DiscountPoolWarehouse]

The white mucus you describe is what we call white water mold. This is usually found in pools that use a biquinide system although it can appear in a chlorine pool it is not very common. This usually comes from improper water balance in chlorinated pools and in a biquinide pool it just happens. To treat it in a biquinide pool you will need to shock treat the pool with at least 2 gallons of shock per 10,000 gallons of water, and I recommend the addition of a Bio Guard product called Assist. Follow the directions on the container to use the assist. In a chlorinated pool you can use a triple shock 3 lbs per 10,000 gallons of water. That should resolve the problem, but make sure you shock the pool with 1 lb per 10,000 at least once a week when the water temperatures reach 80 degrees. If you want to know where to purchase Assist or have more questions contact me here

Guru of Pools

[Jackie]

The white mucus you describe is what we call white water mold. This is usually found in pools that use a biquinide system although it can appear in a chlorine pool it is not very common. This usually comes from improper water balance in chlorinated pools and in a biquinide pool it just happens. To treat it in a biquinide pool you will need to shock treat the pool with at least 2 gallons of shock per 10,000 gallons of water, and I recommend the addition of a Bio Guard product called Assist. Follow the directions on the container to use the assist. In a chlorinated pool you can use a triple shock 3 lbs per 10,000 gallons of water. That should resolve the problem, but make sure you shock the pool with 1 lb per 10,000 at least once a week when the water temperatures reach 80 degrees. If you want to know where to purchase Assist or have more questions contact me here

Guru of Pools

There is a chemical called Extreme Clean which claims to take care of all of this. Can you let me know. I have white stuff in my pool and also I need a sweeper for my bottom of pool. It holds 3800 gallons only and is small, but I do not know if the filter is worth cleaning or buying a new one every time. How often should I replace my filter and also how often should I run my filter. I have it on all the time, is that bad?

[cremona]

will a oxishock kill the white gunk cos I dont wanna use chlorine

[paulbest]

this white mucous like stuff floating in pools are organically occurring fungus. It forms a heavy, protective coating, providing the organism with an uncommonly high level of protection that is very resilient against both halogen-based (chlorine, bromine) and non-halogen sanitizers and germicides, and it can White water re-contaminate long after it was destroyed.

It is usually caused by improper water and pool maintenance, environment and poor circulation. Basically, it is an overgrowth of naturally occurring Biofilms lying on pool surfaces and hiding in spots that are less accessible.

how to prevent it?

In case pool mold occurs despite all your maintenance efforts, its treatment must be quick and thorough. Immediately clean all affected surfaces and then physically clean and remove all visible mucous like stuff floating. Now add the prescribed dosage of algaecide to your pool, and shock the pool with a triple or even quadruple dose. Run the filter continuously until water is clear and peroxide and halogen levels reach high levels, and then chemically clean it. Take a water sample 4-5 days afterwards for a retest and evaluation, making sure that there’s a good water balance of total alkalinity pH and calcium hardness.