how does one remove algae from a vinyl pool?

[Bertha Venation]

Query from my sister who is denied 'net access at work:

"Sometime between Friday and Sunday, the water turned totally GREEN!! I chlorine shocked it 3 times yesterday and right now, Tor is pouring in the algaecide (it worked a couple of weeks ago when there was a small patch of algae on the surface of the vinyl, and since then, we've been using the weekly "maintenance" dose). Don't know what happened, but at this point, the water is Kermit-colored and cloudy. Gross. I just want to try whatever I can (without spending money) before the last resort of draining and starting over."

Anyone? Thanks for sharing experience or links.

[fob]

1. Buy some alage eater fish and turn em loose!

Sorry I'm all out af actual advice on this one, only smart-ass comments left. I am, however, interested in the/an answer!

[catmandu57]

2. Drain it and start over

scrub it with bleach and let it dry.

[Not Me]

9. DEFINITELY DO NOT DRAIN AND LET THE LINER DRY

This is the worst thing you can do.
A vinyl liner should never be allowed to dry out. It will shrink, and very likely crack. And, if it is an inground pool, you lose the pressure on the walls and could risk a cave in.

Get professional advice...take a water sample to a reputable pool shop and have them analyse it and follow their recommendation. Or, just spend the $ and have them solve it.

It sounds like a lack of active chlorine that started the cycle.
Provided the pool ph is in target zone, shocking it should have taken care of it. From there, you brush or vacuum the algae out to the drain.
But the chlorine or shock will only work properly when the water chemistry is right.

Repeat, do not empty a vinyl liner pool unless absolutely necessary, and then run a sprinkler to keep the liner wet. And of course, if it is a non trussed inground pool, brace the sidewalls with lumber to prevent cave-in.

[Ghetto_Boy]

3. I use Baquacil (non-chlorine) and have had no problems...

I keep the filter running 12 to 18 hours a day, and check the pH and baquacil levels every week.

[yellowcanine]

4. Drain it and use a blowtorch on the algae. It's the heat that makes it

work.

[MichiganVote]

5. Depends on the size of your pool

If you have applied proper chlorine and algaecide and you have a filter, run it for 24 hours. Check your levels again to make sure they are where they should be. You can buy sticks at the store. The green should leave within 24-36 hours but the cloudiness will remain for a bit. There are pool clarifiers you can buy and they can be effective.

If you have a filter be sure to out some chlorine and the algaecide in that area as well.

[MissAnnThrope]

6. OK...

The water can get cloudy from being overshocked. It's definitely green from not enough algaecide being out in. To get rid of the algae on the sides, once the water clears up, she's going to have to get in there with a soft brush and scrub it off the sides. It happens with vinyl lined pools, especially if it's been raining a bit.

Does she test the Ph of the water? If it's too alkaline (which is actually what turns hair green, not the chlorine) she's going to have to dump a bunch of baking soda in there. She's also going to have to keep the filter running and probably clean it a few times a day until this clears up. If a filter gets clogged, nothing in the water is cleaned out.

But if the water is entirely screwed up, she may have to drain and refill. It happens every few years.

[DebinTx]

7. We had the same problem

best thing we've found is called Baqua Flock (Baquacil is the stuff that goes into non-chlorine spas) but the flock works for all types of pools. It's basically granuals that the algae sticks to, settles to the bottom and you just vacuum as normal. It is totally safe, in fact, we get our kids in the pool as we put the flock in to stir up the water. There are other companies that make their own versions of flock but this one seems to work the best. Hope it helps.

[Bertha Venation]

8. where do you get Baqua Flock?

Can't find it anywhere except on a Spanish-language page....

[DebinTx]

12. Any spa and/or above ground pool place should carry it

the pool places around me also sell it.

[Bertha Venation]

17. thanks, Deb, I found it

[DebinTx]

14. Do a google search for baquacil.

Lots of places pop up but call around locally, someone ought to carry it.

[TrogL]

10. Shock the shit out of it MULTIPLE times

Vacuum like mad

[BiggJawn]

11. This is a swimming pool? Not a fish pond?

If it's a swimming pool, shock the hell out of it daily for the next 3-4 days and run the filter continuously, backflushing daily.

Then keep the chlorine a little on the heavy side for a week to ensure it's back to normal.

I am guessing that your sister has had some hot weather and thunderstorms over the weekend? That's a combo that almost always brings an algae bloom. Rainwater has algae spores in it.

You need to run and flush the filter to keep all the dead algaes from clouding the water. Algaecide is a waste of money, IMO. Use a nylon pot scrubby to take care of "patches" that glom onto the sides and bottom...

I never felt as satisfied that 9 years I was married as I did gazing upon 5,000 gallons of sparkling water....And she let it all go to hell in a bucket that first winter after she threw me out. Filter froze, pump froze, what a mess....

[DebinTx]

13. She should be horse-whipped, huh?

LOL! After spending the majority of last summer with a green pool, we bought a case of Baqua Flock. Have had no problems this year, uhmmmm, yet that is. Even a hint of green and we run for the flock.

[BiggJawn]

15. Flock does work well.

I never tried it because it was a bit pricey, but I heard good things about it. The stuff that was a solution of copper sulfate didn't do anything. I had an older DE filter that I ran 12 hours a day (pool had heavy use when school was out)and I kept the chlorine around 4 ppm.

I miss my pool....Wound up first in a neighbourhood that would hae required Congressional intervention to get approval for a pool, and now I live in an apartment, and not one of those good old ones with a pool and single sun-worshippers....It was SO relaing after a hot tiring day...

[Bertha Venation]

16. definitely not a fish pond -- you are kidding, right?

Thanks very much for the advice. I sent my sister the thread link. She's a smart cookie. She's just never had her own house before -- let alone a pool.

[BiggJawn]

18. Fish ponds have vinyl liners, too...

I never had a pool, either, until I "married into one"...:-)

I "rehabilitated" the pond at the county extension office. Once the fish I put in started growing, the water stabilized and no algae, no skeeters (but fat fish)

[KG]

19. brush down the sides, replace or clean the filter, shock it.

sounds like the filter isn't working right.

[elfrangel]

20. For a home remedy...

A solution of Apple Cider Vinegar and water should do the trick. Also works well on molds and mildews...