Using Soft Swim. Cloudy water after adding flocculant.

I have an above ground, 14,000 gallon pool with sand filter. I'm at my wits end at the moment. I use Softswim and cannot keep the C level up. The pool store thinks I have a water mold. Two weeks ago they suggested I try adding a gallon of bleach to the skimmer and let it set in the filter overnight with the pump off then backwash out the next morning and add 3 gallons of C. The C level is back at 1 now. Ph high (8.4) so pool store had me add 3.5 lbs of Lo N Slo then suggested I use the Softswim Filter Aid as a flocculant. My pool was only a little bit hazy before I added that last night with the pump off. As soon as I added the floc it turned milky white. Still milky this morning. Looks 50 times worse than it did before I added it!!! I am so upset I don't know what to do. I vacuumed to waste this morning and it doesn't look any different. The next step is to add 3 gallons of C according to the pool store, but I don't know if I should add that now or wait until things "clear" up with the flocculant disaster I have now. I don't want to add 3 gallons of C if I need to vacuum to waste again. Don't want to pump money into the yard. I've spent a fortune on chemicals already. Suggestions are greatly appreciated. Company coming to swim this afternoon. UGH!!!!

Hi, and welcome to the forum!!

Sounds like you need to decide whether you want to continue to use softswim, or change to a chlorine pool, because the first step in conversion is--to add several gallons of bleach! Unfortunately, there's not much we'll be able to do on the SoftSwim part of this--there may be a handful of softswim users around this forum, but I'm not aware of them--most folks come to us when they've had enough of the time, trouble, and expense of having a pool with constant problems, and want to convert to chlorine. However, maybe there are a few folks who will chime in shortly.

My suggestion is to change to chlorine. Now...THAT, we can help you with!

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Originally Posted by aylad

My suggestion is to change to chlorine. Now...THAT, we can help you with!

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i second that motion!! And, sorry, we are not going to be able to help you clean this mess up in time for your afternoon swim guests. But, we might be able to help you get it cleared up by next weekend. Tell them to come back then and see your miraculously cleared up pool! Take a picture of the pool now so you can compare it later.

How do you convert to chlorine?

Basically, you just start dumping in bleach until you break down all the other goop that you have added. You'll want to invest in a good test kit to help you with the conversion. The Taylor K-2006 is available through the test kit link in my signature. You can't get it locally as it is only available online. Go ahead and order it so it will get here ASAP. Try and order it early in the morning while the seller listed is Amato Industries. Sometimes they sell out during the day, but usually restock overnight. Some other sellers don't sell it for as good of a price.

Since the kit is only sold online, you need something to use until you get it. Get a cheap OTO (yellow drops) / phenol test kit, or if available at YOUR Walmart (check availability), get the HTH 6-way DROPS test kit, which is compatible with the Taylor K2006.

While you are at Walmart, pick up quite a few jugs of plain, unscented bleach, generic is fine. Be prepared for your pool to turn all kinds of ugly shades of green during the conversion. Go to the Baquacil section of the forum and do some reading. In there, you'll find numerous threads where people have documented their conversions to chlorine. Some of the threads have pictures so you can see what I mean about the shades of green you'll encounter along the way.

I promise you, you'll never regret switching. In all the years we've been running this forum, we've never had a single person write back and say they regretting doing it. But, many have written and thanked us for encouraging them to do it.

Until your registration is complete, you'll have to logout to be able to see the other parts of the forum. Go and read a lot, and then come back with more questions if you have them.

(I'm going to edit the title of your thread a little.)

Thank you for your advice. Do you have to wait until the water is clear before swimming in the pool again? I believe the conversion takes a week from what I've read. It is HOT here in the midwest!!

I would wait to swim but it may not take a week. The more often you test and the more often you add bleach, the quicker the conversion will go. There is no such thing as testing and dosing with bleach too often. I can remember one person here on the forum a few years ago who completed his conversion in about 3 days because he tested and dosed every couple of hours. He was determined to get it done fast and he did!

Order that good kit ASAP. In the meantime, you can force the kit you buy in the meantime (that I listed above) to read higher by using a dilution method. Diluting is not super accurate but will be good enough in the meantime until the good kit arrives. Get some distilled water while you are at Walmart.

Testing Without a Good Kit

Did you see any of the pictures taken during a conversion process? Are you prepared for your pool to turn green? It can be a little scary to see it happen, but it will be worth it!

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Originally Posted by JvilleKC

Do you have to wait until the water is clear before swimming in the pool again? I believe the conversion takes a week from what I've read.

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I wouldn't want to swim during the conversion for two reasons: 1) when the water is cloudy, it is very easy for a swimmer, who is underwater and in trouble where no one can see, to drown; and 2) during the conversion, there's lots of nasty combined chloramines being formed as a result of the chlorine breaking down the SoftSwim, and I don't think they'll be kind to swimmers, eyes, skin, or swimsuits. It would be better to either postpone the conversion until you're ready to shut down the pool for up to a week, or just bite the bullet and do it, and swim afterwards. Like Watermom said, the more diligent you are about keeping the chlorine levels up in the pool, the faster the conversion will go.

Janet

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Originally Posted by JvilleKC

Do you have to wait until the water is clear before swimming in the pool again? I believe the conversion takes a week from what I've read.

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It *may* take a week. If you've used Baquacil for a long time, since you last drained (ie, multiple years), it may take longer. If you have used Baqucil CDX, it *will* take longer, possibly much longer.

The only fast and RELIABLE way to convert quickly, is to drain and refill. But, that may not be an option, if you don't have an above ground pool, or a concrete in ground pool. At least a partial drain and refill is also an important element of any QUICK water mold cure.

However, your Softswim C loss *may* not be a problem with your pool. Apparently, peroxide can be rapidly photolysed by sunlight, just like chlorine can be. And, apparently, DMH (dimethyl hydantoin) can stabilize peroxide somewhat, in a manner analogous to chlorine stabilizer. But (again, apparently) DMH is *much* less benign in pool care than stabilizer. Baquacil CDX introduces DMH to pools (apparently!) to help prevent solar peroxide loss.

There are not any *great* middle-of-the-season solutions to a messed up PHMB (Baquacil, Softswim, etc.) pool.

Please do this:

1. Complete the pool chart, so we know what sort of pool we're discussiong:

Pool Chart Entry Form
Pool Chart Results

2. List all the chemicals you've used in the last 6 weeks, and also whether you have EVER used Baquacil CDX

3. Tell us what the water looks, smells and feels like.

4. Tell us whether there is any sort of slime on surfaces or snot-like globs anywhere in your pool.

That Ben, he does have a way with words, doesn't he? (In reference to his last sentence.)

Chlorine oxidizes hydrogen peroxide to oxygen gas (in fact, hydrogen peroxide can be used as a chlorine reducer for that reason) so the advice you got of adding some chlorine to get rid of the white water mold (if that's what you have) wasn't very good. After all the hydrogen peroxide is removed by chlorine, additional chlorine breaks down Baquacil/biguanide/PHMB in a very colorful manner. The problem is that chlorine does not break down DMH very quickly at all (DMH is used in the Baquacil CDX system). If you have used that system, then you either need to do a drain/refill (but as Ben says, that isn't always possible depending on the type of pool you have) or you have to use a more expensive (though faster and less colorful) approach which uses high levels of hydrogen peroxide at high pH by using sodium percarbonate as described in this link. Also, regardless of which approach you use, you'll want to start off with the lowest amount of Baquacil/biguanide/PHMB possible so stop adding it as it will degrade on its own in sunlight over time.

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Originally Posted by PoolDoc

Tell us whether there is any sort of slime on surfaces or snot-like globs anywhere in your pool.

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Originally Posted by Watermom

That Ben, he does have a way with words, doesn't he?

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Well, how would YOU describe it, briefly and accurately, without using terms only Chem_Geek would know? :p

I think you were very clear, Ben. I doubt there is anybody who doesn't have a real clear picture of your description. Good job! (Sometimes you are so funny!)