Oil sheen clean - looking for thoughts/ideas...

Hi All,

Looking for ideas on cleaning up a light oil (mineral oil) sheen on my pool water surface. I have used ScumBalls with some success and I have oil-only Pig Mats on their way (i needed to order these for other household purposes as well). I've also run across suggestions of just blasting up the FC and/or using FirstAid Enzyme treatment.

So here's the list -

1. Stick with ScumBalls/PigMat
2. Get my water in SHaPE (Shock, Hold and Patiently Evaluate)
3. Use Enzymes (like FirstAid)

I'm also consider a tear down and clean out of my DE filter since no one's swimming anymore now that the water temp has dipped below 80F (bunch of whimps!!).

The sheen is not at all bad...just some patches of glossy spots on the surface that have become collectively sentient and are avoiding the skimmer at all costs.

My other concern is that I think the oil has pickup dust and particulates and/or is breaking down from free-radical halogenation (chlorine breaking down alkanes) and forming a black tar-like substance....again, it's not bad or widespread in any way, I just noticed it in my skimmer and it was easily wiped away with a Mr. Clean Magic Sponge (melamine sponge). It just makes my filter cleaning job seem more urgent...that is also why I'm entertaining enzymes as I'm wondering if that helps accelerate the oil breakdown.

Just looking for thoughts...THANKS!! :cool:

The oil sheen cleaned up just from chlorine and filtration but I have thrown a PigMat on it anyway. Also, ScumBalls worked great in the skimmer, check out this "Used versus New" shot -

http://i1166.photobucket.com/albums/...pscb0e74e9.jpg

I use old tennis balls. They're free and easily replaceable.

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Originally Posted by FormerBromineUser

I use old tennis balls. They're free and easily replaceable.

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I have got to try that idea next time!!!

I must admit this is a new thing for me. How did you get the oil in your pool in the first place? How can you prevent it happening again?
My parents once won a basket full of tennis balls, about 125 or 150 of them, in a raffle. We kids had tennis balls to lose in the woods for YEARS! And my mom got a really nice, big rattan laundry basket out of it!

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Originally Posted by CarlD

I must admit this is a new thing for me. How did you get the oil in your pool in the first place? How can you prevent it happening again?
My parents once won a basket full of tennis balls, about 125 or 150 of them, in a raffle. We kids had tennis balls to lose in the woods for YEARS! And my mom got a really nice, big rattan laundry basket out of it!

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See this thread http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthr...784#post128784

It's all gone now. The PigMat has also trapped some gunk too. I'm thinking I might run an experiment in my pool and put a tablespoon of vegetable oil on the surface and throw the PigMat near it to see how it does. My biggest problem is this - Extra Virgin Olive Oil or plain old canola oil? I have some Habanero-Lime infused olive oil as well but I'm afraid that might cause some eye irritation :p

Actually, if anyone has any experience with those "enzyme" concoctions (FirstAid for Pools, etc), I'd love to hear any advice on those.

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Originally Posted by CarlD

I must admit this is a new thing for me. How did you get the oil in your pool in the first place? How can you prevent it happening again?

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From what we've seen over the years, it comes from oiled sunbathers OR from swimmers using lotions PRIOR to swimming to avoid dry skin. Like pee, swimmer oils are easier to manage OUT fo the water than in it.

One simple solution is to have a few microfiber towels on the deck for using in wiping off excess lotion, sunscreen, etc. BEFORE entering the pool.

Sams Club has them for cheap; so does Amazon: AmazonBasics Microfiber Cleaning Cloth (Pack of 24)

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Originally Posted by PoolDoc

From what we've seen over the years, it comes from oiled sunbathers OR from swimmers using lotions PRIOR to swimming to avoid dry skin. Like pee, swimmer oils are easier to manage OUT fo the water than in it.

One simple solution is to have a few microfiber towels on the deck for using in wiping off excess lotion, sunscreen, etc. BEFORE entering the pool.

Sams Club has them for cheap; so does Amazon: AmazonBasics Microfiber Cleaning Cloth (Pack of 24)

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I decided to go with PigMat #551 (there's also a white version as well) which is great because it is completely hydrophobic but sucks up oil (I've used them to catch oil spills during oil changes and they are awesome for that)..

This particular Exxon Valdez slick was contractor-induced. I wish I had known before hand as I would have been more prepared. But, I totally agree about the likliest source being bather-induced. My brother and sister-in-law visited back in May and I swear that my SIL went through ten tubes of SPF-10,000 (the stuff was thicker than asphalt tar) all of which ended up on the surface of my pool. I was seriously considering throwing kitty litter in the water to absorb all that gunk :mad: Suffice it to say, my CC's were high and I finally had to shock chlorinate the pool to clear it all out.

Next year, if she shows up, she's getting blasted with my 3100psi power washer if she steps within 10ft of my pool :crazy:

Guess your SIL is a PITA...:D

Still fascinated by how a contractor could dump so much oil in your pool. What did he do--change some small engine's crankcase oil over your pool?????

Haha. That is kinda gross. I use the tennis balls for the normal skimmer black-goo. Don't think I would intentionally put vegetable oil in my pool. Try it in a bucket if you must.

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Originally Posted by CarlD

Guess your SIL is a PITA...:D

Still fascinated by how a contractor could dump so much oil in your pool. What did he do--change some small engine's crankcase oil over your pool?????

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So the contractors post soda blasting clean up is to wash the blasting dust off with pool water and then, to avoid water stains, he wipes the tile down with a mixture of mineral oil, water and I'm guessing a little surfactant like automatic dishwasher liquid or some such thing. It cleans off the dust and water and leaves a nice shine on the tile surface. Since you lower the water below the tile line, you then fill it back up when he's done. For my pool, that means ~100 linear feet of tile half submerged under the water line. All that mineral oil now floats off tile and to the water's surface. More than enough to leave a nice little slick.

Please don't get me wrong, I'm not mad or anything. I half expected as much. I just wish I had been more prepared for it. I would rather have absorbed most of it as opposed to letting the skimmer catch it and send it on to the filter. Chlorine has a way of reacting with oils that can make them turn gooey. It's probably all imbedded in my DE now so a good long filter backwash is in order. Actually, I have to do my annual filter tear-down anyway and clean off the cartridges inside. So I'm glad this all happened now as opposed to the beginning of the season.