Cloudy water

[wardenann]

Just tested again with HTC chlorine/ph tester from walmart and the chlorine is now 1-2 and ph is not quite 7.2. I can now see the fourth step in my shallow end. Does this mean it is slowly clearing??? Thinking about adding 1 more box of Borax. Any advice?

[PoolDoc]

Just tested . . . ph is not quite 7.2. I can now see the fourth step in my shallow end. Does this mean it is slowly clearing??? Thinking about adding 1 more box of Borax. Any advice?

1. Yeah, add the box.
2. If you couldn't see the step before, then it's probably clearing.
3. Continue to maintain chlorine levels -- no matter what.
4. Once you have the K-2006, report test results.

[Watermom]

Since your pH is on the move, I'd add a half a box instead of a full box. Then see where that takes it and then you can decide if you want to add more.

[wardenann]

Today added 1 box borax at 1pm and by 5pm it had raised ph to 7.2 and chlorine is in 2-4 range. Backwashed twice today but pool still cloudy. Opened cover and created a way to aerate with garden hose!!! Now, how long til pool clears??? I have P.O.P. in an IV so I am much calmer today!!! Plus weather got colder here and my salt water pool friends all have cloudy water this year. Everyone is blaming it on the mild winter in the Midwest!!!

[Watermom]

Now, how long til pool clears???

OOPS! Our crystal balls are all broken today. Sorry!

[BigDave]

Crystal ball is cloudy?

[wardenann]

Took water sample to 2 different pool stores today and got different results except for both agree no free chlorine in pool. Dumped 400 oz of bleach in pool last night and still no free chlorine!!! Both pool stores said I must shock the pool or it will continue to be cloudy. Bought $25 bucks of biogard smart shock but have not added it because it says to shock pool in the evening. I guess I will try this since adding our bleach is not working!!!

[Watermom]

Can you take the Bioguard back? Bleach will work. Do you have any idea what your CYA reading was upon closing in the fall? If you had some when you closed and now have none upon opening, then what you are experiencing is what happens to a lot of pools over the winter. We see this every spring. As Ben likes to explain it, bacteria "eat" the CYA and then "poop" out ammonia and it takes a LOT of chlorine to break down all the ammonia. We have lots of threads currently going where other people are dealing with this same problem.

If this is what happened, then you may have had an algae bloom in the works due to chlorine that was too low. Either way, the remedy is the same. Patience and a lot of bleach.

At any rate, I hope you get your kit soon so you can quit relying on pool stores who are there to make money. They love to sell impatient people products that they think will hurry the process along. It usually does nothing more than make the pool store cash register full, your wallet empty and often causes more problems in your pool.

Keep adding bleach. At some point, it will hold.