Green to Clean

 This time of year your swimming pool can turn green very fast. What causes a swimming pool to grow algae so fast in the winter? Before I tell you the answer, let’s start by eliminating all the most common, but incorrect, reasons people think is causing their pool to turn green.
“I had to add water to my pool and this made the algae grow”. Wrong, the fresh water from the city is balanced perfectly and totally algae free.
“My circulation pump is not running enough, is running too slow, is running too fast, is running only at night”. All wrong, all the circulation pump does is push water through the filter to filter out the dirt.
“My circulation pump is broken”. I love this one. It always drives me nuts when I go out to repair or install a new energy efficient pump and the pool owner says, “My pool service told me that they will not come back out until I get the pump repaired.” All the circulation pump does is push water through the filter to filter out the dirt. It takes a lot of work to clean up a green pool. It amazes me that a pool service company would let the pool turn green just because the circulation pump is broken. It is much easier and cost a lot less to just not let the pool turn green in the first place.
A swimming pool turning green has nothing to do with the filter or the circulation pump. Excuses like the filter is too small, the filter is too old, the circulation pump is too small, the circulation pump is too big, runs too fast, runs too slow, runs at night, changes speeds, wah, wah, wah.
This has nothing to do with the pool turning green. Remember, water coming out of your kitchen sink is water that was in Castaic lake, ran downhill to our water processing plant, that does not have swimming pool filters, was treated with chlorine and then pushed uphill to fill your local water tank and comes out your kitchen sink when you turn it on.
There is one and only one reason a pool turns green. There is not enough chlorine in the water. There is one and only one way to clear up a green pool. Add chlorine. I could install 10 top of the line circulation pumps and filters on your pool and filter all the water in the pool every hour instead of the normal rate of every 24 hours and the pool will still turn green. Conversely, if I turn off the circulation pump and add chlorine to a green pool, within 24 hours the water will become crystal clear, all the algae will die and fall to the bottom of the pool.
You may be thinking this seems like it could not possibly be true, how do you know this? We have taken care of pools for banks that have foreclosed on the home. All the equipment has been cut out and stolen. The bank just wants us to keep the pool from turning green so the neighbors do not complain. We have kept the pool clear for over one year. Yes, there is a layer of dirt on the bottom of the pool but no algae. The bank enters escrow, we install the new equipment, vacuum about two inches of mud off the bottom of the pool, and the pool is ready for swimming.
Alex B Pool Service is family owned and operated. We’re a small growing business servicing Santa Clarita and the San Fernando Valley. We have 12 years of experience specializing in swimming pools, commercial and residential. For more information, please 661-607-4847 or 818-599-9064. Lic#PRO173449.