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Pool Maintenance Troubleshooter: Common Problems Guide
There’s a lot that goes into making sure your pool runs smoothly throughout its lifetime. From pumps to covers, filters to heaters, making sure everything is continually operational is vital.
Making sure your swimming pool’s water quality is always where it should be is perhaps the most vital aspect of having a safe and enjoyable swimming experience. However, there are many different chemicals involved, meaning there are plenty of things that can and often do go wrong.
Here at 1st Direct Pools, we’ve been providing swimming pool equipment and chemicals to UK pool owners for many years. We stock a wide range of specialist products, including swimming pool shock treatments and chlorine sanitisers, so we know many common pool issues when we see them.
If you’re noticing problems with your swimming pool, they will often be caused by the quality of the water. In this blog post, we look at the most common issues when it comes to swimming pools and how they are rectified.
Some problems have multiple causes, which have been listed separately to provide different solutions depending on your situation. PPM refers to parts per million, a standard measurement for chemicals in swimming pool water.
Problem
Symptom
Reason
Solution
Cloudy water.
Build-up of dirt and pollution from swimmers (oils etc.).
Insufficient chlorine or poor filtration.
Backwash filter, then super-chlorinate to 10ppm of free chlorine.
If you have a liner pool, work to the liner manufacturer’s guidelines. These will often reduce the level of chlorine to help protect the liner from fading.
Add clarifier to polish water
Start of algae growth.
Insufficient levels of chlorine.
Super chlorinate your pool.
After 24 hours, backwash filter.
Maintain chlorine level above 3ppm to prevent recurrence of algae growth.
Chlorine ineffective.
The pool water may be overstabilised.
Dilute your pool water and super-chlorinate.
Ineffective filtration.
The filter may be blocked, or the filter media (sand, cartridge etc.) might need removing.
Check sand, filter cartridge or D.E. Media.
Suspended particles in the water.
Often a precipitation of salts due to high pH or alkalinity.
Correct pH and/or alkalinity.
Unpleasant water causes sore throat, eyes or skin irritation.
High combined chlorines.
The free chlorine level is too low.
Dilute the pool water.
Detergents from cleaning compounds getting into the water.
Reaction between chlorine and detergent.
When cleaning swimming pools, use chlorine-compatible cleaners.
Water too acidic or alkaline.
The pH is either too low or too high.
Correct your pool’s pH level.
Chlorine level too difficult to maintain.
Too much sunlight is destroying the water’s chlorine.
The chlorine has not been stabilised.
Use a stabiliser or stabilised chlorine.
Build-up of pollutants.
There is insufficient chlorination.
Super chlorinate (shock treatment) your pool.
High water temperature.
Organisms multiply more rapidly in warm conditions.
Increase the dose rate of chlorine sanitiser.
No chlorine on test reading despite chlorine present.
Chlorine level too high.
High chlorine content can cause bleaching on tests.
De-chlorinate the pool naturally or through chemicals/diluting if excessively high.
pH too low.
Naturally low pH from mains water OR use of chlorine with acidic properties.
Insufficient dry alkali (pH Plus) being added.
Add dry alkali as per instructions.
pH level should be between 7.2 and 7.6.
pH too high.
Local mains water has naturally-high pH level.
Insufficient dry acid or acid being applied incorrectly.
Add acid as per instructions.
Maintain pH between 7.2 and 7.6.
Use of alkaline donors.
High alkalinity can impact pH.
Reduce alkalinity to 200 ppm, then check the pH level.
Salts being leached from new concrete pools.
Structural, but this issue usually self-corrects itself over a period of time.
Add acid to maintain pH between 7.2 and 7.6.
pH is erratic.
Insufficient levels of bicarbonate to buffer pH.
Low total alkalinity.
Add bicarbonate to raise pool’s TA level.
Minimum level of 100 ppm required.
pH is locked.
Levels of bicarbonate too high.
Topping up from mains water can sometimes increase alkalinity, especially in hard water areas.
Reduce alkalinity to 200 ppm and check your pH level.
Low Alkalinity
Bicarbonate reduced during dilution of pool water.
Mains water has a naturally-low level of bicarbonates, particularly in soft water regions.
Add bicarbonate. Minimum level of 100ppm required.
Pool walls feel slimy.
Algae growing.
Insufficient chlorination and pool wall brushing.
Super chlorinate your pool to kill the algae. Sweep or vacuum debris.
Prevent recurrence with an algaecide.
Rough scale formed on pool surfaces.
Water out of balance.
Ratio of calcium hardness to total alkalinity is incorrect.
Check and correct levels of pH, alkalinity and calcium.
Scrub to remove scale once water balance is restored.
Dirt on pool wall at the waterline.
Build up of body fat, oils, creams, cosmetics and other products.
Irregular cleaning.
Clean with a pool-friendly chemical.
Sharp edges around tiles.
Grout being leached by water.
Mains water is too soft.
Re-grout the pool.
Increase calcium levels to at least 250 ppm and maintain.
Consider changing sanitiser to HTH Calcium Hypochlorite, which will help ensure that calcium levels are maintained.
If your issue hasn’t been solved here, or you would just like more advice on maintaining your swimming pool, feel free to get in contact with us! Alternatively, explore our blog for more detailed pool advice, including our guide on what chemicals you need for your swimming pool.
