How to clean a green pool with bleach

If you own a pool, it might be costly to maintain the water crystal-clear and balanced.

If your pool turns green overnight, don’t get panicked. It normally occurs if you don’t use your pool for two or three days. But sometimes it might change overnight. Mostly, pools turn green due to excessive algal growth. Don’t be worried as it can be easily resolved using bleach. You do not need to call the pool maintenance guy or any other professional. This issue can easily be resolved at home.

But first, let’s see why the pool turns into green

Why does it turn green?

Cloudy or green pool water indicates that the pool’s free available chlorine level is insufficient to maintain adequate sanitation. Even if the overall chlorine concentration is within reasonable limits, you’ll probably notice that the concentration of free usable chlorine has dropped below the recommended value of 1 part per million. This occurs when a significant amount of chlorine has developed into chloramines with bacteria and other pollutants. And now it is no longer usable for sanitization. Even when the free chlorine concentration is low, chloramines emit an odor that just smells like chlorine even if the chlorine level is low.

Why Chlorine is used in pools?

Chlorine is by far the most widely used sanitizer in swimming pools. Chlorine in a pool aims to destroy microorganisms like bacteria and algae. A pool that has a lot of bacteria and algae in it is cloudy and dangerous to swim in. Chlorine is a negatively charged ion that can rip through microbes’ outer membranes, killing them and making them incapable of growing. The most readily available source of chlorine is liquid bleach, which is a form of chlorine bound to a negatively charged oxygen atom and is chemically known as hypochlorous acid. When you apply bleach to water, the hypochlorous acid molecule transforms into a negatively charged hypochlorite ion, which kills bacteria and sanitizes your pool.

Can Bleach be used To Clean a Green Pool?

There is no need to make trips to stores and drain your pockets empty. There are household alternatives instead of buying expensive pool chemicals. Bleach is such an effective and convenient alternative that can be used instead of expensive liquid chlorine. Is bleach equally beneficial for the pool? Let’s see how?

• You can avoid using a stabilizer if you use bleach.
• Bleach is a cleaner alternative to chlorine tabs.
• Bleach disinfects and sanitizes the tub.
• Bleach is less costly than liquid chlorine.
• Ammonia and other wastes are oxidized by bleach…

Algae come in a variety of forms. Green algae, also known as Chlorophyceae, are the kind of algae that makes your pool green. Since green algae are not immune to the chlorine in bleach like other algae forms are, bleach is the ideal cleaner for a green pool.

Preliminary measures of Cleaning a Green Pool with Bleach

You may check up on the list of tools and chemicals that you are going to clean a pool. Then, we can move on to a stepwise guide for knowing how to clean a green pool with bleach.

1.PH Test Strips

It tests the pH of the pool water for the addition of bleach.

2. Cyanuric Acid Test Kit

 It tests the Cyanuric acid levels as you start cleaning the pool with bleach.

3. DPD Test Kit

 It is used as DPD test kits to determine the chlorine levels in the pool.

4. Bleach

Bleach is used to destroy the algae that produce the green hue. Bleach is a primary disinfectant that aids in the killing of pathogenic microbes. It destroys living microorganisms and serves as the main sanitizer. Ammonia and other waste excreted by swimmers may also be destroyed with bleach.

5. Cyanuric Acid:

Cyanuric acid or stabilizer can be added before cleaning the green pool if the  Cyanuric levels are low in your pool.

6. Measuring Cup

A measuring cup to help you measure the exact amount of bleach powder.

The procedure of cleaning the green pool

To start the process just follow these steps. It is a very easy and helpful process to clean your green pool.

Determine the size of your pool

Your pool’s exact size in gallons should be known. This will help you figure out how much chlorine you’ll need to disinfect the tub. Check the installation paper works or user manual for the exact calculation of your pool in gallons.

Adjust the pH Levels

 Before you start cleaning the pool with bleach, you can check the pH levels. If your pool’s pH rises above 7.8, the chlorine in the bleach will lose the ability to destroy algae. To effectively clean your green pool, the pH level of the pool should be between 7.2 and 7.8.

 Test cyan uric acid concentration

The Cyanuric acid concentration of the pool must be between 20ppm and 50ppm to properly clean the green pool. You can by adding a stabilizer or Cyanuric acid you can easily adjust the levels.

 Test Chlorine level

Rather than relying on your sense of smell, you can measure the chlorine level. The pool’s natural chlorine level should be between 1 and 3 parts per million. You may be sure that algal growth has started if the chlorine levels are below 1ppm.

 Addition of bleach

If you add bleach twice the amount of your usual liquid chlorine addition you may get effective results. It is best to add bleach in the late afternoon or evening.

 Do not use the pool for 3 to 4 days

 Do not use your pool immediately after adding bleach. You can wait three to four days. In the meantime, you should check the chlorine levels in your pool and shock it if they are below 1ppm. The dead algae should be vacuumed out two or three times.

Conclusion

If your pool turns green, there is nothing to be worried about. You can just handle this issue at home by just following these steps. Just follow the steps mentioned above and your pool will look crystal clear.