Slime on walls

[Rocketfish]

Hey everyone, since joining this site under a month ago, I took ownership of an older house with a 30 year old pool. The previous owner converted it from a pool with a deep end to a sports pool. He also did some mosaics of fish and other sea life on the walls and floor of the pool. It also looks like he "painted" the pool walls, because you can see what looks like white, clean surfaces applied with a paint roller if you can imagine that. I will try to post pictures.

At any rate, since getting the pool, I was able to eliminate mustard algae, get RO filtration on it to remove elevated CH and CYA (not allowed to drain / fill pool), and get crystal clear sparkly water via the TFPC method. You guys are wonderful.

So... I went swimming in it with my kids for the 2nd time ever and noticed something NEW. Those white "painted" surfaces are slimy as can be! When you rub your finger on the slime, it feels like paint, and white stuff gets all over your fingers. I am convinced it is not anything organic as my FC has been adequately maintained for 2 weeks now and CC has been 0.0. Is this some sort of pool "paint" that I'm dreading the previous owner used? My neighbor jokingly said that the owner painted his pool. Maybe he wasn't kidding!

My plan is to brush all the walls and remove the white slime. I recall early on when I got the pool that there was a TON of white stuff on the floor of the pool which I constantly brushed. The filter had to be cleaned every couple of days in fact and that white stuff rinsed away when I hosed the cartridges down. Is this a good plan? just keep brushing the remaining slime off the walls and filter it out?

I think as the white paint comes off, you can see dark splotches underneath. Perhaps after I remove all the paint, you guys can advise me on my next steps. Remember, I CANNOT drain and fill my pool as I would be fined due to the Southern Cali drought we are in.

Thanks for everything guys!

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Hey there Rocketfish That stinks about the slimy white areas.... I think you need to determine that it is *only* those white areas that feel slimy and not any where else?

Since you can't drain and repair, I'd say that you're on the right track to keep brushing and testing. Make sure your FC/CC readings are kept in line cause all that brushing may stir up something and it could show up first in increased CCs.

 

[Rocketfish]

Yippee... so I will DEFINITELY swim all over the pool this weekend to find out about the slime. I did feel around the floor of the pool and didn't feel anymore slime. It really feels like wet paint if you ask me. Thanks for the advice. I will take daily FC / CC readings the next few days.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Also for grins and giggles, can you tell us your most recent test results using your TF-100 to establish a baseline:
FC
CC
pH
TA
CH
CYA

Thanks

 

[Rocketfish]

These numbers were taken last night. I added MA for the elevated pH and will put in liquid chlorine tonight as I'm sure the FC went down by now.


FC 3.5
CC 0.0
pH 8.25
TA 100
CH 225 (taken 6 days prior)
CYA 40 (taken 8 days prior)

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Ok, well with that low FC *last night* and you're only getting around to putting chlorine in *tonight*, you're perilously risking or have the onset of an algae breakout. That too could contribute to a slimy feel on the walls.

What do you dose your FC to daily? Have you seen this: [FC/CYA][/FC/CYA]

 

[pooldv]

Slimy walls is algae. Time to SLAM Process the pool.

 

[Rocketfish]

Slimy walls is algae. Time to SLAM Process the pool.

Guys, slimy walls with white stuff that feels like paint is algae? really? The fact that it looks "neat" and in straight lines as if applied by a roller too? Also, when i rub the slime my finger gets super duper white. I thought algae would kind of dissolve away if rubbed, much like the mustard algae does. Also, my CC has never gone above zero since i SLAMed the first time and did RO on the pool. Wouldn't CC indicate something living? Oh, and my FC has always been in the range of that chart too. I looked it up and there seems to be paint you can by from the pool store too: Pool & Deck Paint

However, I trust you guys on this site. If you say so, then I will definitely SLAM.

BTW, I use liquid chlorine from home depot. 10%

Thanks very much guys. I am embarrassed to think it was algae all along!

 

[PAGirl]

How often do you usually brush?

 

[pooldv]

I did not read the first post before responding. It could be paint or something else "weird" like calcium scale dissolving. Last summer when I had algae and SLAMed my CC stayed 0 the whole time and water was perfectly clear. You can do an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test to see if there is something organic in the water. But, the answer to pretty much any issue in the pool is more chlorine to oxidize it, brush it and filter it out. Or drain it with a trash pump, scrub it and refill.

 

[Rocketfish]

Sorry to belabor this thread, but I wanted to get some clarification. Last night I went swimming in the pool with my kids and found only 2 isolated sections of my pool with the white slimy paint. It is NOT anywhere else, which leads me to believe it really must be paint, again based on the appearance and feel. I have had to brush that thing constantly, even with me IN the pool. Now my pool is super cloudy. You can no longer see the mosaic art at the bottom of the 5 foot part of the pool!

I had to clean out my pool filter after running the filter only 6 hours, as the psi went from 18 to 23! upon rinsing the cartridge, all the white "stuff" came off with ease.

So... I should just continue brushing the suspect walls and running the filter all the time right? at least until it clears up right? I will maintain FC of around 5, which is the upper end of what pool math is telling me.

Does the chlorine eat up some of the paint as well as physically removing it via the filter? Finally, my pool does NOT need to be SLAMed right?

 

[pooldv]

To check to see if you need to SLAM perform the Overnight Chlorine Loss Test. If it passes then no SLAM. There certainly is paint available to paint the pool and people have done it. It is not recommended here because it usually doesn't last more than a year or two. But, I don't know what the failure mode usually is. I don't remember reading about the paint dissolving or getting slimy. It is handy that it cleans out of the filter easily. I would be inclined to brush it just to move the process along.

 

[Rocketfish]

Thanks pooldv. Sound advice. I will do the OCLT tonight and report to you tomorrow.

 

[Rocketfish]

I did a OCLT last night. FC dropped 1.0 this morning and CC was at .5. According to our criteria, this drop is acceptable and does not require any SLAM right?

pH was high last night at 7.8 and still the same this morning so I added MA to bring it down to 7.2 or so.
TA is 110
CH is 250 - this concerns me. When I did RO on the pool about a month ago, I was at 200. I added calcium chloride then to bring it up to 225. Well, since my vigorous brushing the last two days, the CH climbed to 250. I KNOW I'm removing residual paint, but is it possible I'm brushing away plaster? This morning with very hard and fast brushing there is still a faint, white cloud showing up where the paint was. Also, I rinsed my cartridge filter and a TON of white paint came out of it (after the psi went from 18 to 25). Could this 25 increase also be testing error?

Any thoughts? I'm just going to maintain FC at the high end of my recommendation, balance the pH as I should, anyway, and keep brushing the section of walls that had paint. Again, other sections of wall show no cloudiness upon brushing.

 

[pooldv]

Right, no SLAM needed. I would hold FC a few ppm above target for your CYA,[FC/CYA][/FC/CYA]. 250is better for the CH anyway. I doubt if you are brushing away plaster. It isn't enough to worry about.