Wedding cake stairs are an algae trap.

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TerriP

TerriP

Bronze Supporter
Jun 4, 2016
72
Marengo/IL
Pool Size
24000
Surface
Vinyl
Chlorine
Liquid Chlorine
We chose to put a set of wedding cake stairs in our above ground pool for easier access for kids and husband with replaced knee. We had an algae bloom and it was throughout the inside of the stairs. I've removed them and scrubbed them and SLAMmed the pool. Water is back to clear and beautiful.

Can I ever put the stairs back in?

What can I use to weigh them down that won't harbor algae?

Is there another type of easy access stair?

We're really disappointed.
 
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My stairs have a brace that goes from side to side and sits just about on the floor of the pool. I zip tie a small clear rubbermaid type bucket (with drainage holes drilled) to this piece and then throw enough clean 10 pound rocks in the bucket to keep the stairs from floating. There's 5 or 6 softball size rocks in there, no issues thus far. I've been doing this for maybe 7 years. I remove the steps before winter.
 
TerriP said:
We chose to put a set of wedding cake stairs in our above ground pool for easier access for kids and husband with replaced knee. We had an algae bloom and it was throughout the inside of the stairs. I've removed them and scrubbed them and SLAMmed the pool. Water is back to clear and beautiful.

What can I use to weigh them down that won't harbor algae?

This year we made weights out of 3" pvc, 24 "long, filled with cement and glued end caps and eyebolts attached. (look on pinterest, they also make these to weigh down tents) We made 4. Two hang from the sides of the steps with attached rope and two are in the inside bottom of stairs with very long attached rope for easy removal at closing time. I also use a grey plumbers mat (normally used for under showers during construction) cut to fit for a mat for under the stairs. My water looks good but i am not passing OCLT and using a lot of chlorine during the day so I am definitely fighting something.
Click to expand...
 
I'm having the same problem it seems.. According to this website, I think I'm doing everything right, except I know I'm not cleaning "inside" the stairs.. I think this is what I have:
Drop In Step for Above Ground Pools - PoolSupplies.com
and in looking around online, I bet I know one HUGE problem.. These stairs fill with water to avoid floating, but others I see online have plugs to forever separate the inside water from the pool, whereas mine is just open, but there is probably essentially no water flow..

Is this typically a problem, and if so, does someone have recommendations for similar stairs that dont create an algae resort?! :)

When I get home from work today, I guess I'm going to pull the stairs out, and work on cleaning them, while hopefully the pool will get clean in the meantime without them. I'd gladly buy new stairs if it will fix the problem, since I've spent more on chemicals in the last week than the stairs cost!

-Steve
 
I got to thinking about this issue the other day as i tend to overthink alot of things....my pool has been good all summer keep in mind but got to thinking about the water in the stair treds and how to get fresh treated water in them. So last evening when the wife was done vacuuming the pool i told her i need to get in the pool with the vac head disconnected. The steps have small holes on each side of the treads so i thought if i hold the vac hose on one of the holes and suck in treated water through the other that this may help. Better than taking the steps out and only took about 15 min.
These are the steps i have
3fd9affa07c04bc751e38f3c605e9128.jpg
 
Those stairs look nice.. Unless they're hollow, they look to me like there's less "hiding spaces" for the water to sit still..

I did pull the stairs out, and the water that came out was NOTICEABLY more dark green than my green pool water, so I'm hopeful this was the source. I'll leave them out while the pool clears, and then make some determination as to what to do longer term..

-Steve
 
So who is going to come up with the million dollar solution? After knee replacement, my husband needs something more sturdy than a ladder to enter and exit the pool. Won't be building a deck until next year.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

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We had a few years with wedding steps and Algae. I got rid of them and then switched to a set that look like stairs, but they have vents on both sides to let water pass through. I did not have any issues after we got rid of them. Good luck!
 
I like to pour a little chlorine in behind my step and use my brush to "swish" it around weekly. I also attach a cloth to a short pole and swim down to brush underneath and in between the stairs, etc. it seems to be working.
 
Here's a link to a thread I started some time ago about our stairs. If you scroll to the end of the thread you can see pictures of the holes I drilled in the stairs. I used a drill motor and a 2" hole saw. My maintenance on the stairs for the last two years has been to pull the stairs out twice a week when I brush the pool and let the water drain, brush the pool and then put the stairs back in. I do nothing else to the stairs. They are always clean.

Brown Dust / Stairs
 
RussH said:
My maintenance on the stairs for the last two years has been to pull the stairs out twice a week
Click to expand...

Thanks for those pics and info.. My stairs are way too heavy to take them out twice a week... just isn't going to happen.. I'm lucky if I find time to get into the pool twice a week! :)

I ordered new stairs today.. ones that dont have "compartments" to store water in the same way.. The old stairs have been cleaned and I guess I'll put them back in since it'll be close to a week before I get the new ones, but I can't wait to switch forever!

Pool is clear now and robot is cleaning the last remaining bits off the bottom now.. I gave it a good manual vacuuming and brushing yesterday and although I dont yet have my good test kit (maybe tomorrow?!) I dont think I'm losing too much FC right now.. (I'm diluting 2:1 just to get in range of my typical test strips, and keeping "slam" levels 'till I can be sure)

Thanks all!!
Steve
 
I you want you could cut a few more holes in the middle step and you could also support some weights from the holes as well.

One thing that will help the circulation is to place the vacuum hose over the holes for a couple of minutes whenever you vacuum the pool.
 

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