My husband and I have an automatic pool filler installed in our indoor pool. About 2 weeks ago, I noticed that I was fighting to keep my chlorine up. That's unusual, since the pool is not losing chlorine to the sun. We opened the pool filler area (located by the skimmer), only to find that there was copious amounts of red and black slimy gunk in the filler water. This explained why we had slimy floors for a couple of days and why I was fighting with the chlorine. However, we can't figure out how to get rid of it.
First we plugged the hole that enters the pool, and shop vac'd out the section, sucking up all the water and the mould. Then we dumped a cup of bleach down it. My husband then got the scrub brush and proceeded to scrub down the float mechanism that's inside the filler area.
So we continued to monitor this area, and we noticed white slime coming from what we think is the "overfill" pipe in the auto filler. We tried another dose of bleach, but that still hasn't helped.
Here's where my big concern is. Tuesday morning my son was admitted to the hospital because he was coughing up blood. It turns out he has a bacterial pneumonia. Then after the lab tests came back, we discovered that he has a gram positive and a gram negative bacteria in his system, which is why one antibiotic wasn't doing the trick.
I am afraid that he has caught this bacteria from the pool, but I have no way of knowing what kind of bacteria was/is growing.
I'd like to identify the bacteria, so when the lab identifies the bacteria (specifically) that's causing my son to be sick, I will know if the pool was the cause or it was just a freak thing that happened.
Either way, I need to know what's growing, why it's growing and how to get rid of it.
On a side note, we do have a friend who has some "skin" condition that was swimming in the pool just prior to us starting the fight with the chlorine. I don't know what the condition is, but the morning after he was swimming, the pool had a yucky, brownish film all over the bottom of the pool. We ended up shocking the pool and giving it a thorough vac. I'm wondering if that might have triggered this growth in the pool filler. And maybe I should have cleaned out the filter too.
I'm looking for any and all suggestions, as I am seriously concerned about the health of my son. He's severely disabled and immune compromised, and I would be devastated to know that the pool made him sick, especially when it's his largest source of joy.
Thanks in advance.
I do have photos of the water filler, when we first opened it and saw the stuff growing. I can upload them too, if anyone thinks that it might help diagnose things.
First we plugged the hole that enters the pool, and shop vac'd out the section, sucking up all the water and the mould. Then we dumped a cup of bleach down it. My husband then got the scrub brush and proceeded to scrub down the float mechanism that's inside the filler area.
So we continued to monitor this area, and we noticed white slime coming from what we think is the "overfill" pipe in the auto filler. We tried another dose of bleach, but that still hasn't helped.
Here's where my big concern is. Tuesday morning my son was admitted to the hospital because he was coughing up blood. It turns out he has a bacterial pneumonia. Then after the lab tests came back, we discovered that he has a gram positive and a gram negative bacteria in his system, which is why one antibiotic wasn't doing the trick.
I am afraid that he has caught this bacteria from the pool, but I have no way of knowing what kind of bacteria was/is growing.
I'd like to identify the bacteria, so when the lab identifies the bacteria (specifically) that's causing my son to be sick, I will know if the pool was the cause or it was just a freak thing that happened.
Either way, I need to know what's growing, why it's growing and how to get rid of it.
On a side note, we do have a friend who has some "skin" condition that was swimming in the pool just prior to us starting the fight with the chlorine. I don't know what the condition is, but the morning after he was swimming, the pool had a yucky, brownish film all over the bottom of the pool. We ended up shocking the pool and giving it a thorough vac. I'm wondering if that might have triggered this growth in the pool filler. And maybe I should have cleaned out the filter too.
I'm looking for any and all suggestions, as I am seriously concerned about the health of my son. He's severely disabled and immune compromised, and I would be devastated to know that the pool made him sick, especially when it's his largest source of joy.
Thanks in advance.
I do have photos of the water filler, when we first opened it and saw the stuff growing. I can upload them too, if anyone thinks that it might help diagnose things.