Black Scum in Skimmer
- Thread starter bcool
- Start date
It's most likely atmospheric, but do you have a full set of test results?
It would also help if you would tell us the chems you've added to your pool.
Do the swimmers wear a lot of sunscreen/
It would also help if you would tell us the chems you've added to your pool.
Do the swimmers wear a lot of sunscreen/
Alot of people have that in their skimmer. I dont believe its sunscreen or anything like that on my end because no one has used our pool in months, mainly because of the rainy weather we've had and I still get it. Not saying it cant come from sunscreen. I saw somewhere it could be the ink from the vinyl liner wearing off. So I really dont know where mine comes from. If you wait until night time with the pump running for awhile, take a bright flashlight and shine it down in the skimmer. You will see the oil on the top layer of water. The oil doesnt get sucked down the pipe since its the top layer and it cant go back out of the weir so its stuck there. The oil seems to build up into a grease that sticks to the sides. I usually take a rag and sop up the top layer the best I can to get the oil out and then clean the grease off the sides.
A scum ball can be used to collect the grease so that it does not collect as much on skimmer surfaces.
I think that very little suntan lotion has been washing off from the swimmers. My wife and I usually just go for a swim after getting home from work and we've only had 2 pool parties this summer and I don't think anyone used lotion on those days.
I just use an old j-cloth to wipe the skimmer and I scrub the thermometer with a brush and soapy water. I try to wash out the cloth with laundry detergent afterwards but the residue doesn't come out easily.
My latest pool store chemical report shows the following:
Free Chlorine - 4.5 ppm
Total Chlorine - 4.5 ppm
Combined Chlorine - 0 ppm
pH - 7.4
Adjusted pH - 7.4
Total Alkalinity - 115 ppm
Adjusted Alkalinity - 115 ppm
Stabilizer - 60 ppm (IIRC - measured with reagent and sight glass)
In the spring, I dumped a ship-load of chlorine in the pool to kill the algae. After the water finally became clear, I added granular stabilizer through the skimmer. To prevent algae growth, I've been adding 250 mL of PolyQuat 60 every week, usually the day before shocking the pool with 10L of 12% chlorine.
I've also had to add several 4 kg pails of Alka-Plus and a couple of 8 kg pails of Calcium Chloride. That probably has something to do with the trichlor tablets I've being using for chlorine dosing.
On another topic about Chlorinator Residue, the gummy residue I've been finding this summer may be a result of stearates possibly being in the trichlor tablets.
I just use an old j-cloth to wipe the skimmer and I scrub the thermometer with a brush and soapy water. I try to wash out the cloth with laundry detergent afterwards but the residue doesn't come out easily.
My latest pool store chemical report shows the following:
Free Chlorine - 4.5 ppm
Total Chlorine - 4.5 ppm
Combined Chlorine - 0 ppm
pH - 7.4
Adjusted pH - 7.4
Total Alkalinity - 115 ppm
Adjusted Alkalinity - 115 ppm
Stabilizer - 60 ppm (IIRC - measured with reagent and sight glass)
In the spring, I dumped a ship-load of chlorine in the pool to kill the algae. After the water finally became clear, I added granular stabilizer through the skimmer. To prevent algae growth, I've been adding 250 mL of PolyQuat 60 every week, usually the day before shocking the pool with 10L of 12% chlorine.
I've also had to add several 4 kg pails of Alka-Plus and a couple of 8 kg pails of Calcium Chloride. That probably has something to do with the trichlor tablets I've being using for chlorine dosing.
On another topic about Chlorinator Residue, the gummy residue I've been finding this summer may be a result of stearates possibly being in the trichlor tablets.
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