Opening pool in a few days - this is what it looks like under the cover

[Kcdc42]

Hi, I am opening my in-ground gunite pool in a few days. Before the opening, I just wanted to see how things are under the cover and to my horror, it looks pretty bad. I have a solid cover. It has never looked this bad during opening in the five years I have owned the house (pool). I changed pool companies last fall so was wondering if they could have put in something to prevent this. We have had a lot of rain this spring here in the Midwest too so I am sure quite some dirt and water may have seeped in as well.

What can I do in the mean time (before the pool company arrives) and after the pool has been opened?

The Pool company had suggested that if it looks dirty, pour a couple of gallons of bleach. Is that the recommended approach? I don't want to cause damage to the plaster.

Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

 

[Teald024]

From the pic you posted, the water itself looks clear. It looks like a lot of settled gunk on the bottom. I think you should wait until the gunk is netted out, brushed and vacuumed to see what it looks like. Could water have washed into the pool under the cover?
Also, give them specific instructions on what types of products (chemicals) are allowed to go into the water and what isn't allowed. Only add the chlorine if you have a way of mixing the water.

 

[Kcdc42]

From the pic you posted, the water itself looks clear. It looks like a lot of settled gunk on the bottom. I think you should wait until the gunk is netted out, brushed and vacuumed to see what it looks like. Could water have washed into the pool under the cover?
Also, give them specific instructions on what types of products (chemicals) are allowed to go into the water and what isn't allowed. Only add the chlorine if you have a way of mixing the water.

Thank you for your response. Yes, with the amount of rain we got last fall and this spring, it seems like a lot of water/gunk made it way through under the cover. When you say 'Only add the chlorine if you have a way of mixing the water', what exactly did you mean by that?

 

[Coach_1]

First step! Save yourself a lot of money and tell the pool company to not come over!! Look up the SLAM method on this site and slam away. Took me 9 days of vacuuming, brushing and adding bleach. Went from a dark green nasty pond scum pool to a sparkling clear pool. Saved me a few hundred dollars doing it myself. Plus all the veteran pool people on here are awesome about answering questions and helping you out.

 

[Teald024]

When you say 'Only add the chlorine if you have a way of mixing the water', what exactly did you mean by that?

When you add chlorine to the water, you don't want to just pull back one corner of the cover and dump liquid chlorine in and then leave it. Liquid chlorine is more dense than water so it will tend to sink to the bottom if just poured in. You really should mix the chlorine in so that it doesn't sit in one place and damage the pool surface. This will be difficult to do with no running pump and a winter cover still on. At minimum, take your garden hose, turn it on full flow and place it in the water. Pretend this is the return jet and slowly pour the liquid chlorine in front of it so the running water helps disburse the chlorine out into the body of the pool run the hose for a few minutes. This will at least keep the chlorine from settling in one spot.

 

[Kcdc42]

Thanks for the responses. When I opened the pool on Monday, it looked nasty (see picture attached). It looked brown. I am not sure if it was algae or just organic material (leaves) that was there during closing or dirt that seeped in under the covers.

It has slowly been looking better. I will try the SLAM method that has been discussed extensively here on this site. This is the 5th year I have owned a pool and this has the worst it has looked. In the past, it has always been clear. I changed pool companies and I looked at the Closing notes and it seems like the previous pool company used algaecide when closing. It appears that this company did not and I am not too happy about that.

A few questions here:

1. Could using algaecide during closing have prevented this?

2. Now, how do I get rid of these stains (see attachment)? They seem like they are organic stains (how do I tell?). The pool crew suggests we acid wash it but we just did that last season when I drained the water to repair a plaster so don't want to spend that kind of money again and also take another layer off the plaster. Will shocking get rid of the stains? They seem a little stubborn as you can see in the pics.

 

[Teald024]

1. Could using algaecide during closing have prevented this?

It's possible that algaecide could have helped prevent algae issues during the winter. I'm not convinced that your issue is solely algae. It looks like organic staining from leaves, dirt, etc that may have washed into the pool

2. Now, how do I get rid of these stains (see attachment)? They seem like they are organic stains (how do I tell?). The pool crew suggests we acid wash it but we just did that last season when I drained the water to repair a plaster so don't want to spend that kind of money again and also take another layer off the plaster. Will shocking get rid of the stains? They seem a little stubborn as you can see in the pics.

Read through the removing stains portion of Pool School. To get to the punchline, you can place a trichlor puck on the stain for 5 minutes. If you see the stain lighten then it is organic. The linked article will give you more information. You do NOT need an acid wash at this point. If the puck helps with the stains, then the SLAM process along with plenty of brushing and time should help fade the stains.