Cloudy pool water

[lauren_bourgeois]

Please ignore the pool steps in the center of the pool. My husband forgot to screw them back to the deck after cleaning under there. My pool water is still very cloudy. Can barely see bottom step. I vacuumed yesterday and backwashes but I don’t think the backwash was thorough enough because sometime during the night the jets stopped blowing. I just backwashed again (spent much more time making sure I did it correctly). The pump is running on full blast. It has been cloudy for almost a week now. I know I need to add chlorine tonight but could the low pH be causing the cloudiness? Do I need to shock again?

I have my signature up to date (turn smartphone sideways to see)

 

[mknauss]

Have you read the SLAM Process?

Be sure to keep your FC at SLAM level as often as possible. At least 3-4 times per day at your current stage.

 

[mknauss]

You need to enter your signature. It is not in your member profile.
Sharing your Poolmath logs in the app is also a great thing for us so we can see the history of data.

 

[lauren_bourgeois]

You need to enter your signature. It is not in your member profile.
Sharing your Poolmath logs in the app is also a great thing for us so we can see the history of data.

I just updated it again. Not sure why it disappeared, it was there a few days ago. Do I keep SLAMming until water is clear? Disregard other chemicals until clear?

 

[mknauss]

Do I keep SLAMming until water is clear? Disregard other chemicals until clear?

Correct. Maintain your FC at SLAM level for your CYA until you pass the three criteria for a successful SLAM.

 

[Richard320]

"Shocking" a pool doesn't work. That's a one-time megadose of chlorine. It may kill 90% of what's growing in the water, but the 10% that's still alive is gonna be the tough stuff. And it'll be back. In your case, it is back. It never really left. Algae is a battle to the death. A cage match. You can't just knock the algae down and call yourself the champion. It'll get back up. No, you need to knock it down and hit it again and again until it's dead. That is the SLAM process.

It'll use a lot of bleach for sure, but once you get the algae eradicated, it will take minimal amounts to keep your pool sparkling all the way through until October (or whenever you close).

 

[lauren_bourgeois]

"Shocking" a pool doesn't work. That's a one-time megadose of chlorine. It may kill 90% of what's growing in the water, but the 10% that's still alive is gonna be the tough stuff. And it'll be back. In your case, it is back. It never really left. Algae is a battle to the death. A cage match. You can't just knock the algae down and call yourself the champion. It'll get back up. No, you need to knock it down and hit it again and again until it's dead. That is the SLAM process.

It'll use a lot of bleach for sure, but once you get the algae eradicated, it will take minimal amounts to keep your pool sparkling all the way through until October (or whenever you close).

Thank you for your advice. I have adjusted my chlorine back to SLAM level.

Today FC is 13, CC 0 and CYA 30.

I guess I was going by color of water and not taking the cloudiness as live algae, I was thinking cloudy water was dead algae. I have a doctorate and pool maintenance is kicking my butt. Still learning. I’m backwashing daily and keeping chlorine high until clear.