I have the same issue with oil patches in my pool after opening the cover when the water was crystal clear. I have had the automatic cover for 2 years. I have tried so many things including looking under the cover and cleaning it. I don’t use a pump so it’s not that, I just open the cover during rain. The pool filter is cleaned every 3 months. There isn’t any oil where the cover rolls up either. It’s a mystery. Someone on another forum said VOC’s offgasing maybe from the sun? A chemical reaction with the actual cover? I have a salt system, maybe with salt as well? Maybe only one manufacturer has this issue because their product has something in it?
Oily Residue On Water Under Auto Cover
- Thread starter kaseydog
- Start date
Same issue here. I’ve got a small, 2100 gal pool with automatic cover. The longer I leave the cover closed it seems like the more oily film there is. Chlorine pool with chemicals in range. It will eventually gather in the skimmer or evaporate but it takes a few hours.
We have a new pool (open 3 months and cover has been on for 6 weeks) and a cover star cover and have the exact same problem, weird sweet smell and the same hazy film after the cover has been on, even for one day. Any more updates?
I posted in this thread already and my cover is a Coverstar as well. It does seem that all the people complaining about the oil have a Coverstar cover so far, at least on this thread. Maybe something in the plastic?
Did anyone find a solution for this issue? I am having the same issue. It started at the end of last year which would have been the 2nd year with the auto cover. It's like a milky film and it has a solvent/turpentine type smell. I shocked and closed the pool for winter and thought it had gone away. I opened the pool this spring and it all seemed fine and then it came back. I kept the cover open for a few days after shocking the pool and it went away, but as soon as a closed the cover, it came right back. So it has to be the cover, and it's not the cover pump because I didn't even put it on this last time. My cover is Automatic Pool Covers, inc. Maybe I am keeping my FC too high. My CYA is 55 and I keep my FC in the 4.5-5 range. Could oxidation of the cover do something like this? I am at a loss on what to do next. Thanks
Hello - we have a very similar story as the ones above. Second year now of having a retractable cover on a re-modelled pool. Was oily all last summer. By the end of the summer we finally had the solution of enzymes to fight the problem. Very clearly linked to the pool cover and the heat of the sun. The problem went away in the winter and is back now. All the professionals blame somebody else. The pool cover people have now admitted that they have had others complain of the problem but they have "tested" their covers and its not them! They are now saying that one solution would be to clean the bottom of the cover and then shock the water and that the problem must be that we had a bacterial issue with the water when it was originally filled that now comes back with the sun every time it contacts with the cover. I have also noticed the cover looks to have some vertical abrasions on it that the cover maintenance people acknowledge but don't provide a cause for despite an inspection. Did anyone from the above resolve their issue? Anyone else think the pool cover companies all had faulty covers made during the covid era of shortages any are now on a "cover up" operation?
I can't find a solution and I can't solve it. Very frustrating. It's definitely the cover. I kept it open for a few days, and when I closed it, I could smell this grape/fruity/chemical smell on the top. I have cleaned the top, but it comes right back. Maybe the top is just getting something from the bottom while rolled up. I haven't scrubbed underneath the cover yet. To me, it seems like the cover material is breaking down or something. I thought maybe the off gassing of the chlorine production might be it, but I have made sure my SWG doesn't run with the cover closed. So I don't think that is it. It's definitely getting worse as the temperatures warm up. At this point, my $15K cover is basically useless.
- Jul 16, 2012
- 7,282
- Pool Size
- 27000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
Sure seems like the cover is outgassing (separate from the SWG reaction), which may self resolve over time. Super frustrating I'm sure. My cover did not do that.
Bumping this thread again because I am still fighting this and hoping maybe someone found a solution. I haven't used my cover for most of the summer. We haven't gotten much rain, so I just left it open. We finally got a good rain from the last hurricane that came up the Gulf and eventually brought rain to Kentucky. So I closed the cover for the first time in over a month. Guess what, the white milky film came right back. If it's mold, then it's definitely anaerobic. Still worried that it is something in the cover that is leaching into the water.
Maybe take a sample and find a lab that can do testing for the possible contaminants.
Thanks. I may have to do that for piece of mind. I am sure that will be several hundred dollars since they would probably need to test for a wide range of things.
Just had the cover care people out to take a look. They were completely stumped. They looked under the cover and thought it looked fine. No residue or anything. The cover didn't look to be breaking down any. I am on a couple pool Facebook pages, and I have seen a growing number of posts with this same issue. There were 3 posts in the last week. Nobody has yet to solve it besides just keeping the cover open. I keep leaning to the theory that its a manufacturing issue since the pandemic. These all seem to be from the same cover manufacturer (automatic pool covers, inc). My pool is salt but not sure if all are salt water pools.
Each gallon of 12.5% liquid chlorine adds 21 ppm salt in 10k gallons, so most are getting there whether they know it or not.
Ask the cover company to send you a 1 foot x 1 foot sample of the material so that you can put a piece in a bucket of water to see if the same thing happens in the bucket.
Find a testing lab that can analyze a water sample and a piece of the cover to see what might be in the material that could cause the problem.
Ask the manufacturer for a SDS sheet that shows all components of the cover material.
Find a testing lab that can analyze a water sample and a piece of the cover to see what might be in the material that could cause the problem.
Ask the manufacturer for a SDS sheet that shows all components of the cover material.