Constant Dirt in Pool

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C

Chrismoyer

Member
May 14, 2022
23
Dallas Texas
Pool Size
11000
Surface
Vinyl
Chlorine
Liquid Chlorine
I purchased this house with a semi in-ground pool (fancy above ground pool) 2 summers ago. The first summer it was perfect. Then, last year, the water was constantly slightly cloudy and there was dirt accumulating on the bottom of the pool. I dealt with it but was determined to fix it this year. I thought maybe it was sand from the filter, so I got replacement laterals and sand.
I didn’t know the difference, but when I emptied out the filter, it was actually filter glass. So I know now that’s not what was coming back into the pool. I went ahead and changed everything out and put new sand in. Now the water is crystal clear, however, I’m still getting dirt on the bottom of the pool. I don’t see anything coming out of the return.
I can vacuum it to waste, bypassing the filter completely and it looks amazing. But a few hours later you can see more dirt starting to accumulate in the pool. I have vacuumed it daily this week and nothing changes.
I have a Taylor test kit and I have made sure the chemistry is balanced correctly. I know it isn’t algae, it’s some kind of silt/dirt. My pool is basically between my fence on 2 sides, my house on 1 side and a pretty big deck all around it. There is no dirt even close to the surface of the pool to be able to get inside.
Does anyone have any tips?
 

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Last edited:
Welcome to the forum!
What happens when you brush the material? Does it poof away? What Taylor kit do you have? Please fill out your signature for us as it helps us help you.
I suggest you read through Pool School - Trouble Free Pool and even look at a few of our videos TFP-TV - Trouble Free Pool
 
mknauss said:
Welcome to the forum!
What happens when you brush the material? Does it poof away? What Taylor kit do you have? Please fill out your signature for us as it helps us help you.
I suggest you read through Pool School - Trouble Free Pool and even look at a few of our videos TFP-TV - Trouble Free Pool
Click to expand...
When you disturb/brush it, it disperses and mixes into the water, making the water cloudy. I’m not sure which Taylor kit I have but I can run alkalinity, ph and chlorine tests with it.
 
Welcome to the forum.
Sad to say it but yes it is algae. (Why are you so sure it's not?)
I see it all the time in my pool at start up.
Please read the information on how to SLAM your pool. After you get this cleared up, you will be shocked and pleased to see how much clearer your pool water will look.
There is no need to vacuum to waste. It just wastes water. Vacuum right into the filter.
 
mariane said:
Welcome to the forum.
Sad to say it but yes it is algae. (Why are you so sure it's not?)
I see it all the time in my pool at start up.
Please read the information on how to SLAM your pool. After you get this cleared up, you will be shocked and pleased to see how much clearer your pool water will look.
There is no need to vacuum to waste. It just wastes water. Vacuum right into the filter.
Click to expand...
I don’t think it’s algae for a few reasons. I’ve tried fairly heavy algae treatment for 1. For 2, it only shows up when I run my pump on the higher setting. And it shows up directly in the path of the return. When the pump runs on its low setting or not at all, the dirt doesn’t show up even with temps of over 100 outside. That, I assume, would be the perfect breeding ground for algae. But when I turn the high speed on, it’s there within hours.
Either way, I have ordered the liquid chlorine and the proper test kit so I can do the chlorine loss test and/or a slam so I can definitively rule out algae.
 
Unless your filter is broken (and I doubt it is), you have algae as Marianne says. What you see as "dirt" (dirt can be picked up between your thumb and forfinger and is gritty) is dead algae that has settled on your pool floor. It poofs away when you try to pick it up.

Getting your test kit and posting good numbers will get you started on the right path. Be prepared to SLAM your pool. :)
 
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Do you per chance have a vinyl/plastic ladder with weighted feet in the pool? In our old pool our ladder was weighted with sand which would leak into the pool.
 

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I get this from time to time in my pool, and for me, it is not algae. I pass OCLT, I have no CC at all, and it does not happen consistently. It is especially prevalent at the beginning of the season, which makes me suspect pollen, since that is when everything around here is coated in a nice covering of green dust.

I run a slime bag when I first open my pool and vacuum. I leave the slime bag on for 2-3 days after vacuuming, and the dusty dirt does not return.
 
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phonedave said:
I get this from time to time in my pool, and for me, it is not algae. I pass OCLT, I have no CC at all, and it does not happen consistently. It is especially prevalent at the beginning of the season, which makes me suspect pollen, since that is when everything around here is coated in a nice covering of green dust.

I run a slime bag when I first open my pool and vacuum. I leave the slime bag on for 2-3 days after vacuuming, and the dusty dirt does not return.
Click to expand...
I Never heard of this slime bag. I'm totally gonna try it.
 
I have the same issue - thinking it was dirt / silt. I can vac most of it, my chlorine is stable and under control. I had a bloom early last year, but got it under control. Took the stairs out and scrubbed them. I do leave the pool up over the winter (this is North Dakota, so it does freeze solid in the winter)

If it's algae, have I missed something @mariane and @duraleigh ?

I vac'd Saturday before we used the pool (I hate my manul vac btw, if anyone has a better head style/design i'd love to hear it) and got MOST of it - some redistributed into the water, and sunday there were more piles here and there in the pool. Where is the algae hiding? I have a S180T hayward sand filter, a Raypack 156A heater.

Thank you all!
 
I think it's dead algae that is too small for the filter to get completely. This year is my first battle with algae since my cover blew off and I opened late. Mine gets less and less every day that I vacuum and filter, but it's a PITA. I think this slime bag thing is gonna work for the remaining "stuff". I'm just gonna attach a filter bag to my return for a couple days and see what happens.
 
Algae can be invisible and alive in your pool water. As the algae is partially killed by the chlorine, the "carcasses" sink to the pool floor and become visible.

Even though you kill some of it, you don't get it all at once so those dead ones are filtered out but new algae is then killed, creating more "dirt".

That process is never ending until you decide to SLAM the pool and eradicate completely.
 
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duraleigh said:
Algae can be invisible and alive in your pool water. As the algae is partially killed by the chlorine, the "carcasses" sink to the pool floor and become visible.

Even though you kill some of it, you don't get it all at once so those dead ones are filtered out but new algae is then killed, creating more "dirt".

That process is never ending until you decide to SLAM the pool and eradicate completely.
Click to expand...
Well I’m slamming tonight! How do I know how much to use? It says use the pool math app to calculate but I haven’t been able to figure out in the app what to do.
 
Chrismoyer said:
Well I’m slamming tonight! How do I know how much to use? It says use the pool math app to calculate but I haven’t been able to figure out in the app what to do.
Click to expand...
If you have a computer, this one is easy to read and figure out. (You can ignore my numbers are in the columns.) PoolMath
Chrismoyer said:
I don’t think it’s algae for a few reasons. I’ve tried fairly heavy algae treatment . . .
Either way, I have ordered the liquid chlorine and the proper test kit so I can do the chlorine loss test and/or a slam so I can definitively rule out algae.
Click to expand...
What "fairly heavy algae treatment" did you use?
 

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