Raccoon poop in pool! HELP!!!

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mejela70

mejela70

Member
Aug 4, 2022
12
Maine
Pool Size
35000
Surface
Vinyl
so I wasn’t sure where to post this but water chemistry seems to fit because I am petrified of returning to my pool after two weeks of a raccoon and, possibly, a large frog using my pool as a toilet! I’ve found two different types of feces…one with seeds and such that breaks up easily upon contact (raccoon I assume) and other samples that are black, slimy, and also break apart in contact but seem to have white-ish slimy things around it (frog?). I’m not a wildlife biologist but I’m pretty sure about the raccoon.

I have called everyone and all kinds of professionals (wildlife biologists, game wardens, public health officials, the cdc) and I have spoken with my pool company….i have a 20x40 in ground pool with 35,000 gallons and a large sand filter.

I am not going to drain the pool (not practical if the feces keep happening) and even replacing the sand in the filter is not practical either (though I’m sure highly recommended).

I was told to super shock it…thought I did that successfully but in another forum someone informed me (not my pool company, and they have never explained this to me) that to SLAM it my CYA level needed to be lower. My level is high at 150 but my pool company testing system considers a CYA range of 30-200 normal. My understanding is that , regardless, the free chlorine level needs to be 7.5% of the CYA (and after shocking it the FC was over 15 so assume at least it was sanitizing some). But, to consider it super shocked I need to reach and sustain an FC level of 60!! NO WAY! Already I’m concerned about the level being around 15.

So, I have filtered continuously, I have wasted out and backwashed and rinsed….I’m still terrified of raccoon roundworms and am not sure if I should swim in the pool (not to mention the high chlorine level!)

Any ideas on what else I can be doing? No one wants to give me an opinion on the level of risk for roundworm. I’m so frustrated.
 
mejela70 said:
so I wasn’t sure where to post this but water chemistry seems to fit because I am petrified of returning to my pool after two weeks of a raccoon and, possibly, a large frog using my pool as a toilet! I’ve found two different types of feces…one with seeds and such that breaks up easily upon contact (raccoon I assume) and other samples that are black, slimy, and also break apart in contact but seem to have white-ish slimy things around it (frog?). I’m not a wildlife biologist but I’m pretty sure about the raccoon.

I have called everyone and all kinds of professionals (wildlife biologists, game wardens, public health officials, the cdc) and I have spoken with my pool company….i have a 20x40 in ground pool with 35,000 gallons and a large sand filter.

I am not going to drain the pool (not practical if the feces keep happening) and even replacing the sand in the filter is not practical either (though I’m sure highly recommended).

I was told to super shock it…thought I did that successfully but in another forum someone informed me (not my pool company, and they have never explained this to me) that to SLAM it my CYA level needed to be lower. My level is high at 150 but my pool company testing system considers a CYA range of 30-200 normal. My understanding is that , regardless, the free chlorine level needs to be 7.5% of the CYA (and after shocking it the FC was over 15 so assume at least it was sanitizing some). But, to consider it super shocked I need to reach and sustain an FC level of 60!! NO WAY! Already I’m concerned about the level being around 15.

So, I have filtered continuously, I have wasted out and backwashed and rinsed….I’m still terrified of raccoon roundworms and am not sure if I should swim in the pool (not to mention the high chlorine level!)

Any ideas on what else I can be doing? No one wants to give me an opinion on the level of risk for roundworm. I’m so frustrated.
Click to expand...
Why don't you get one of those "game cameras", Amazon has them fairly cheap and they are motion activated.
 
Raising fc to 40% of your cya level is not “super shocking” it’s just shock level. It will take alot of liquid chlorine to get there but it isn’t harmful.

CYA Chlorine Relationship - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com
It is impractical to properly manage a pool with a cya of 100+ no matter what the pool company says is acceptable - btw they only say that so they can continue to sell u things like stabilized chlorine products & algeacides etc. not because they care about your pool or its condition.
Ph testing is invalid at fc levels over 10ppm - this alone presents an issue with maintaining proper ph & keeping a sanitary pool.
You need to get a proper test kit & find out your actual cya so u know how much water to exchange to make this pool manageable.
Test Kits Compared
Also no more stabilized chlorine products-
They’re only adding to the problem How to Chlorinate Your Pool
 
Thank you very much for this. Yes, I believe my pool company is not steering me in the right direction….I’m so discouraged with the raccoon poop AND now the realization my chemicals are so messed up….they would have me believe that other than the chlorine level being high everything else looks okay…..even if I were safe from roundworm exposure I don’t know if I should swim in it with the chemicals being what they are??? Is is super harmful??
 
Here is my recommendation- for now keep the fc at least 7.5% of your assumed cya or higher with liquid chlorine & take action to keep the raccoons away (something as simple as a motion sensor that makes noises)
*Order a test kit ASAP
k2006c (on Amazon etc,)
or
tf100 (from www.tftestkits.net)
So u can test & know your actual levels (especially cya) so u will know how much water to exchange to get cya to a reasonable level 30-60 ppm so u can maintain sanitary water period - wildlife or not.
You shouldn’t drain lower than leaving 12-18 in of water in the shallow end or the liner can shift.

Draining - Further Reading

www.google.com www.google.com

At which point you can raise fc to a slam level which won’t be crazy & cost a ton to maintain if necessary.
After this if u are super concerned that these particular raccoons had roundworms u can also change your sand which is probably not a bad idea anyway considering there’s no telling what kind of pool store potions have been used in the pool to keep it close to clear with such a high cya & likely chronically low fc level.
Keep in mind that people swim in unchlorinated, unfiltered lakes & streams on a regular basis & there are still very few cases of infection from this.
 
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Mdragger88 said:
Keep in mind that people swim in unchlorinated, unfiltered lakes & streams on a regular basis & there are still very few cases of infection from this.
Click to expand...
👆👆👆

And there are also people in the wildlife community that work with raccoons on a daily basis for years and years and never develop Baylisascaris infections. I consider it to be one of the most overblown, fear-driven, internet tall tales lately. Even the CDC Website clearly states in the epidemiology section that fewer than 25 cases of the disease have been documented in the US. As of 2018, there have only been 23 PUBLISHED case reports in the medical literature.

Focus on learning how to take care of your pool yourself and balance and correct your water chemistry and then you’ll be much more confident in your pool’s sanitary condition.
 
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Your own testing will tell you more then what the pool store people will ever know so heed the advice earlier and get one of the two recommended kits. If in fact the CYA is off the charts from your own test results we can then further guide you but now no one's to know what the chemistry in the pool really is. So assuming you're waiting for the kit to arrive you can read away and work on your signature like mine on the bottom so we can answer your questions more easily.
 
Last edited:
Mdragger88 said:
Here is my recommendation- for now keep the fc at least 7.5% of your assumed cya or higher with liquid chlorine & take action to keep the raccoons away (something as simple as a motion sensor that makes noises)
*Order a test kit ASAP
k2006c (on Amazon etc,)
or
tf100 (from www.tftestkits.net)
So u can test & know your actual levels (especially cya) so u will know how much water to exchange to get cya to a reasonable level 30-60 ppm so u can maintain sanitary water period - wildlife or not.
You shouldn’t drain lower than leaving 12-18 in of water in the shallow end or the liner can shift.

Draining - Further Reading

www.google.com www.google.com

At which point you can raise fc to a slam level which won’t be crazy & cost a ton to maintain if necessary.
After this if u are super concerned that these particular raccoons had roundworms u can also change your sand which is probably not a bad idea anyway considering there’s no telling what kind of pool store potions have been used in the pool to keep it close to clear with such a high cya & likely chronically low fc level.
Keep in mind that people swim in unchlorinated, unfiltered lakes & streams on a regular basis & there are still very few cases of infection from this.
Click to expand...
Thank you so much for the response! I definitely will be getting my own test kits and will work to replace the water in order to get the CYA level under control. Currently the FC is 7.5% of it but I don’t want to keep it that high….expensive and I am sure not healthy! I’m glad I learned this information now rather than spending more and more years doing it incorrectly!
 
wireform said:
Your own testing will tell you more then what the pool store people will ever know so jeed the advice earlier and get one of the two recommended kits. If in fact the CYA is off the charts from your own test results we can then further guide you but now no one's to know what the chemistry in the pool really is. So assuming you're waiting for the kit to arrive you can read away and work on your signature like mine on the bottom so we can answer your questions more easily.
Click to expand...
Absolutely! Will order those today!! I will keep researching and reading! Not to sound stupid but how do I work on my signature?!
 

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JoyfulNoise said:
👆👆👆

And there are also people in the wildlife community that work with raccoons on a daily basis for years and years and never develop Baylisascaris infections. I consider it to be one of the most overblown, fear-driven, internet tall tales lately. Even the CDC Website clearly states in the epidemiology section that fewer than 25 cases of the disease have been documented in the US. As of 2018, there have only been 23 PUBLISHED case reports in the medical literature.

Focus on learning how to take care of your pool yourself and balance and correct your water chemistry and then you’ll be much more confident in your pool’s sanitary condition.
Click to expand...
Thank you so much for your response! I have absolutely let myself get ridiculously neurotic over this….I really did work hard to carefully remove the poop and know that despite the high CYA I was able to get the FC up there above the 7.5% recommended ratio….just not to SLAM level….but, then again, chlorine doesn’t touch the roundworm egg (if there were any in the first place). My next big campaign is get these chemicals under control and appreciate all the help doing so!!!
JoyfulNoise said:
👆👆👆

And there are also people in the wildlife community that work with raccoons on a daily basis for years and years and never develop Baylisascaris infections. I consider it to be one of the most overblown, fear-driven, internet tall tales lately. Even the CDC Website clearly states in the epidemiology section that fewer than 25 cases of the disease have been documented in the US. As of 2018, there have only been 23 PUBLISHED case reports in the medical literature.

Focus on learning how to take care of your pool yourself and balance and correct your water chemistry and then you’ll be much more confident in your pool’s sanitary condition.
Click to expand...
this is going to be my absolute focus!! Tired of living in fear of raccoon poop and need to focus on what I can control, my chemicals!!! I am not deterred….I am actually encouraged and feel like I’m heading in the right direction!!
 
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mejela70 said:
Currently the FC is 7.5% of it but I don’t want to keep it that high….expensive and I am sure not healthy!
Click to expand...

Not unhealthy at all. It’s another pool store misconception based on not understanding that the chlorine test can’t distinguish between chlorine that’s “free” and chlorine that’s bound up with CYA. So if your CYA really is 150 and you FC test reads 7, there’s much less “active chlorine” in the water than a pool with zero CYA and 3ppm FC.

If your water really does have 150 CYA your minimum free chlorine level needs to be maintained above 7ppm at all times (24x7). To make sure it never goes below that, it should be maintained around 11ppm so that any dips that happen won’t bring it lower than 7ppm.
 
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Bperry said:
Not unhealthy at all. It’s another pool store misconception based on not understanding that the chlorine test can’t distinguish between chlorine that’s “free” and chlorine that’s bound up with CYA. So if your CYA really is 150 and you FC test reads 7, there’s much less “active chlorine” in the water than a pool with zero CYA and 3ppm FC.

If your water really does have 150 CYA your minimum free chlorine level needs to be maintained above 7ppm at all times (24x7). To make sure it never goes below that, it should be maintained around 11ppm so that any dips that happen won’t bring it lower than 7ppm.
Click to expand...
So my CYA reads at 150 and my FC is at 15. The report that I get from them says FC 15 and total chlorine 15. So they said there is no combined chlorine. If in fact my FC is 15, is that safe to swim in?
 
mejela70 said:
So my CYA reads at 150 and my FC is at 15. The report that I get from them says FC 15 and total chlorine 15. So they said there is no combined chlorine. If in fact my FC is 15, is that safe to swim in?
Click to expand...
The water is safe to swim in up to and including SLAM level which would be FC 59ppm. So yes it’s not even close to a problem…as long as the CYA really is 150.

But…No one here believes a pool store/pool company CYA test so make sure to do the test yourself.
 
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Bperry said:
The water is safe to swim in up to and including SLAM level which would be FC 59ppm. So yes it’s not even close to a problem…as long as the CYA really is 150.

But…No one here believes a pool store/pool company CYA test so make sure to do the test yourself.
Click to expand...
Until I order a more comprehensive testing kit I am using the simple aqua check test strips….and the CYA measures at
Bperry said:
The water is safe to swim in up to and including SLAM level which would be FC 59ppm. So yes it’s not even close to a problem…as long as the CYA really is 150.

But…No one here believes a pool store/pool company CYA test so make sure to do the test yourself.
Click to expand...
thank you! Until I get a more comprehensive testing kit I am currently using the aqua check strip test which consistently indicates CYA of 150
 
mejela70 said:
Until I order a more comprehensive testing kit I am using the simple aqua check test strips….and the CYA measures at

thank you! Until I get a more comprehensive testing kit I am currently using the aqua check strip test which consistently indicates CYA of 150
Click to expand...
Ok, don’t do anything based on those strips other than adding 5ppm worth of chlorinating liquid to the pool each day. Poolmath can help you figure out how much that is, but it’s about 1.75 gallons per day using 10% concentration of you’re confident in the 35k gallons on the pool size.
 
Bperry said:
Ok, don’t do anything based on those strips other than adding 5ppm worth of chlorinating liquid to the pool each day. Poolmath can help you figure out how much that is, but it’s about 1.75 gallons per day using 10% concentration of you’re confident in the 35k gallons on the pool size.
Click to expand...
Do you have a recommendation on chlorinating liquid? I’ve never used it before…and the chlorine tabs I am using are trichlor which I am learning has contributed to my CYA level
 
mejela70 said:
Do you have a recommendation on chlorinating liquid? I’ve never used it before…and the chlorine tabs I am using are trichlor which I am learning has contributed to my CYA level
Click to expand...
Home Depot and Walmart carry it usually cheaper than a pool store. Check the pool care sections.
 
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