- Apr 26, 2009
- 419
I replaced some cartridges on a hayward filter on tuesday, and when I stopped by the pool today, the Polaris bag was FULL of a white "mush".
WTH?
WTH?
Mush! (cartridges just replaced)
- Thread starter taekwondodo
- Start date
Are you suspecting that the white mush might be remnants of the newly installed filter cartridges? Might pop the lid on the filter and check things out to be safe.
How's the water chemistry?
How's the water chemistry?
- Apr 26, 2009
- 419
Chemistry is awesome (FC ~6, CC 0, ph 7.5, SWG). been that way since mid august.
Pool (not my pool) was green about a month ago. Bombed it, then cleaned the old filter cartridges - was getting this same clearish-white powder (it looks like that absorbent gell stuff from a baby's diaper) in the Polaris (360) screen and having to change the screen every few days...
I had to pull the polaris for a few weeks and this was the first time it was back in the water.
As the filters were on their last leg (almost all the bands were broken) we got new ones - hooked the 360 back up and checked it yesterday and there was a little in the screen, but tons in the polaris bag (handfulls).
- Jeff
Pool (not my pool) was green about a month ago. Bombed it, then cleaned the old filter cartridges - was getting this same clearish-white powder (it looks like that absorbent gell stuff from a baby's diaper) in the Polaris (360) screen and having to change the screen every few days...
I had to pull the polaris for a few weeks and this was the first time it was back in the water.
As the filters were on their last leg (almost all the bands were broken) we got new ones - hooked the 360 back up and checked it yesterday and there was a little in the screen, but tons in the polaris bag (handfulls).
- Jeff
- Apr 26, 2009
- 419
OK - here's some pictures of the "Mush"
1) What I pulled out of the P360 yesterday (this was almost baseball sized):
2) The pile I pulled out of the P360 last Thursday (foot as a reference - bag was packed) - It dried to a salty/crystaline powder that breaks down VERY easy into something almost white sandish:
3) A close-up of a small handful from Thursday's dried out pile:
- Jeff
1) What I pulled out of the P360 yesterday (this was almost baseball sized):
2) The pile I pulled out of the P360 last Thursday (foot as a reference - bag was packed) - It dried to a salty/crystaline powder that breaks down VERY easy into something almost white sandish:
3) A close-up of a small handful from Thursday's dried out pile:
- Jeff
It appears to be chrystaline in form. Might want to get chem geek's opinion on this.
I'd say it looks like the water absorbing crystals that are in baby diapers, also in some planting mixes (Miracle Grow Moisture control).
This stuff would be jelly like when wet, firm but squishy, then drying to small crystals about like coarse salt. There are various grades of it, fine (like table salt when dry), medium (like Kosher salt), and large (like rock salt). I know that when my kids were small, I would take them to the neighborhood pool in diapers and when they got wet, the "super absorbent" type which had that inside, would balloon out until it was about to explode as the crystals absorbed something like 100 times their weight in water. I have bought it by the pound to use in landscaping or planters and I've also used it to sew into neck coolers to sent to troops in Iraq.
But then, I've never used any flocculent so I wouldn't know if that would look like that.
[edit] I suggest sweeping it up, then wetting it again. If it swells up, probably this hydro absorbing polymer stuff. Then take a long look at what babies have been in the pool in diapers. I suspect that the "swim diapers" are made without that stuff, just guessing. If no babies.... anyone use those "neck coolers" in the pool? Your pile is way too big for a neck cooler, each holds only about a teaspoon of dry crystals, but softball sized is about right for a baby diaper.
And yeah, if a diaper blew out and exploded in the pool, one might not see it, as the stuff is pretty clear when fully expanded, but it would make a huge mess in the cartridge and would tend to pack it so much that I would expect it could break the bands due to high pressure. I'd guess that filter pressure would climb so quickly that one might not notice in time.
This stuff would be jelly like when wet, firm but squishy, then drying to small crystals about like coarse salt. There are various grades of it, fine (like table salt when dry), medium (like Kosher salt), and large (like rock salt). I know that when my kids were small, I would take them to the neighborhood pool in diapers and when they got wet, the "super absorbent" type which had that inside, would balloon out until it was about to explode as the crystals absorbed something like 100 times their weight in water. I have bought it by the pound to use in landscaping or planters and I've also used it to sew into neck coolers to sent to troops in Iraq.
But then, I've never used any flocculent so I wouldn't know if that would look like that.
[edit] I suggest sweeping it up, then wetting it again. If it swells up, probably this hydro absorbing polymer stuff. Then take a long look at what babies have been in the pool in diapers. I suspect that the "swim diapers" are made without that stuff, just guessing. If no babies.... anyone use those "neck coolers" in the pool? Your pile is way too big for a neck cooler, each holds only about a teaspoon of dry crystals, but softball sized is about right for a baby diaper.
And yeah, if a diaper blew out and exploded in the pool, one might not see it, as the stuff is pretty clear when fully expanded, but it would make a huge mess in the cartridge and would tend to pack it so much that I would expect it could break the bands due to high pressure. I'd guess that filter pressure would climb so quickly that one might not notice in time.
- Apr 26, 2009
- 419
You rock - I bet that's exactly what it is (as that's exactly what it looks like)... they have a small child. I'll ask.
- Jeff
- Jeff
Swim diapers do NOT contain the silica gel. That is the whole point of swim diapers. Regular diapers do and it is funny to watch a babies butt triple in size when the diapers go in the pool.
Lee
Lee
Similar threads
