What WAS in my pool!!

Jump to latest Follow Reply
R

rocky

0
Jun 30, 2009
62
I've heard the saying if you live long enough you will probably see or hear just about anything. Well here is a new one for me. After church this morning we decided to let the grandkids swim in the pool. I have had the solar blanket on the pool since 2 Sep. We took it off long enough on 12 Sep to swim and then put it back on. Anyway as I was removing the blanket today the water smelled terrible. When I get the blanket completely off I spotted the source of the bad smell. A full size possum (that's what we call them here in the south) had drowned and started to decay or rot under the blanket. There is an oily film on the water. I did a vacuum to waste of the bones that were on the bottom of the pool. Put the vinyl gloves on and got that stinking possum out of the pool.

Here are the most recent test results from 9 AM 26 Sep
FC 7 -- this was after I added and circulated 364 ounces of bleach on 25 Sep.
CC 0.5
TA 60
CYA 20
pH 7.2

What are your recommendations on treating this stinking pool? The solar blanket will not go back on this year. If I can't get to smell off it then it is making a trip to the trash dump. Hopefully I can winterize the pool sometime in late October.
 
My thoughts would be if the smell wont come out by scrubbing with bleach and water then its not going to come out. Someone might have other suggestions though.

As far as the water smelling I would think the smell would go away after shocking it for a day or two. Only other thing I can think of is a partial drain and fill may dilute the smell.
 
That information is pretty much what I had decided to try.

Here is my current plan and actions: I have the filter and automatic Pentair pool cleaner on for 24 hours each day. Last night I added 182 ounces of bleach without first measuring the FC level. Anything that gets that foul pool water on it stinks. I don't want to subject the pool brush or the test kit components, at this time, to the stinking pool water. I don't know how much chlorine was consumed by the sun's UV yesterday and the organics from the dead possum. The bleach I added should get the FC in the 11 ppm range or shocking level. This is based on previous daily chlorine consumption of 1 ppm per 24 hours and the low CYA value of 20 ppm. More bleach will be added daily as needed.

I might even backwash the filter again and then add some bleach through the skimmer intake. After observing the results of these actions, then I will decide what to do. I am hoping the chlorine will get rid of the stinking water problem. However, I am concerned the chlorine will not help remove the "oily" film on everything the water has contacted. I'm keeping an open mind on this and looking forward to anyone's comments.
 
1. Toss the solar cover

2. Elevate your FC levels until the pool is cleared

3. Continually brush and clean the sides of the pool where any oily residue will accumulate....use a throw-away long handled deck brush....a little bit of cleanser will help

4. Backwash as necessary

5. Keep the pool uncovered and let Mother Nature and the elevated chlorine clear the pool.
 
Thanks for all the good advice.

I failed to mention I had put a nylon sock over the skimmer basket. That appears to be catching the oily film on the water surface.

This morning I scrubbed the vinyl above the current water level with a product called Off the Wall. I had it from a previous pool. It is made especially for cleaning and conditioning the vinyl liner.

I will test the water this evening and post the results of the FC and CC.

Anyone care to comment on me pouring 1 jug of bleach through the skimmer basket? This would be done after the evening backwash and after checking the FC and CC.
 
6 PM results of water testing:

FC 5 ppm
CC 0.5 ppm

FC loss from 8 PM last evening to 6 PM today was about 6 ppm.

Added 2 jugs (364 ounces) bleach. I will retest in the AM.

The stink is almost gone. Water is still crystal clear with a few bleached possum bones scattered on the pool bottom.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
Just to add my two-cents' worth, I add our bleach through the skimmer. But the most I usually add, when I'm not using the solar cover (since the cover almost stops FC loss), is about 1 qt of 6%. I put 1/2 in my pitcher, fill it with pool water and add it to the skimmer. Then I repeat the process once more to get my full quart of 6% and I'm done. I do it this way because I leave our pump on low all the time and I like the idea that it's going straight to each end of the pool via the returns. I'm sure it would all mix in eventually, but I just like knowing that it's already gone through the filter and back out to each end of the pool before I even put the lid back on my bleach jug!
 
I want to add the bleach through the skimmer to have a faster impact on the sand filter. I know if I add the bleach directly to the pool water it will eventually make its way through the filter.

Duraleigh recommended elevating the chlorine level. Therefore, I added the remaining quantity of Chlorox bleach to the pool.
 
The 6:30 AM test results are:
FC 12.5 ppm
CC 0 ppm

The smell from the dead possum is just about gone. There was insufficient daylight to determine if the oily film on the water surface was gone.

Will test FC this evening and report results.
 
Tested the water at 6:30 PM:

FC 8.5 ppm
CC 0 ppm

According to pool calculator 182 ounces of bleach should get the FC close to 13 ppm. Since the CYA is 20 ppm this bleach addition will get the pool back to the shock level.

Oily film is slowly disappearing, I think.
 
Here are the results of today's 6:30 AM testing:

FC 11.5 ppm
CC 0 ppm


The FC results raise questions. Last evening the FC was 8.5 and I added 182 ounces Chlorox bleach. According to the Pool Calculator my FC should have been almost 13 but it was 11.5. At 6 PM on 28 Sep the FC was 5 and I added 364 ounces Chlorox bleach and expected the FC to be about 13.4 but it was only 12.5. Is the chlorine being consumed at night from the organics remaining in the pool? Is this Pool Calculator in error or is this normal? How much longer should I keep the FC elevated?
 
One common reason for chem additions not matching expected results is incorrect pool volume being entered into the calculator. This is especially true with in-ground pools where exact measurenments are usually hard to take. I'd bump your gallons up a few hundred at a time till it's close to right.
 
I was thinking pool volume I use of 21,000 gallons could be low. I will raise it to 22,000 gallons and use the Pool Calculator to determine the required amount of bleach to add.

How long should I keep the FC level elevated? My recent posts report the test results.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply