OIL in pool

[Steevofaz]

Hi everyone.
My name is Steve and I own a service company in Tucson AZ. I have been in the swimming pool industry since 1993 and have a "new one" to me. I received a call from a woman who has a pool that was vandalized using 5 quarts of used motor oil. The pool is pebble tec with waterline tile. I have purchased several hydro-phobic oil absorbant booms and added bio-dex 300 enzymes but have veruy little improvement. Can't drain pool due to environmental issues. Any ideas?

 

[JohnT]

Welcome to TFP.

Sounds like you are doing what makes sense.

Have you tried letting the pool sit with no circulation?

 

[Samantha_in_AL]

Yuck, what a horrible thing to do to someone!

What type of filter does she have? Is the oil floating on top of the water, or all mixed in?

I use Clorox Clean Up to clean the oil from my glass top electric stove after frying foods, so I can't help but wonder if Bleach wouldn't eventually break down the oil in her pool. (I do realize there is a difference between cooking oil and used motor oil.) Maybe after removing as much oil as possible with the booms and enzymes you added, you could try shocking with bleach for several days and changing the filter media frequently.

I'm by no means an expert, and I'm sure others will chime in soon with their advice.

 

[another one]

We had a similar problem about 10 years ago when a hydraulic line broke on a trackhoe and sent about 5 gallons of oil into our storm water retention pond. Needless to say, cleaning this up took a bit of time and $. They first put straw/hay in the pond to start absorbing the oil, then a few days later, they removed the straw/hay and put in a cotton like absorbant material that floated on the water. This was left in for about a week and then removed. At the same time, they had to dig up all the dirt that the oil flowed over and dispose of that. It took about 2 weeks, but there was no sign of oil anywhere when they left.

You may want to call a place that specializes in enviromental clean up to see what they recommend to absorb the oil on the surface.

 

[Bama Rambler]

You're doing the right thing. The only thing I'd add are some oil absorbent pads. They work better than the booms. It's going to take some time to get it all cleaned up.

 

[Steevofaz]

Thanks to everyone for the input. The booms have turned out to be effective after-all. The filter carts are shot(ccp320 pentair). Having excellent results with simple green for all other cleaning. More to come!

 

[Ohm_Boy]

I guess we can rule out Corexit, huh. How about we build a big 'top hat' type container... no wait. Your booms should work, sorbent pads too.
I like the Simple Green idea - I think Dawn dishwashing detergent will do a good job on oil too.

 

[chem geek]

I use Clorox Clean Up to clean the oil from my glass top electric stove after frying foods, so I can't help but wonder if Bleach wouldn't eventually break down the oil in her pool. (I do realize there is a difference between cooking oil and used motor oil.) Maybe after removing as much oil as possible with the booms and enzymes you added, you could try shocking with bleach for several days and changing the filter media frequently.

Chlorine won't oxidize oil readily. It will bleach out many dye colors, but what cleans up your stove is the detergent that is also in the product. The bleach is just there to fade stains and to disinfect, not to break down the oil.

 

[257WbyMag]

Look into some absorbent items at www.newpig.com. These are what we used to use for both hydrocarbon and biohazardous spills when I was in EMS.

 

[TXJM]

DAWN dishwashing liquid is great for cleaning up oil spills in a marine environment.

 

[Steevofaz]

Great news! The pool is good to go. Adding salt and CYA today. I'm really glad I discovered this forum and thanks to all for input and ideas. Grainger is a great resource for oil spill equip.

 

[Dega500]

Hi guys, thanks to you guys we've had a great trouble free summer with our new pool. Fall, however has come with it's problems for sure.

The water temp has been pretty much unbearable since Labor Day so I've been getting ready to begin the winter closing process. I got the pool cleaned and ready for the pre-closure shocking. Took my clorine readings and put in an order for the necessary amount needed to bring the pool to shock level. I had a couple of partial jugs of clorox left on the shelf in the cabinet in the basement. I had pulled the SWG cell and decided to go ahead and put what chlorox I had in the pool until I got my supply from the store the next day. It was dark when i came in from work and I grabbed the two partial jugs of clorox, went out to the pool and dumped them in near the return jet. What I didn't know was that my son had stored somewhere between a pint and a quart of motor oil, new I am pretty sure by the smell of whats left in the bottle, in one of my empty clorox jugs I was saving to make weights for my winter cover.

The pump ran all night before I noticed something was wrong the next morning before work. I went ahead and added the chlorine I had bought before coming in and finding this thread. I guess that wont be doing any good.

I saw the products listed above that you all agreed were probably the products to use. My question is do you just add these to the full pool or do you have to drain and then use these products. Draining wouldn't be the end of the world i guess but I don't really want to leave the pool empty all winter in case of high winds.

Any advice for a poor boy would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Mike

 

[Bama Rambler]

You use all those things in a full pool. Leave your pump off a few hours then use the pads/booms first then the enzymes last. Any risidual on the sides can be cleaned up.

 

[Dega500]

Thanks Bama,

I have ordered a quart of the Bio-Dex Oit-Out but haven't found a source for the booms. Can they usually be picked up locally?

Safety supply? Pool Store (I haven't been in one yet thatnk to you guys)?

 

[Bama Rambler]

Safety supply houses usually have them. A lot of auto parts places carry them for oil spills. Your local oil change place will probably sell you a few if you ask them.