Residue on top of water, could it be CYA?

Samantha_in_AL

0
LifeTime Supporter
Apr 19, 2010
242
Altoona, AL
I noticed Saturday that I have a slight residue on top of my water, which is otherwise sparkling clear. It looks like tiny little patches of a powdery/oily looking substance. The filter doesn't seem to be removing it. (Sorry I don't have a picture to post, I'm at the office right now) I placed pantyhose on the skimmer basket this morning to see if that would help remove it.

I've been adding CYA (granular) over the past few days as it was zero when I opened the pool. Due to some unsolicited help from my impatient daughter, I'm pretty sure we have overshot it a bit. :hammer:
Could the residue be from the CYA? I'm not sure if this matters, but I'm still using out of a bucket that's three years old. Could that be a problem? I didn't notice the residue being there before I started adding CYA.
 
No, it couldn't be CYA. It is most likely some kind of organic oil coming out of the pollen that is common this time of year, or perhaps suntan lotion if you have been swimming.

Chlorine will break it down eventually. A simple thing to try would be a scum bug/scum ball in the skimmer to gather it up. If it bothers you, and stays around for more than a couple of days, you could use an enzyme treatment to speed up it's breakdown.
 
Thanks for the quick reply Jason, I guess it would have to be pollen. No one has been swimming in our pool yet this year.

Andrew, I will rinse the cartridge as soon as I get home. I called home and had someone shut the pump off. Geez, I wish I'd thought of that yesterday when I realized too much CYA had been added.
 
Jason, I'm now 100% sure the residue was organic because I woke up to a slightly green tinted pool this morning. I immediately started shocking.

Also, I was relieved to find out that my daughter didn't really add any extra CYA, she was just "messing" with me!
Teenagers...... that's a whole other topic. LOL
It probably wouldn't have mattered that much if she really had added it considering the flooding rains we get here in the spring. I'll probably need to add more in a few days after tonight and tomorrow's storms move through.
 
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.