New Pool owner and have small white flakes floating on top?

[sersee]

Hi,

We got our pool last summer and had our first opening. We opened to a very green pool. We have a salt water system with a Hayward filter. We ended up going to a pool store and getting help with getting rid of it. After a couple days of battle, our pool water was back to being not green

I had my water tested and I had to add some chemicals to get the ph right . I had seen some white flakes floating on top then. We thought it could have been dandelion seeds that were everywhere but I also heard algae can turn white when it is killed? We added the chemicals and had the water tested again a few days later. Something wasn't quite right so they had me add zipchlor and a clarifier. The pool water was gorgeous after that. All my chemicals tested in the right range and it was sparkling. We didn't notice any flakes. I have been constantly checking for any algae..and haven't seen any.

We run our filter 4 hours early in the morning and 4 at night. I always wondered should we be leaving them on longer?


Anyway, this morning we got up and see white little flakes. They are hard to see . But they are definitely floating on top of the water. I started looking it up and see white water mold? Im hoping it's more just pollen? Im in South Jersey and we just had bad storms yesterday with a lot of rain and wind.

Is there a way to definitely figure out what is floating in my pool and if it's ok for my kids to go in?

Thank you!!

 

[JasonLion]

Welcome to TFP!

If you have a SWG and the "flakes" are brittle, then they are calcium flakes from the SWG caused by the chemistry being slightly out of balance.

 

[sersee]

Welcome to TFP!

If you have a SWG and the "flakes" are brittle, then they are calcium flakes from the SWG caused by the chemistry being slightly out of balance.

Im going to attempt to add pictures. Hopefully this works..I am a rookie..haha. The one is the side of my pool. We had it all cleaned when we were fixing it..scrubbed the walls and everything. You can see residue in the pic. I don't know if that is from the zip chlor. We put it in at least 5 days ago though. I am wondering if it is pollen? The other is from my phone and magnified so you can see the white flakes.

I guess they are more transparent? When I touch them in the water , they just disappear. Almost like when you touch a bubble. I don't know if they are just going to the bottom of the pool or disintegrating?

We had rain last night so I do have some leaves in my pool which I will be taking care of today...

 

[Beens]

I've had some of this floating around this year too. Don't remember noticing it last year, but last year at this time I hadn't starting doing things the TFPC way and my pool was a cloudy green mess still.

We were discussing this in another thread with someone who had a screen enclosure but still had these little flakes. I think it's some sort of pollen...but I'm no expert!

*edit*
I found the other thread. Looks like the same sorta "stuff".
http://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/74996-Surface-Scum

 

[sersee]

ahhh thanks...I do agree they are kind of like small snowflakes. It makes me feel better if it's pollen. I was very concerned it was the white mold I heard about...or deal algae(at least it's dead!). They were gone the last time when we were getting our chemicals right ..we ended up running our filter all night with the process.


Do you all think 4 hours in morning and 4 hours later at night is sufficient ?

 

[Divin Dave]

Hi sersee,
its really hard to determine what it is or if it's detrimental to your pool. There are lots of reasons things like that appear.

Anyways, if we knew what your chemistry levels are (for sure), it would be much easier by process of elimination, to come to a reasonable conclusion as to why you have those flakes floating on your water.

Have you considered taking control of your pool and not depending on what the pool store tells you?
The Pool Store after all IS in the Business of selling you whatever they can talk you into buying, whether you need it or not !!!! Horror stories abound!!!

It's really easy to know what to do if you can test your own water with a reliable test kit. And if you arent sure about your own test or what to, then just ask!!!
(as a note, typically, pool store testing is notiously flawed, Especially those computer testing things. Same goes for the knowledge of the people who work there. Big Time)

Literally, you could save 100's of dollars each summer if not a thousand by eliminating all that stuff you put in the water that you simply do not need.
If you want to keep your pool troublfree and are interested in keeping it that way with minimal expense and effort, then click on the Pool School, button at the top right hand corner.....

Enjoy your pool and hope you have a great summer!

 

[Divin Dave]

Hi sersee,
its really hard to determine what it is or if it's detrimental to your pool. There are lots of reasons things like that appear.

Anyways, if we knew what your chemistry levels are (for sure), it would be much easier by process of elimination, to come to a reasonable conclusion as to why you have those flakes floating on your water.

Have you considered taking control of your pool and not depending on what the pool store tells you?
The Pool Store after all IS in the Business of selling you whatever they can talk you into buying, whether you need it or not !!!! Horror stories abound!!!

It's really easy to know what to do if you can test your own water. with a reliable test kit (as a note, pool store testing is notiously flawed. Big Time) and if you arent sure about your own test or what to, then just ask!!!

Literally, you could save 100's of dollars each summer if not a thousand by eliminating all that stuff you put in the water that you simply do not need.
If you want your pool to be troublfree and are interested in keeping it that way with minimal expense and effort, then click on the Pool School, button at the top right hand corner.....

Enjoy your pool and hope you have a great summer!

 

[sersee]

Hi sersee,
its really hard to determine what it is or if it's detrimental to your pool. There are lots of reasons things like that appear.

Anyways, if we knew what your chemistry levels are (for sure), it would be much easier by process of elimination, to come to a reasonable conclusion as to why you have those flakes floating on your water.

Have you considered taking control of your pool and not depending on what the pool store tells you?
The Pool Store after all IS in the Business of selling you whatever they can talk you into buying, whether you need it or not !!!! Horror stories abound!!!

It's really easy to know what to do if you can test your own water. with a reliable test kit (as a note, pool store testing is notiously flawed. Big Time) and if you arent sure about your own test or what to, then just ask!!!

Literally, you could save 100's of dollars each summer if not a thousand by eliminating all that stuff you put in the water that you simply do not need.
If you want your pool to be troublfree and are interested in keeping it that way with minimal expense and effort, then click on the Pool School, button at the top right hand corner.....
Enjoy your pool and hope you have a great summer!

Im learning Dave..trying to take control of it myself. However we opened to a green pool and at that point I really needed some help immediately. I have been to the pool school but at that time, I was not confident in my abilities to get my pool clear. Actually I was quite sick to my stomach when I saw it. I thought my pool was ruined with the amount of algae I saw! It was scary.

We kind of decided to try and get it out and just start shocking the heck out of it. We actually got it looking much better. But as you said, I don't have the high quality test kit yet...which I plan on getting! We did go to the pool store...The lady that runs it seemed like she knew quite a bit. But yes we did buy chemicals. We bought the ph stuff(which I think I need anyway) and she did have us buy zipchlor. Maybe I got ripped off...But I just wanted my pool swimmable at the time. It did work ...so I guess in the end it's good. They tested my levels with vials and drops and before the zipchlor.. When I went back to have my water tested I was good. I just went back and asked them about the white stuff also. I took my pictures and they said they didn't know but thought it looked like pollen also. They told me to shock it and run the filter. So I did that and then decided to come here and really start learning.

Btw when I went back asking about the white stuff.. I had my water tested again and it was great still. My levels are all within range and they said it's swimmable.

Im learning but very very new. I am getting more confident in my ability to come here and start handling my pool. It seems that really what it comes down to is shocking and filtering.

AND buying the kit!! Haha. So now that I am over the complete shock of my pool. I do plan on taking control and coming here more to learn!

 

[golfinglenn]

Sersee,

Once you do some reading on here and get your test kit you will be amazed at how simple caring for your pool is and you will never go to the pool store again unless it is to get an inflatable floatie or something like that lol. It IS a little daunting at first, but when you get your test kit (I got the TF 100) and the tests are spelled out and so simple my teenage daughter could follow the instructions if she had to. I also held out before getting the speed stir, and I will go ahead and tell you to spend a couple extra $$ on that, makes life super simple.

Anyway, just wanted to let you know you are now in good hands, don't be afraid to ask questions (everyone is SO patient on this forum). Everyone has been in your shoes at one time and now save hundreds if not thousands a year on non-necessary, dare I even say harmful pool store chemicals. I literally use bleach, borax, and baking soda, with an occasional cyanuric acid (beginning of the season) addition and that's it.

good luck and you are well on your way to becoming an expert about your pool and it's care!!