Black Scum in Skimmer

[JodieM]

About 6 weeks ago I cleaned the black scum off of the insides of the skimmer basket, had surgery and now I’m back outside caring for the pool and noticed that the scum has reappeared. No one has used the pool in the last 6 weeks as I’m trying to let the water temp drift down to 60 for closing. What is this stuff? Is it normal? It’s greasy. Comes off easily with Comet with bleach.

 

[Oly]

Two stroke motor exhaust will settle on the water surface and be pulled into the skimmer. Do you or your yard service use blowers, trimmers, mowers near your pool?

 

[JodieM]

Two stroke motor exhaust will settle on the water surface and be pulled into the skimmer. Do you or your yard service use blowers, trimmers, mowers near your pool?

We don’t use any lawn equip inside of the pool fence.

 

[jgofnj]

I have the exact same thing. I asked about it several years ago on this forum, never really got an answer. I cleaned it once, it came back, I just ignored it since. Doesn't seem to cause any issues.

 

[JamesW]

Normally from body oils, lotions and such. Are you sure that no one is using the pool?

Sometimes there could be atmospheric pollution that settles on the water. Maybe jet exhaust if you're near an airport.

Natural chemistry pool perfect on a rag or green scrubber pad works well for cleaning.

 

[JodieM]

Normally from body oils, lotions and such. Are you sure that no one is using the pool?

Sometimes there could be atmospheric pollution that settles on the water. Maybe jet exhaust if you're near an airport.

Natural chemistry pool perfect on a rag or green scrubber pad works well for cleaning.

Positive no one is using the pool. I am home all day recovering from a kidney transplant and it’s just me and the hubs here. There is an airport 15 miles away and they do fly over our house, but I’ve had this in previous pools in Georgia and Tennessee. Maybe we do have some atmospheric pollution. I have had the pool cover open for the last 5 weeks as I enjoying seeing the beautiful water from the house.

 

[ajw22]

Magic Eraser works well on cleaning skimmers.

Magic Eraser on Pools - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com