Houston we have a (pollen) problem

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OrangeAndBlue

OrangeAndBlue

Silver Supporter
Aug 19, 2017
128
Houston, TX area
Surface
Plaster
Chlorine
Salt Water Generator
SWG Type
Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
For those of you in the Houston area or other areas dealing with high amounts of pollen currently..... what if anything are you doing about it? Is it just something I will have to deal with every spring around here?

This is our first spring with the pool and WOW I've never noticed how bad it is before. We currently have no trees in our back yard but there are lots of oak trees nearby and all around our neighborhood. I'm manually skimming twice a day (3 x on weekends) and going through 2-3 hair nets in the skimmer each day packed to the rim full of oak buds. Some mornings my pool looks like you could almost walk across it there is so much of the stuff on the surface. When does it end and is there an easier way??

Also, for the first time today I had a CC reading that wasn't zero. It was 0.5. Is it fair to assume all the pollen would cause this?
These are the latest readings:
FC 3.5
CC 0.5
pH 7.8 (just added MA after the test)
TA 90
CH 300
CYA 80
temp 78 (warmest yet!!! :cool:)

I know the FC is too low. I have been working on getting the SWG dialed in to maintain stable FC but am not quite there yet. I just increased the output% again after today's test and supplemented with bleach as I'm trying to keep FC above 4 at all times. I had been running at 50% output for 5 hrs a day but that obviously still wasn't enough.
 
It's bad over here as well. About the only thing you can do is stay on it like you are with a skimmer sock, surface cleaning, and (on heavy days) augmenting with a little bleach. You're doing exactly what is needed. My skimmer sock gets packed by the time I get home and I'm out in the country. I suspect the CC is a combination of heavy organic matter in transition and, if your weather has been like ours, overcast quite a bit which may be impacting the sun's ability to oxidize efficiently for us.
 
Nitramnayr said:
Nor are the June bugs!
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June bugs!? About 2 weeks ago we had swarms of beetles... especially at nights with the pool lights on they would dive bomb into the pool at a rate of about 1 every couple of seconds which made for some interesting evenings in the hot tub. What other surprises to I have to look forward to?
 
OrangeAndBlue said:
June bugs!? About 2 weeks ago we had swarms of beetles... especially at nights with the pool lights on they would dive bomb into the pool at a rate of about 1 every couple of seconds which made for some interesting evenings in the hot tub. What other surprises to I have to look forward to?
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I don’t remember beetles or mosquito hawks last year, but then again this is our first spring with a pool. 1 per second seems to be about right! We (kids) have been playing with our new LED lights at night but stopped to keep the bug fatalities at a minimum.

Note to self: storing the carcasses in a ziplock only makes the smell worse.
 
Beetles, pollen, rolie-polies, scorpions, spiders by the dozens, frogs, and of course the occasional rodent variety,... they all love TFP pools. Best you can do is perimeter control to try and keep them at-bay, but it's tough this time of year. Happy scooping!
 
I get a pretty good dusting of pollen each year, coming up April/May.

I use 1 gallon paint strainer socks from home depot.
It catches most of it and I shake it off then rinse the strainer
and put it back in the skimmer.
 
Don't forget the swarming ants. The ones that sting
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I noticed tons of pollen on my cars, but none in my pool. It has to be in there as well. I have no trees in the backyard, but wind has been whipping down here by the Gulf. What are these skimmer socks you speak of? Painter strainer? Hair nets (I know what these are). Pics? I probably should grab me some. THANKS
 
karendino said:
I noticed tons of pollen on my cars, but none in my pool. It has to be in there as well. I have no trees in the backyard, but wind has been whipping down here by the Gulf. What are these skimmer socks you speak of? Painter strainer? Hair nets (I know what these are). Pics? I probably should grab me some. THANKS
Click to expand...

I use hair nets based on some tips I've read in this forum. Hard to beat the price at about $7 for a 100 count from Amazon and they last a few days normally, except now with all the pollen I go through about 2 per day.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002XK2FS0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Just put it in the skimmer basket like this: (I keep a rock in the basket underneath the net to keep the basket from floating when the pump shuts off)
IMG_3730.jpg
 
OrangeAndBlue said:
I use hair nets based on some tips I've read in this forum. Hard to beat the price at about $7 for a 100 count from Amazon and they last a few days normally, except now with all the pollen I go through about 2 per day.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002XK2FS0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Just put it in the skimmer basket like this: (I keep a rock in the basket underneath the net to keep the basket from floating when the pump shuts off)
View attachment 74151
Click to expand...

Exactly what I use!
A rock is a great idea!
 
So what brand of hair nets do you buy? My last batch from Amazon doesn’t stay fitted over the skimmer. When I come back to check them in a day or two, the sides on either side of the metal rod have come loose and all of the debris has fallen into the basket. It’s like they’ve all stretched out.

I also put a weight in the basket under the hair net. Anyone else have problems?
 
I use those linked above. There is definitely a lot of slack but the elastic in the hair net seems to keep it in place under the lip of the basket. It has never come off. My basket has a diameter of about 8” at the opening. Perhaps yours is much smaller? If the net is too loose then perhaps try to use a standard rubber band to keep it in place just below the lip of the basket.
 

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