How to clean Motor Oil from pool?

[jessegavin]

I accidentally poured about 6-8 ounces of used motor oil in my pool yesterday. I've been moving stuff around in my garage and forgot that I used an old PoolShock jug to store some old oil. I figured, "hey, might as well use up this little bit of shock before opening a new jug!", without even looking at it, I started to pour and thought "this shouldn't be brown!".

Here's how I've been attempting to resolve it.

1. I turned off my filter
2. I added a jug of Pool First Aid (two more jugs arriving via Amazon in two days)
3. Installed Myclex "Skim Mor" skimmer socks on the skimmer baskets
4. Put about 40 "New Pig" oil mats on the surface.

This has removed most of the visible globs of oil from the surface. But it still looks like there's a "film" on the surface. It doesn't look like a rainbow, just like a layer of translucent goop.

When should I start running my filter again?
Pool First aid says the filter should be running to make the product effective, but I am scared to run the pump.

 

[Texas Splash]

Welcome to TFP! Made a mistake huh? We've all been there. Here at TFP we don't normally use the pool store's First Aid product, nor many of their other potions designed to make everything better with a cup or two a week. But let's ask @JoyfulNoise what he thinks as some others in the past (yes, there have been others) did use it for motor oil. Using the absorbent mats should help. From there, I suspect an elevated chlorine level will be required to help break-down the oil. Depending on your pool size and equipment, results could vary.

What type of pool and equipment do you have? Your signature is blank, so I would encourage you to add all that info. See mine as an example. Also tell us which test kit you use. A full set of water test results would also be helpful.

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[1poolman1]

I accidentally poured about 6-8 ounces of used motor oil in my pool yesterday. I've been moving stuff around in my garage and forgot that I used an old PoolShock jug to store some old oil. I figured, "hey, might as well use up this little bit of shock before opening a new jug!", without even looking at it, I started to pour and thought "this shouldn't be brown!".

Here's how I've been attempting to resolve it.

1. I turned off my filter
2. I added a jug of Pool First Aid (two more jugs arriving via Amazon in two days)
3. Installed Myclex "Skim Mor" skimmer socks on the skimmer baskets
4. Put about 40 "New Pig" oil mats on the surface.

This has removed most of the visible globs of oil from the surface. But it still looks like there's a "film" on the surface. It doesn't look like a rainbow, just like a layer of translucent goop.

When should I start running my filter again?
Pool First aid says the filter should be running to make the product effective, but I am scared to run the pump.

You don't say what type of filter you have. If DE or cartridge the oil will cling to the fabric as it is polyester. If there is only a slight amount of oil left, a good commercial filter cleaning product will remove the oil from the filter media with an overnight soaking. Pool First Aid contains an enzyme to literally digest the oil and that will help as well. Continue to use an enzyme product for a few months to be sure to get as much out as possible.

 

[BMerrill]

Add a few Scumbugs or tennis balls to your treatment program.

 

[Bill1974]

Can you pump to waste so it skims the oil off the surface and does not get into the filter? You could probably pump to waste and add a surfactant (soap) to the opposite side of the pool where the skimmers are to help coax the oil film in the direction of the skimmers. Also rubbing the walls at the water line with a soapy rag should be enough to get the oil away from the wall. work from the far end toward the skimmer, you will probably have to go back and forth on the sides if the pool. You should not need much more than a teaspoon of soap for the whole thing (you can dilute it so make it go further, you just need it to break the surface tension of the oil and water). No wind or a light breeze toward the skimmer would be best too.

Do what you can to wipe oil from the pool walls.

Once you get as much oil out as you feel you can, then run the filter. I would guess you will need to take it apart and clean it with a degreaser a time or two and replace the media each time.

 

[jessegavin]

Following up on this...

I was able to solve the issue in a few days by taking the steps described in my original post.

The oil mats helped.

The "skimmer socks" were totally covered in oily mucus when I removed them, so they did something.

Just based on observation, the Pool First Aid seemed to have the fastest impact on solving the problem, but it's hard to tell what had the most effect when I tried all three at the same time.

Also.. the advice from @Bill1974 to wipe up the walls was a very good one! I was astonished how much oil had clung to the walls.