Pollen? Mystery dirt.

[ktmo21]

Hello
So since the beginning of the month everyday I get this mystery dirt on the edges of my pool in the creases. Some days it isn't as bad some days it's alot. Its a brownish sometimes yellow color and I have gone underwater and felt it and it feels gritty. I either run my dolphin everyday or I manually vaccuum it with a cordless vaccuum and it goes away. But every morning it returns. I have done 2 OCLT this weekend and I passed. I have been keeping my FC 6-7 based on my Cya of 50. We do have a lot of trees and are close to a highway and cornfield. I have been using skimmer socks and those seem to help during the day and catch this yellow substance but I run my filter overnight and am not comfortable leaving a skimmer sock on overnight incase it clogs. I cover at night with a solar cover and I do notice the top of my solar cover gets pretty dusty. The pool did get a little cloudy one day last week the FC dipped while at work but it has been clear since. I was bad and used a small amount of clarifier after bumping my chlorine and that day my sock turned yellowish green. Just sick of this mystery dirt and cleaning it everyday. Any tips? I haven't backwashed since Thursday and my psi is normally 15 and is maybe a 16 today. I am going to go trim some of my neighbors tree branches today that are hanging over my fence. Would backwashing more help or leave it since my psi is fine? Just sick of this mystery dirt everyday.

FC this morning - 6
CC - 0
Other chemistry was tested Saturday
Ph - 7.6
Alk - 100
Ch - 150
Cya - 50

 

[reggiehammond]

Normal advice is:

Overnight Chlorine Loss Test to confirm it's not algae.
SLAM Process if it is.

Given that you're passing OCLT, might consider running FC a little hotter (8-10) for a few days and see if anything changes.
You may be right, it may just be dirt/pollen.

 

[ktmo21]

Normal advice is:

Overnight Chlorine Loss Test to confirm it's not algae.
SLAM Process if it is.

Given that you're passing OCLT, might consider running FC a little hotter (8-10) for a few days and see if anything changes.
You may be right, it may just be dirt/pollen.

I sure hope it is just dirt and pollen I am getting alot of tiny bugs and ants in my skimmer sock today yuck. I can bump the chlorine tonight. I can say since switching to liquid chlorine instead of my pucks recently after feeling like I was being pool stored the pool has looked great , just this dirt is making me crazy The skimmer socks I feel have been helping alot but I am too nervous to leave it on overnight.

 

[ktmo21]

I bumped the chlorine to 8 we will see what that does. I just covered it and hardly no mystery dirt so no idea what goes on out there at night.

 

[RichardL]

ktmo21…I live out in the country here in East Texas and have basically the same problem u have. The skimmer socks help. I use Skimmer socks year round and I’ve never had one stop up. I just check the skimmer every couple of days and rinse the sock out if needed, especially after mowing. To clear the substance u are seeing, I add a little DE to the sand filter. U don’t want to add too much at one time. In my 16000 gallon pool I usually add about a 1/2 to 3/4 cup of DE with about 3 gallons of water in a 3 gallon bucket and mix well. Then, slowly pour the mixture into the skimmer with pump running and skimmer sock removed. You will need to watch ur pump pressure for a while after u add the DE as it will rise some showing DE is working. If it rises too much backwash and rinse. You will lose the DE when u backwash and will have to re add it. With 1/2 cup of DE in my 16000 gallon it filters the fine stuff u are talking well. There are articles here on the forum on using DE in a sand filter if u do a search. Hope this helps. I’m not the expert most these guys are on here, but you are at the right forum to learn and get help with ur pool!

 

[RichardL]

KT….Here is one of the articles on about using DE in your sand filter. I buy pool DE at Lowe’s and usually add some to the sand filter about twice a year. With the use of skimmer socks I don’t have to backwash and rinse very often….Like I said above about a 1/2 cup is all it takes in my pool to clear that fine stuff…



DE stands for Diatomaceous Earth. DE is the fossilized remains of diatoms, a type of hard-shelled algae. DE particles are microscopic and have many sharp edges, trapping fine dirt particles that would otherwise be able to get through the sand.

Only use pool-grade DE. Using food, pet, or garden versions will increase your pool’s cloudiness. Small amounts of DE can be added to a sand filter after each backwash to improve the filtering. The first time you use DE, you need to figure out how much DE to add to your filter. After the first time, you can simply mix the full amount of DE with water in a bucket and pour that slowly into the skimmer.

Figuring out how much DE to use

Start by noting the PSI reading on the filter with the pump running.
Mix 1/4 cup of DE with water in a bucket and pour that slowly into the skimmer. Remove the Skimmer Sock, if any, before adding DE.
Give the system about two minutes to stabilize.
Note the pressure on the filter and repeat the second and third steps until the pressure has gone up by one PSI. This will typically take around 1-2 cups of DE.
The very first time you do this, you should keep an eye on the filter pressure for the next 24 hours or so. The improved filtering may quickly catch a lot of very fine particles and send the filter pressure up rapidly.

DE is a very fine powder which can cause skin irritation and is classified as carcinogenic when breathed in. Some areas prohibit the release of DE into sewers or the environment. Follow handling precautions as indicated on the product packaging. Gardening DE, while safer to handle, has not been heat treated and therefore is not suitable for use in pool filters.

 

[ktmo21]

KT….Here is one of the articles on about using DE in your sand filter. I buy pool DE at Lowe’s and usually add some to the sand filter about twice a year. With the use of skimmer socks I don’t have to backwash and rinse very often….Like I said above about a 1/2 cup is all it takes in my pool to clear that fine stuff…



DE stands for Diatomaceous Earth. DE is the fossilized remains of diatoms, a type of hard-shelled algae. DE particles are microscopic and have many sharp edges, trapping fine dirt particles that would otherwise be able to get through the sand.

Only use pool-grade DE. Using food, pet, or garden versions will increase your pool’s cloudiness. Small amounts of DE can be added to a sand filter after each backwash to improve the filtering. The first time you use DE, you need to figure out how much DE to add to your filter. After the first time, you can simply mix the full amount of DE with water in a bucket and pour that slowly into the skimmer.

Figuring out how much DE to use

Start by noting the PSI reading on the filter with the pump running.
Mix 1/4 cup of DE with water in a bucket and pour that slowly into the skimmer. Remove the Skimmer Sock, if any, before adding DE.
Give the system about two minutes to stabilize.
Note the pressure on the filter and repeat the second and third steps until the pressure has gone up by one PSI. This will typically take around 1-2 cups of DE.
The very first time you do this, you should keep an eye on the filter pressure for the next 24 hours or so. The improved filtering may quickly catch a lot of very fine particles and send the filter pressure up rapidly.

DE is a very fine powder which can cause skin irritation and is classified as carcinogenic when breathed in. Some areas prohibit the release of DE into sewers or the environment. Follow handling precautions as indicated on the product packaging. Gardening DE, while safer to handle, has not been heat treated and therefore is not suitable for use in pool filters.

I may try this! Thank you!

 

[ktmo21]

Mystery dirt returned this am. Woke up late today but it is cloudy and cold out and oclt 1ppm since 7pm last night. I have been thinking and would it help to turn my return jet downwards more to kick this stuff up??? Right now its probably at 8oclock.

 

[ktmo21]

Mystery dirt returned this am. Woke up late today but it is cloudy and cold out and oclt 1ppm since 7pm last night. I have been thinking and would it help to turn my return jet downwards more to kick this stuff up??? Right now its probably at 8oclock.

Windy as heck here. These little pollen things everywhere and now pool is getting cloudy