White Powder at the bottom of pool.

[dannyjobz]

Hello,

Pool Info:
- 24 Ft round. DE Filter. Already backwashed and cleaned the filter.

Current condition:
-Crystal Clear water.
-Readings from basic strips : FC 3, Ph 7.1, TA(alkalinity) 90.

I'm getting to know about pool maintenance and I have already come across my first mystery. Aka, white powder at the bottom of pool.

Interesting: When i pick up a bit of sample and rub against my fingers, it dissolves or disappears. Not sure if it's DE or some other chemical ingredient.

1. Can it be a DE coming out due to a puncture in filter fingers(Hayward EC40 DE Filter)?
Or
2. Can be the part of chlorine that did not dissolve? ( I shocked the pool a few times in the beginning)

Please kindly find photos attached. On the photos, it looks bit yellowish/tan color, but it's more of white.

 

[Texas Splash]

Welcome to TFP! Yes, it can be DE, especially if the grids/, fingers, or manifolds are damaged. You might need to open it up and do a thorough inspection. Keep in mind here at TFP, you'll hear us mention often that test strips are simply horrible, and that your best method to test water is by using a TF-100 or Taylor K-2006C test kit. See Test Kits Compared. Shocking, as you noted above, really shouldn't be required unless you have algae. If you do have algae, we follow the SLAM Process, so let us know if you need help wiht that as well. Have a good day.

 

[tdangler]

I just moved in to a house with a pool last August. When I brushed the sides and seats I always saw a light dust cloud that I just chalked up to dirt. I just recently did a full filter cleaning and had 2 things to note. 1) The breather tube was loose and the o-ring on the breather tube was not making a good seal 2) I think I put the manifold back together incorrectly - ie the manifold wasn't fully seated on the grid tubes.

So when I started my filter back up I got a lot of DE back in the pool, and even after scrubbing and filtering it kept coming back. So after some research, I bought a new breather tube and did another full cleaning of the filter, and this time put it back together correctly along with the new breather tube. That did it for me - no more DE powder in the pool. I did inspect all the grids/manifold, and fortunately in my case there was no damage.