How To Prevent Algae In Your Swimming Pool

Could anything be nicer than enjoying a hot summer day relaxing, socializing, and generally having a good time in your backyard swimming pool? Probably not … unless you’ve not been keeping up to date with your essential pool maintenance and algae has managed to establish itself in the water.

In this article, we’re going to explain what algae is, what causes it to appear in your pool water, how to get rid of it, and how to stop it from coming back.

What is algae?

Algae is a group of small, plant-like organisms that live in water. It is usually green, but it can also be black, yellow, and red. Whatever color it is, you really don’t want it in your pool as it is associated with a number of health risks, as well as making being in the water considerably less relaxing or enjoyable.

Algae is photosynthetic, which means that it uses sunlight to create the nutrients it needs to grow from water and carbon dioxide. And once it does start to grow, it tends to do so rapidly, meaning that if you don’t take immediate action, it can quickly spread across your pool, whether floating on the water or clinging to the walls and floors.

What causes algae in pools?

Algae is most likely to find its way into your pool naturally, in the form of plant and soil debris blown in by the wind or washed in by rain. It may also gain access as a result of contamination from those using your pool or even the pool tools you’re using. 

It’s almost impossible to stop algae from getting into your pool – the trick is to make sure you regularly do the maintenance and preventative steps that are needed to kill it quickly and so stop it from gaining hold and becoming a problem. 

How to remove algae from your pool

If algae has spread in your swimming pool water, you want to get rid of it as quickly as you can. Before you start, however, it’s worth taking the time to check that the equipment that helps play a large part in stopping it from forming is working effectively – this includes the filter and pump.

Firstly, turn off the heater, because algae flourishes in warmer water. Vacuum up any existing algae that is floating in the water, then scrub the walls and floors to remove the more stubborn growths. Instigate a shock treatment that aims for 30 ppm of free chlorine in the water.

You also need to treat the water with algaecide to kill off any residual fragments.

How to prevent algae from forming in the future

Prevention is always better than cure, so once you’ve effectively removed any existing algae, you need to ensure that the right maintenance procedures are followed to stop it from coming back. To prevent algae in your pool, maintain good water balance, backwash your filter every week, and regularly check your pump system.

Perhaps most importantly, you need to keep the chemicals in your pool balanced, with the pH kept somewhere between 7.2 and 7.6 and chlorine levels between one and three parts per million. Weekly shock treatments will kill any fresh algae spores before they develop.

Backwashing your filter every week will remove anything that might be clogging it up and enable it to better remove the debris in the water itself. As we indicated earlier, it’s this debris that is often the means by which algae gets into your pool, so an effective filtration system is essential for clean and healthy water.

Stagnant water also produces conditions in which algae can flourish, so you need to ensure that your water is circulating at the right level by making regular checks on your pump system. 

Last but not least, algaecide isn’t just for killing off existing algae but can also be regularly used to prevent it from forming in the first place. So regular doses for your pool water are also strongly recommended.

Together, these procedures – if carried out every week – should help ensure that you can enjoy your pool throughout the season without having to worry about whether algae is going to put a stop to your fun.

The easiest way to keep your pool water fresh, clean, and free of algae is to make use of the professional pool maintenance services available from Pulliam Pools.

Our swimming pool experts will look after everything from managing the necessary chemicals to checking all your equipment. If any algae does try to establish a home in your swimming pool, they’ll immediately identify the problem and deal with it before it has a chance.

Fill in our weekly maintenance request form or contact our friendly team now for more information.