We have all been there. Planned a pool party or barbeque, only to realize the day before that our pool looks disgusting, Green with algae! This can be highly embarrassing. Here’s a trick I learned to get my pool clear overnight. (Results may vary)
- Shock the pool with a triple dose of chlorine to kill the algae.
- Brush the pool, clean all the algae off the walls and floor so that it mixes in the chlorine.
- Allow the chlorine to kill all the algae.
- Vacuum the dead algae out of the pool.
- Now you can run the pump on “filter” mode.
There, that’s the quick answer, but if you really want this to work, and don’t want to look like a lazy hobo, you might want to read on and get it right the first time.
No doubt you have some more questions too. How much chlorine should you use to shock the pool? How long to leave the chlorine to do its job?
You are also probably wondering if the pool is safe to swim in after this shock treatment? Let’s look at these questions one by one.
How Much Chlorine Should I Use to Shock My Pool?
30 ppm of chlorine in your pool water is usually more than enough to kill all of your pool algae. Normally, you would add a pound of chlorine for every 10,000 gallons of water, but for extreme cases of algae, you will want to “triple shock” your pool. To do this, add 3 pounds of chlorine for every 10,000 gallons of water.
You will know you have used enough chlorine when the water turns blueish grey in color.
When shocking your pool, don’t bother adding any algaecide. The chlorine will deactivate the algaecide, rendering it useless. Don’t waste your money.
Brush the Pool Vigorously, Multiple Times After Shocking.
Brush the pool surface vigorously, immediately after the shock treatment. This helps remove the algae off the walls and mixes it in nicely with the chlorine in the pool water. Repeat this again after a few hours.
Brush once again before going to bed and leave the chlorine to work overnight.
If you have a robotic pool cleaner, you could leave it on filter mode to make your morning job easier.
Be sure to get up early the next day, you have a lot of vacuuming to do.
Vacuum the Pool
You’re up bright and early huh? Grab your morning coffee and get to work!
By now (hopefully) you will be pleasantly surprised that your pool is looking a whole lot better! But, you’re not out of the woods yet. In only a few hours your guests will arrive, and if you don’t finish your job, you will forever be known as the guy with the disgusting pool, and no one will want to be your friend.
Upon inspection, you will notice a lot of “shock dust” and dead algae at the bottom of the pool. You need to vacuum it all out of the pool. If you have left your robotic cleaner running overnight, you should backwash your filter before starting the vacuum process.
Do not brush the pool before vacuuming. You don’t want the particles mixed in with the water. It will leave your pool looking cloudy and you’ll have to wait for the “dust to settle” again, so to speak.
Connect up your vacuum, and start at one point of the pool, using very slow movements, so that you don’t disturb the settled particles. Sweep the vacuum slowly and deliberately across the pool floor systematically until you have cleaned the entire pool.
When you are done with the vacuum, you will need to backwash your filter once more to get rid of all the chlorine residue and dead algae. You must run your filter on rinse too before setting it back to filter mode.
Now you can reattach your robotic pool cleaner and let your pool run on its a normal schedule.
How Long After Shocking Can I Swim in My Pool?
The rule of thumb is that no one should swim within 24 hours after you have added the shock chemicals to the pool.
Hopefully, you did this at least 24 hours before your guests arrive. If it was less than 24 hours ago, then it’s probably better to tell your guests not to swim.
But it is not the end of the world, at least your pool will look great compared to what it looked like the day before, and no one will be disgusted with you.