If your swimming pool has turned green and you have baking soda in your kitchen, don’t use it to clean the pool. Find the right chemicals to shock the pool. Chlorine shock is the best option to go for.
You can use baking soda when you want to spot treat black or brown algae. Black algae is the most difficult to deal with. So, do everything possible to never allow it to grow in your pool. Once you notice the spot, scrub it off with baking soda and brush it.
Use borax for green or yellow algae. Boric acid is more effective in spot-treating green algae than baking soda.
But if your pool is heavily affected by green algae, you cannot use a spot treatment to clear the pool. The best way to handle it is to shock the pool with chlorine shock.
Does baking soda kill green algae in a pool?
Baking soda is not the best product for removing green algae from a pool. As we stated above, you can use it for the spot treatment of black or brown algae in your pool.
For green algae, consider using borax for spot treatment. Borax works far better than baking soda.
But for a green pool, none of the above options need to be considered. Chlorine shock will do the work for you if you want to clear the pool.
What is the fastest way to clean a green pool?
To clear a green pool faster, you don’t need to rely on the shock, pump, and filter. Adding extra features to the process will make it a lot easier and faster.
Follow the steps below to clean a green pool faster:
- Skim out debris: Use your skimmer to remove any large debris in the pool. The debris could be leaves and other organic matters.
- Scrub the pool: With your brush, scrub the walls and bottom of the swimming pool to remove the algae from the bottom and pool liners.
- Vacuum clean: Use your vacuum cleaner, like a sand filter, to clean the algae. A vacuum cleaner helps to remove large chunks of algae, thus reducing the amount of algae that needs to be killed and filtered. What makes the pool cloudy after a shock is dead algae particles. This step makes it less cloudy and faster to filter. If the pool is too dirty, you can vacuum it to waste.
- Test the water: Test the pool water to be sure that the chemicals added are still in order. The pH level would be within the recommended range, but make it to be on the lower end. Keep it between 7.2 and 7.3. Low pH makes chlorine react faster.
- Add shock: Shock the pool with enough chlorine shock. Turn on the pump and filter and allow it to run for about 8 to 10 hours.
- Add a clarifier: A clarifier will help you to remove all those tiny dust particles that settled at the bottom of the pool. What the clarifier does is coagulate the tiny particles into larger chunks, which makes it easier for the filter to remove them.
With the above steps, the green pool will be cleared faster than with the conventional shock and filter method.
Why is my pool still green after shocking it?
If your pool is still green after the shock treatment, it could mean one of two things: either the shock was not enough or there are dissolved metals in the pool.
Algae and copper are the common causes of green pools. So, if you notice that your pool is still green after shocking, test the pool to confirm it.
If you test the pool and observe that there are metals present, especially copper, then there is a high probability that copper is the cause of the green color.
But if there is no metal present, it shows that the shock you used was not enough. All you have to do is to shock the pool again.
How do I stop my pool from going green?
First, you need to know the possible causes of green pools. Then find the right way to prevent its occurrence.
Copper, as we mentioned above, is one of the potential causes of a green pool. But the common cause is green algae.
To prevent copper from entering your pool, you need to stop using some pool chemicals. Any chemical, like some algaecides, made with copper compounds should be avoided.
Using such chemicals introduces copper ions to your pool. Heavy usage of such chemicals can make your pool turn green.
Then here comes the major culprit—algae. Over 90% of green pools are caused by algae invasions. If you can prevent algae from entering your pool, you will rarely experience a green or cloudy pool.
To prevent algae from invading your pool, you need to ensure that there is enough active chlorine sanitizer in the pool. Shower before entering the pool to wash off any cream or skincare product on your body.
Phosphates can attract algae to your pool because they feed on it very well. So, avoid the use of pool chemicals that contain phosphate.
How long does it take baking soda to clear up a pool?
It can take up to 24 hours for baking soda to clear up your cloudy pool water. Though it could be more than that, it usually takes less than a day to complete the job.
But it depends on how cloudy the pool is. Once you get the alkalinity and pH levels right, which are 7.2–7.8 and 80–120 ppm, respectively, it won’t take so long before the pool clears up.
But it is good to wait for about 24 hours. And don’t forget to test the water again before using it.
Can you put too much baking soda in a pool?
Yes, you can add too much baking soda to your pool. That is why you need to know the current level of alkalinity in your pool and the amount you need to add to it.
Making the right calculation will help you achieve that. Once you know your pool volume, calculating the amount of baking soda to add is not hard.
If you have read this previous article you will be able to know how to calculate the amount of baking soda to add to your pool. Interestingly, you don’t need to do any calculations because all the necessary data has been tabulated for every pool volume.
So, you can go through the table to know the required amount of sodium bicarbonate to add without stressing yourself with calculations. You need to check the article because high alkalinity levels have a lot of problems associated with them.
You can check this post to learn about the effects of adding too much baking soda to a pool. It’s something you need to avoid by all means.
Can you swim after adding baking soda?
Yes, you can swim after adding baking soda to your pool because it is not toxic to the body. However, it is advisable to wait for the baking soda to dissolve and circulate properly before you can swim.
Moreover, you need to test the pool again to confirm that the alkalinity level is within the recommended range of 80 ppm to 120 ppm.
So, the best practice is to always wait for about 6 hours or more after adding the sodium bicarbonate until it is properly circulated.
