Green to Clean: Rescuing an Algae-Filled Pool
By Aquatec Pool Service
A green pool looks hopeless, but draining is almost never the answer — especially in Florida, where an empty pool can literally pop out of the ground from groundwater pressure. In nearly every case, the water can be recovered chemically in a matter of days.
The first step is testing and balancing. We bring pH and alkalinity into range so the shock you add next can actually do its job. Skipping this step is the number one reason DIY green-to-clean attempts stall out.
Next comes a heavy chlorine shock. Algae is a living organism, and clearing it takes far more chlorine than routine sanitizing — often several times a normal dose, applied in the evening so the sun doesn't burn it off before it works. The water frequently turns cloudy grey or white before it turns blue; that color shift is dead algae, and it means the treatment is working.
While the chlorine works, the filter has to run continuously. Twenty-four hours a day if the equipment allows, with the pump moving water and the filter catching debris. We brush the walls and floor daily to knock loose the algae clinging to surfaces where chlorine struggles to reach.
As the water clears, dead algae collects on the bottom. We vacuum it to waste — sending it out of the system rather than back through the filter — and clean or backwash the filter repeatedly, since it clogs fast during a recovery.
Most pools go from green to swimmable in three to five days. Badly neglected ones take a little longer, but the water almost always comes back. If your pool has turned on you, call us early — the sooner recovery starts, the faster and cheaper it finishes.
