Cloudy Water
There are many causes that can contribute to cloudy water, but the most common include: improper filtration, poor circulation, heavy non-living organic waste, high calcium hardness level, and unbalanced water chemistry. In order to fix the problem, the first step is to figure out what is causing the water to cloud. Water balance is one of the first things to test if pool water has turned cloudy. Properly balanced water not only makes the water more enjoyable, it also optimizes sanitizer and protects pool and spa water equipment from corrosion. To check for balanced or unbalanced water, the factors that need to be tested include:
Free Chlorine (ppm)
1.0-3.0
Combined Chlorine (ppm)
0
Bromine (ppm)
2.0-4.0
pH
7.2-78
Total Alkalinity (ppm)
80-120
Calcium Hardness (ppm)
200-400
TDS (ppm)
1000-2000
Cyanuric Acid (ppm)
30-50
The next step is to ensure that the filtration system is in proper working order. Clean the filter as necessary and make sure it has a proper flow rate. Another contributor to cloudy water is non-living organic waste. These contaminants are unavoidable as they come from environmental factors such as wind and rain but also bathers. Bathers contribute high levels of non-living organics from things such as urine, lotions, sweat, cosmetics and much more. These particles are so small that normal filtration cannot capture them. Using an enzyme such as Pool Perfect, Pool Perfect+Phosfree, and Spa Perfect will help break down the non-living organics before they can cause the water to become cloudy. Calcium hardness is sometimes overlooked when having testing done. This is an important step due to the fact that if levels are too high it can cause the calcium to fall out of solution and cloud the water. Another downfall to having high calcium hardness is the potential to cause scale buildup on the pool surfaces which is not only ugly to look at, but also hard to remove.
Calcium carbonate has been recognized in the pool and spa industry for years, however, recently another type of calcium has become more common which is called calcium phosphate. This form of scale is formed when phosphates combine with calcium in pool and spa water, particularly in heated water. This combination is an insoluble white scale that is complex and very difficult to remove. When calcium phosphate falls out of solution it can almost appear like DE or sand, feel gritty to the touch, and often gathers on the bottom of a pool or spa. Using Scalefree and Phosfree will help prevent calcium scale or calcium phosphate scale from falling out of solution and clouding the water. Whether it is high non-living organics, calcium or calcium phosphate, Natural Chemistry has the products to help in their prevention.
