You walk quickly down to your home pool, excited for a short swim before you need to head out to work. In a couple of strides, you’re in the pool. But as soon as you step foot in the pool…swoosh and thud!
“Ow!” you say. Before you knew it, the wind was knocked out of you and you are on all fours, coughing out water, as you try to stand up from having fallen face forward in the pool. Your clothes, arms and legs are wet, but it isn’t just water you feel. There’s something slimy and slippery on the floor of the pool and it was that which made you slip and fall.
Thank God you didn’t get seriously hurt (although your ankle isn’t going to be too happy). But with the relief, you’re puzzled. What on earth is this slippery, slick stuff? And what is it doing in your pool?
Pool slime is common…and dangerous
Swimming pools, whether at home or in a public place, are exposed to the mercy of the elements and other natural factors. You may have noticed, that every few months, the tiles in your newcastle fibreglass pool feel slick and slippery.
This is what you call pool slime. It is a thin and barely perceptible film that is a bacterial-algal combination that starts to grow in moist places in and around the pool.
It’s easy to lose your footing, fall and get injured because of this pool slime. If you don’t get rid of it as soon as it starts to form, you put yourself and your loved ones at risk of severe injuries and dangerous accidents. When the slime is in the pool, it can contaminate the water and make you more susceptible to infections and illnesses. In this article, we share a few tips that you can follow to get rid of slippery pool slime.
Types of pool slime and what they mean for you
· Green slime
This type of slime is caused by green algae that are very common in the summer months. It can turn your pool shades of green and can cloud the water, making it difficult to swim. You can find green algae both on the walls & tiles surrounding your pool and, in the water, as well. Green algae can look bluish-green as well and this slime can cause rashes and other dermatological infections if not addressed.
· Yellow algae
When the green algae grow on the shady and moist surfaces around the pool (such as corners of the pool or underneath the pool steps), it takes on a yellowish or mustard tint. This is harder to scrub out compared to its green counterpart. It can also cause infections and allergies when you swim in the pool without cleaning the algae.
· Pink algae
Although called an alga because of how it appears in the pool, the pink algae are actually a type of bacterium called Methylobacterium. You’ll notice it near the lighting equipment and other fixtures in the pool and very rarely in the water. It’s similar to the orange-ish slime coating your toilet bowls when they aren’t cleaned properly. While this alga isn’t dangerous, it can be strange to look at and can make swimming very cumbersome. Plus, people with sensitive skin and eyes may experience minor discomfort from exposure.
· Black algae
Black algae are not only the most difficult to remove pool slime but are also hazardous to health. Black algae form slowly over a period of time and are able to really stick hard to the pool surfaces. By the time you notice the black algae and recognize it, it will be too big and difficult to remove. You’ll need to get a professional pool cleaner to come in and take care of this problem. Black algae can become fertile spaces for many types of cyanobacteria to grow and thrive. It is these bacteria – and not the algae itself – that can make people and pets fall ill and get serious skin, eye or ear infections by producing cyanotoxins.
Ways to remove slime from your swimming pool
· Clear out any debris on the surface of the pool
If your pool is covered with leaves, seeds, twigs or any other debris, clear them away using a pool net. It’s when this debris rots and drowns at the bottom of your pool, preventing sunlight from reaching the tiles, that the slime grows very quickly.
· Use a pool vacuum to clear out larger rot and dirt particles
Next, remove the crumbled rotting debris, sand and any other pollutant coating the slime with a pool vacuum.
· Sweep the pool floors or hand scrub the affected tiles
You get different types of manual, battery-operated and electric scrubbing brushes in different shapes and sizes that can be used to sweep and scrub the floors of your pool. Clean the entire pool floor or the affected tiles with the scrubber to remove easy-to-clean slime.
If the pool slime has spread to the walls of your pool or the floor tiles surrounding the pool, you’ll need to scrub these surfaces thoroughly too.
· Vacuum a second time to remove floating slime and debris
About 2-3 hours after that rigorous sweeping and scrubbing, you’ll see that chunks of slime and other lodged debris will have got loosened and will be floating in the pool. Use the pool vacuum again to remove this debris.
· Add chlorine powder or tablets to shock the pool
Chlorine is a powerful disinfectant and can get rid of bacteria and algae growing in your pool. When you shock the water with chlorine tablets or powder, you remove any last remaining traces of slime and prevent slime reformation.
It’s best to add chlorine when it’s night (especially if it’s an outdoor home pool), since UV radiation from sunlight can weaken the effects of chlorine in the water. Also, avoid swimming on the day when you clean and shock your pool, to allow the pool to be fully cleaned.
Also, as a general rule, if your pool is used by a lot of people and it’s exposed to falling debris, you should add chlorine to your pool once every week. When you keep shocking the pool, any new algal or bacterial growth will be immediately stopped in its track.
· Use sodium bromine if chlorine isn’t enough to help
This is particularly true in the case of pink algae and other pool slimes that doesn’t go even after intense scrubbing and severe chlorine shock treatment. Sodium bromine stays for longer than chlorine in the pool and it doesn’t break down to UV radiation from the sun as chlorine does. It’s also gentler on the swimmer’s eyes, hair and skin – making it a favourite with many pool owners. But because of all these benefits, sodium bromine is more expensive to acquire.
· Turn the pool filter on to full power to get rid of any remaining slime
About 24 hours after shocking the pool, switch on the filter at its highest performance. When the pool’s water keeps moving constantly, it doesn’t allow any debris to settle long enough to rot and create slime.
Wrapping up
Following these steps regularly and giving your home fibreglass pool a thorough clean every week can prevent pool slime from building up. This can ensure that your pool is usable and safe for everyone in your family.
