It can be a nightmare for pool owners to see that their normally crystal-clear pool water is suddenly cloudy and murky. This problem is all too common, and several issues could be the cause. But you don’t need to worry any longer, as we will talk you through all of the reasons your water may be cloudy.
The most common issue that causes cloudy pool water is problems with your filter. Cloudy water can indicate that it’s struggling to filter out the tiny contaminants. Keep your pool’s circulation system flowing with regular cleaning, maintenance, and run times, but you might want to check for the following issues if your water is still cloudy:
If you haven’t cleaned your filter in a while, it might be time to do it now. If you have a sand or D.E. filter, backwash it and clean your D.E. filter grids, or if you have a cartridge filter, clean the cartridge in the filter.
Remove any twigs, leaves, or other debris from your skimmer or pump basket.
If your filter media is worn out or damaged, then it won’t be able to capture contaminants that cause cloudy water. It’s a good idea to be proactive and change your filter sand every five years, or replace your cartridge every 2 - 3 years. If you have a D.E. filter, add fresh diatomaceous earth powder or replace your D.E. grids.
To fix a cloudy pool, all pool water must run through the filter system at least once a day, which means you need to run the filter system for 8 to 12 hours a day.
As your pool filter system ages, it can start to fail, and you may need to replace major pieces of equipment.
When there is not enough chlorine to sanitize the water properly, bacteria, pathogens, and cloudy water form, debris in your pool, as well as bodily contaminants like sweat or sunscreen, can cause chlorine to be used up more quickly.
Finally, your chlorine levels can drop if your water is exposed to the sun’s UV rays and your chlorine is not properly stabilized. We recommend using a UV-stabilized chlorine such as Rx Clear® Stabilized Tabs.
For easy testing, we recommend Rx Clear® 7-in-1 Pool Test Strips.
“Free Chlorine” is the amount of chlorine that is free and available to sanitize your pool water. If you have a chlorine or saltwater pool, your free chlorine should be between 1 and 3 PPM.
If your free chlorine levels are lower than your total chlorine levels, you have combined (or used up) chlorine. Your combined chlorine should be below 0.5PPM.
You can shock your pool to quickly raise your free chlorine levels and remove chloramines. Check out our guide on How To Shock Your Pool.
If you haven’t used UV stabilized chlorine, ensure you have the proper cyanuric acid (or CYA) levels in your water. Cyanuric Acid will prevent the sun’s UV rays from breaking down your chlorine too quickly. Your CYA levels should be between 30 and 50 PPM.
Contaminants, particles, and small debris in your pool can cause cloudy water. This is most common in the spring, when pollen is in the air and falling into your pool. Cloudy water may also indicate early-stage algae growth.
If you have visible algae growth, you’ll need to get rid of the algae before you treat any cloudy water. We have a blog all about how to treat algae in your pool, whether it’s green, yellow, or black algae.
Storms are notorious for blowing dirt and debris into your pool, and rain can dilute the pool water and thus drop your chlorine levels. So, if there’s been a rainstorm recently, remember to test, balance, skim, brush, and vacuum the pool as needed.
If you’ve checked for and tackled all of these common problems and want to fix your cloudy pool water fast, you can use a pool clarifier or a pool flocculant (also known as pool floc). Just be sure to remember that cloudy pool water will keep returning if you don’t correct the underlying issues that are causing it.
