A pool with sparkly, clean water that is transparent up till the bottom is a dream come true for anyone who is fond of swimming. In this regard, pool clarifiers are a sheer blessing. However, this blessing can turn into a nightmare almost instantly if used too much.
In fact, overdosing the clarifier is a much more common occurrence than you would imagine, mainly due to the discrepancies in the recommended amounts of different types and brands of clarifiers.
If you have accidentally put too much clarifier in your pool, or are worried about doing so, worry no more! In this article, we have all the information that you might need to deal with this problem.
What Happens If You Put Too Much Clarifier in the Pool?
Pool clarifiers are coagulating substances that work by clumping the minute particles that are suspended in your pool. Once the tiny particles are clumped together into much larger ones, it is easy for the pool filter system to get rid of them.
However, if too much clarifier is put into the water, it has essentially the opposite effect. An excess of clarifier causes the charge on the suspended particles to change from negative to positive, resulting in an overall dispersant effect.
This means that the particles spread farther apart and effectively increase the cloudiness. Thus, it all returns to where it began, only worse this time.
How Much Clarifier is Too Much?
The amount of clarifier to be put in the pool depends on the pool size and the brand of the clarifier. Thus, the amount that can be strictly labelled as “too much” also varies. However, in most cases, even an excess of a few ounces can have adverse effects.
Let us remember here that the standard dose for most of the clarifiers is about 1 ounce for 5000 gallons of water. Liquid clarifiers also have to be diluted before use. But at the end of the day, the exact amount to be used needs to be calculated as per the instructions on the clarifier packaging.
Hence, it can be safely concluded that an overdose of 1 to 2 ounces may be insignificant, but anything more than that can be too much.
I have found liquid clarifiers, like the Super Blue Pool Clarifier, to be much more lenient in this regard. A slight overdose of the Super Blue Pool Clarifier is much less likely to cause clouding.
How To Know If the Clarifier Is Too Much?
The most obvious sign of an excess of clarifier is that instead of clearing out and becoming crystal clean, the pool water begins to get more cloudy, almost opaque white. This cloudiness tends to increase with time, which alone is sufficient to establish a diagnosis of excessive clarifier.
Additionally, the filter pressure can also indicate this issue in some cases. If there is significant clumping, it can also clog the filter media such as the sand or DE, resulting in an elevated filter pressure.
How To Correct Having Too Much Clarifier?
If you have accidentally added too much clarifier into your pool, and identified the problem, the next step is clearing it out. This can be done in various ways depending on the situation.
- The easiest and simplest method to get rid of excessive clarifier is to filter it out. Keep the filter running for hours to days and see if it makes a difference. In cases of mild overdose, this must be enough to solve the problem. However, it might not help if there is an extreme excess of clarifier.
- If filtering alone is slow to work, you can fasten up the process by shocking the pool to break up large clumps. You will need a high strength pool shock system like these HTH chlorinating tablets. Additionally, you can skim the layer of opacity from the surface of the water, and then run the filter.
- If filtering does not solve the problem, here is what to do. Drain some of the water from your pool – ideally 1 foot. Then replace it with clean water. Keep doing it while keeping the filter running. Gradually, your pool will clear out.
Use a dedicated non-slippage work boot, like the Ever Boot Ultra-Dry work boot, for any procedure that involves entering a wet pool or pool deck for your own safety. You can also choose from our list of Best Pool Cleaning Shoes.
Other Possible Causes of a Cloudy Pool
By now, we have understood how pool water can get cloudy if you put too much pool clarifier. However, it is not the only cause of it. Pool water can get cloudy very often and easily due to a myriad of reasons.
1. Imbalanced Pool Chemicals
If the pool water chemicals are not in their normal ranges, it can immediately cause cloudiness. This is especially true if the levels of free chlorine are disturbed. Similarly, if the calcium hardness level is abnormally high, it can lead to a great degree of cloudiness in the water.
It seems highly unlikely for anyone to keep their pool’s chemistry perfectly balanced without knowing its current status. As such, I highly recommend investing in an accurate digital pool test kit which will guide you throughout life. Pool Exact EZ Photometer Master is a personal recommendation but any comprehensive test kit will do.
2. Improper Water Circulation
Lack of water circulation in a pool can lead to the accumulation and buildup of dirt and debris, which can ultimately lead to cloudiness. You will need to know how many return jets does a pool actually need.
Inadequate water circulation can cause build up of excess metals in your pool water for which you can read our article on How to Use Metal Out (Metal Remover) in A Pool?
3. Algae
The growth of algae in a pool, especially mustard algae, can cause the water to become murky and milky. Here are some tests to confirm that.
And if you were wondering what the best procedure for regularly cleaning a pool is, read this in-depth comparison: Backwash vs Rinse- Which is better?
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