How to Clear a Cloudy Pool: A Step-by-Step Guide

Your pool is cloudy. You can’t see the bottom. As long as it’s not green or teal in color, clearing a cloudy pool is simple. The first step is understanding why your pool is cloudy in the first place. The water has lots of tiny little particles that are making it cloudy. It doesn’t matter where they came from—what matters is getting rid of them now.

The Strategy

Removing all those tiny particles one-by-one would take forever. We don’t have that kind of time. The goal is to clump those particles together so they’ll be easier to remove. This can be done in two ways:

1. Clarifier: This chemical clumps or coagulates the particles together, making it easier for your filter to remove them.
2. Flocculant (Floc): This chemical clumps and sinks all the particles to the bottom of your pool, so you can vacuum them out manually.

Clarifier is a hands-off approach but takes longer, while Floc works faster but requires more manual effort. Choose a method and follow the instructions below.

Using a Clarifier

1. Add the Clarifier: Follow the directions for treatment and dosage. Don’t add more than recommended, as it won’t speed up the process.
2. Run the Filter: Resist the urge to backwash until the pressure rises 10 lbs. over the normal running pressure. Filters work more effectively when they are somewhat dirty.
3. Monitor Chlorine Levels: Keep the chlorinator off, but check your chlorine levels daily, ensuring it doesn’t drop below 1 ppm.
4. Run the Filter Continuously: Keep the filter running 24 hours a day until the pool clears up. Then, you can reduce it to 12 hours a day.

Using Flocculant (Floc)

1. Add the Floc: Follow the directions for treatment and dosage. Adding more than recommended won’t help.
2. Run the Filter: Run your filter for 2 hours on “Recirculate” if available. Then, shut off the filter and wait for 8 hours (overnight is best).
3. Vacuum the Pool: After the particles have settled at the bottom, vacuum the pool manually, ensuring you remove the waste directly. Be prepared to add fresh water as needed.
4. Repeat if Necessary: If the pool is still cloudy after vacuuming, wait for the particles to resettle and vacuum again.

Once you’ve removed most of the cloud, adding a clarifier will help pick up any remaining particles. Keep the pool running for 24 hours straight until it’s completely clear.

Preventing Cloudy Water

To prevent your pool from getting cloudy again, follow these steps:

1. Test Water Regularly: Test your pool water twice a week.
2. Maintain pH Levels: Keep your pH between 7.4 and 7.6.
3. Check Alkalinity: Maintain alkalinity between 100 and 150 ppm.
4. Monitor Chlorine: Keep chlorine levels between 1 and 3 ppm.
5. Use Clarifier: Adding a clarifier weekly can serve as a backup to maintain clarity.

By staying on top of your pool maintenance and water chemistry, you can enjoy a crystal-clear pool all season long.