I have some county pools which are showing some strange "debris" in the water, all to different degrees. It appears to have a "gritty" feel to it, but if you press it, it feels a slight bit greasy or slimy.
The pools are standard 75" x 45' competition size, with sand filters, cal-hypo sanitizing and CO2 pH control.
Below are pictures from four different pools. Any help identify this?
This was what was vacuumed from the bottom at Central pool. It is setting on a blue towel.
The picture underneath is Central pool's bottom.
The picture above shows is from South pool, and this debris came out as almost paper like.It too had the same feel and was on the bottom as the Central's pool.
The picture above comes from the North pool and it is floating on the top of the water, almost an oily film like substance.
The picture above is from East pool and is similar to the North pool in feel and appearance. Both North and East are on top of the water, where Central and South are on the bottom.
Any ideas? With the difference in location, top of water vs bottom of pool, I think they are two different problems. All the pools use the same chemical sanitizers and pH control. No coagulants are used. None of the pools are used much, maybe 20 -30/day bather load, with North only seeing one person every few days.
I have more pictures if you want to see them.
Replies
Hey Clint,
Sorry for the delay in responding. I am thinking water mold too.
I have not checked the pipes or filter. My client doesn't want to open the filters because the last time they did (10 years ago) they had trouble getting the hatch sealed back. Go figure. I really can't help them if they don't let me look. It does have a papr look to it & when "pressed" together it has a gritty and slimy feel to it.
Three of the pools have guttering, one has skimmers. They replaced the filters about 15 years ago, so the sand is the same as when installed.
These are all indoor pools.
Oxidize the heck out of it. Try shocking it with potassium monopersulfate.
Thanks Clint. I will more than likely do that.My curious side wants to identify berfore I kill it, so it hopefully won't come back.
It might be water mold. Is it in dark areas like pipes, the filter, and the skimmer? Are these indoor or outdoor pools? When I have seen water mold, it looks like wet toilet paper.