I Clean my Pool Covered in Black Algae with a $90 Pressure Washer

[@jmackinjersey1]

Man, I thought my pool was bad with black algae. We also have a bunch of trees in the neighbor's yard that I am about to cut down. I have been fighting this crap since we bought this house almost 10 years ago, and have been able to keep it to small outbreaks. Unfortunately after hurricane Ida came through a few years ago, it has gotten really bad. I have several spots that are about a 1 to 2 foot by 1 to 2 foot in size all around my pool. I have been able to keep it at bay by using a lot of chlorine like you are, but more importantly, you will need to use a phosphate remover. The way I do it is use alkalinity increaser, shock treatment an hour later and then a few hours after use the phosphate remover and filter, brush and then vac the pool. The algae feeds off of all the phosphates in the water, so if you break it down as much as you can and then remove the food, it is not able to return. But since we have a 30k+ pool and trees and rain, it is hard to completely remove and keep it from returning. However, this is only holding it back a little. So I am looking into other methods and have come across Pool Rx, black algae destroyer. I haven't been able to actually use/test this yet, but from everything I have seen, it actually works.

[@bulletpeople]

Do you know if any combination of treatments will remove it once it is there without having to go over all of it with a metal brush? And if every method requires brushing, do you know how hard you have to brush? When I tested some small areas the brushing was so exhausting I concluded there is no way I'm going to do that over all affected pool surfaces. But maybe I didn't have to hit it so hard with the metal brush. Some people say you just have to break through the slimy protective coating the algae covers itself with, but I don't know how much brushing (or how hard) is required to break through so that the chemicals can kill the black algae.

[@jmackinjersey1]

@@bulletpeople As far as brushing, from what I have seen on YT and experienced myself, all you need to do is an initial, moderate pressure with the wire brush to remove the so-called protective layer. Then hit the pool with the chemicals and/or scrub the spots with the chlorine tab, and then brush the dead algae off of the pool. Then vac to waste. If there is still some on the side, then you should treat with chemicals again and brush after to remove any that may still be on the walls. But I have noticed in the past that once the protective layer is off and I am treating the water with chemicals and the puck, it doesn't require as much pressure as it initially did. But yes, your pool has/had a ton compared to mine. I thought my pool was bad. I have also heard that with concrete/Gunite pools it is harder to get rid of this completely. Many call it the pool herpes, because it appears to be gone, but when you don't want it to come back, it starts to appear. As far as your pump and filter etc. are concerned, did you clean and reuse what you had, or did you just buy new equipment? There are a ton of nooks and crannies on that stuff, which makes it seem like it is hard to remove completely. I have a DE filter and a multi stage pump, so it does not appear that the algae has taken hold in those mechanisms. I'm actually thinking about draining my pool enough to expose the algae and use a wire wheel in my drill.

[@jmackinjersey1]

@@bulletpeople The guy that runs the "Pool School" channel has a ton of knowledge. Sure there are other channels, but he seems to be a little more realistic. kzbin.info/www/bejne/g6uqoH5qeMlqqsUsi=620TxMilzsVN-iQf

[@daganhaddad]

I have been beating myself up trying to figure out HOW to get rid of same algae - problem is it's in our holding tank for house water...if I could fit in tank I'd do it but not a chance - I have an 1800 PSI washer & it barely gets it off

[@bulletpeople]

Sorry to hear about that. If the surface area isn't too large you can use a 4 or 5 inch metal brush, but that would have taken me weeks. What I've read about the black algae is that it generates a slimy protective coating. If you just get that coating off then you can rub chlorine tablets on the surface and it will kill the uncoated algae. My pressure washer got off the slime and most of the algae but I still hit it with the chlorine tabs to be sure.

[@jaysanchez739]

Of course they gave up on the pool😂. Look at all the work you are doing regular service wont do it