How To Get Rid of Slime at the Bottom of the Pool

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When individuals think about having a swimming pool, they rarely think about the level of maintenance needed to keep the pool in good condition.

If neglected, as a pool owner, you may notice some slimy streaks on the pool’s waterline and mucous substances forming at the sides and bottom of the pool. If this happens, it is a sign that the water’s chemical balance is off, hence the continuous growth of algae and bacteria.

It is also a serious indicator that your pool is toxic and may cause dangerous health effects to swimmers. It is only logical to fully address such issues by properly cleaning and maintaining your pool. 

Here are a few steps needed to get your pool clean, restored, and free of slime.

Steps to Getting Rid of Slime at the Bottom of the Pool

Are you ready to get your pool safe for swimming? If so, then this article is just the right fit for you. 

Here are a few steps you should follow:

Clean the Pool or Hire a Cleaning Expert

Hiring a pool cleaning expert is optional, but you must understand that most pool cleaning and maintenance mistakes are common among individuals who desire to clean and care for the pools without any skills.

Though it does not mean that you must always do a lousy job, mistakes such as ignoring the water’s pH levels, shocking the pool during daytime, and backwashing your pool filter too frequently, among other errors, may worsen the situation.

Please note that cleaning a pool is not an easy task. Thus, you should consider hiring a pool cleaning and maintenance professional with the expertise and know-how to restore your pool to its glory.

In the case of eradicating slime from the pool, these professionals often know the best cleaning strategies and which algaecides are suitable for killing algae blooms.

They also use advanced technology to restore your pool’s pH balance. You cannot go wrong with a professional cleaning and maintaining your pool.

Get Rid of Floating Debris

Whether the pool cleaning expert is on-site or you want to clean the pool by yourself, consider grabbing a pool net to remove the debris. These may include dead bugs, leaves, and algae growth at the pool’s surface.

Cleaning away with a pool net prevents the debris from sinking and settling with the grime at the bottom of the pool.

Additionally, please ensure that this process is thoroughly done as it eliminates pipe blockage when draining the water from the pool later.

Brush the Pool

For this step, your hired expert can use a quality pool brush constituting a long handle and soft bristle brushes suitable for tile flooring.

Brushing the pool helps remove slime and mold clinging to the pool’s bottom and walls. If left for a long time, the slime may cause the pool’s surfaces to become slippery and pose a significant danger for swimmers, resulting in pool accidents.

Thus, the expert needs to brush down the pool thoroughly.

Vacuum the Pool

After scrubbing and brushing, some floating residues, slime, and mold may likely have settled at the bottom of the pool. That said, taking out the pool vacuum is vital for this step.

If you are cleaning your pool, place the suction end of the vacuum at the bottom of the pool. Connect it to a filter and vacuum it as thoroughly as possible. Ensure you suck up all the slime and debris at the pool’s bottom.

Since vacuuming the pool will stir up the water, let it settle for about an hour and repeat the vacuuming process to ensure all the slime is cleared.

Shock the Pool

A pool shock is an essential step in cleaning and maintaining a pool. Also known as a shock treatment, it involves the addition of chlorine, a chemical substance that kills bacteria and disinfects the pool water. However, ensure it is added at the recommended dosages.

These shock treatments are crucial to improve water clarity and attack and kill any existing pathogens and algae blooms. However, by doing it yourself, you may likely get the chlorine measurements wrongly.

Thus, let the hired professional treat your pool. Due to their vast experience and expertise, professionals know that over-shocking the pool may upset the chemical pH balance levels; they will be careful not to use excess chemicals.

Pro tip: This process should be done at night to ensure the treatment works effectively.

Clean the Filters

After administering shock treatment, consider cleaning out the filters that may have some already built-up mold and slime.

Since your pool expert will have the right cleaning treatments, they may soak the filters in chemical cleaners, ensuring all the slime is destroyed and the filters are left clean and ready for use.

Run the Pump

Consider running the filtration pumps after adding the chlorine. The pump should run for about 24 hours non-stop. It allows the chlorine treatments to kill the algae and propels proper circulation that helps separate and eliminates the mold floating in your pool water.

You can vacuum the pool again to remove any floating slime and debris.

Test the Water’s pH

Testing your water’s pH level is the finishing touch. 

It is advisable to retest your water for pH, alkalinity, and sanitizer levels before allowing people to swim in your pool again.

However, do not be alarmed if you do not know how to retest and rebalance the pool’s chemical levels. Your hired expert may have pool test kits and test trips to assess the chlorine and pH levels. Alternatively, buy over-the-counter test kits and follow the steps in the instruction manual.

Conclusion

Getting rid of slime at the bottom of the pool can be a challenging and time-consuming task. However, this article provides a few detailed steps to ensure the entire cleaning and maintenance process is successful.

Fortunately, you can clear the slime in a few easy steps so that you and your loved ones can resume swimming in the shortest time possible.

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