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Q: Where did my chlorine reading go?
A: Hello All ?
It has been a while; but we have had a busy pool season and we are still going strong. Every season we run into some interesting new issues that we personally have not encountered before. An issue that we had this season was chlorine readings. Customers would come in with water tests and inform us that they had their skimmers or floaters filled to the brim with tablets; yet when they tested their water and we tested their water, there was barely a chlorine reading. Now, in one case, the customer had crystal clear water and all of the other chemicals were perfectly balanced. This was a perplexing dilemma because obviously something was working right. What it boiled down to was that she had Yellow Algae in her pool and she had used a Yellow Treat algaecide. Come to find, Yellow Treat can mask a chlorine reading anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. One day she called us to let us know that her chlorine reading suddenly came back. Needless to say, we won’t be forgetting this lesson!
Another culprit for no chlorine reading can be the microorganisms called Phosphates. Phosphates can come from a number of sources including but not limited too: pesticides, and fertilizers. They can be blown into your pool from a few miles away if they are caught in the wind when fields are being sprayed. They may also run off from the ground after the lawn or plants have been fertilized. Those are typically the prime culprits. Phosphates actually “eat” the free chlorine and with no free chlorine, you have no sanitation. Oftentimes, your pool water may be cloudy with a blue green tint that will not go away no matter what you do. You will usually also see the presence of algae growing due to the lack of free chlorine. Do not despair though! There is a Phosphate remover that can get rid of them!
Hope you all find this blog helpful! Until next time!
The Pool Doctor