The first step in how to get rid of water mold in pool is to identify what kind of water mold is in your pool.
Mold tends to occur in places where water and moisture are abundant, which is why it is unsurprising that molds occur in pools as well. Despite it being typical, you shouldn’t tolerate water mold.
Read this article further to inform you more about water mold and what you can do about it.
What Are Water Molds?
Water mold thrives on surface water, which makes sense why they occur in pools.
There are several types of water molds that you may encounter in a pool, and they are differentiated by color. The common ones are white mold and pink slime.
One of the most well-known kinds of water mold is white mold. If you’re worried about white mold, read this article about getting rid of white mold in a pool.
What do water molds look like?
As mentioned above, there are different varieties of water mold. The most well-known one is white mold.
White mold grows naturally on water, and they are unaffected by pool treatments. However, compared to green algae, white molds die quickly under the sun.
White molds are film-like and are often compared to ripped tissue papers. On the other hand, pink slime looks like algae.
Pink slime commonly goes together with white mold. Compared to white mold, though, it is easily detected.
Pink slime is mainly located on the pool walls and pool filters. They also feel slimy when touched, and we don’t advise anyone to touch it with bare hands.
What causes water molds?
White mold and pink slime growths start in small amounts, but they can quickly multiply into a colony if left unattended. There are several reasons for their development, but filtration issues are the most common ones.
Filtration system issues lead to stagnant water, which inevitably welcomes mold growth. More specifically, your pool’s standing water leads to microorganism build-up.
Having unbalanced water also results in pink slime and white water mold. These water molds occur in nature, so they shouldn’t exist in pools.
When your pool lacks biguanide or chlorine, white mold and pink slime may build up. This would then render your pool unsafe to swim into.
What are the effects of water mold on the pool?
Prolonged mold exposure is generally unsafe. It’s the same with water mold; it harms your body if you ingest it or get it into your eyes.
To know more about what will happen after accidentally ingesting mold, here is an article about what happens after drinking mold.
Pink slime may lead to an infection if you are exposed to it for an extended period. On the other hand, white mold is relatively harmless if you are not exposed to it regularly.
However, if you are vulnerable to mold, you may suffer from allergies if exposed to it while swimming.
Removing Water Mold In Pools
Since we already shared how to remove white water mold, we’ll go into the removal process of pink slime instead. Here are the steps:
Step #1. Inspect and clean your pool’s filter
White mold loves to grow on the plastic parts of your pool, like the PVC piping. Pink slime follows white mold, and these two occurring in the same place leads to further filtration damage.
You have to look into the state of your pool’s filter and act accordingly. If pink slime and white mold are clogging it, clean them using the backwashing technique.
Step #2. Test your pool water’s pH
Get a liquid test kit or some test strips to evaluate your pool water’s pH levels. Pink slime affects your pool’s water chemistry, so testing it would verify what you are dealing with.
Moreover, it would help you balance the pH level if you test it out first.
Step #3. Shock
This step is dangerous, but it’s necessary to kill pink slime. You have to shock the pool water with a 3 or 4:10,000 ratio, pounds to gallons, respectively.
Step #4. Brush
After shocking the pool water, and when it’s already safe, drain the water. Then, brush the pool down to eliminate the slime and other forms of growth in the pool.
Only use an appropriate brush for your pool. Soft bristles are for tiles, while steel bristles are for concrete.
Step #5. Check the filter and pH level
Go back to the first two steps to ensure that the pool is in a better state now. Check your filter if it is working correctly or if it is clean now.
To be sure, use chemical cleaners on the filter to clear out the mold that passed through it. Lastly, test your pool water’s alkalinity, pH level, and sanitizer level.
Conclusion
Following the instructions on how to get rid of water mold in pool requires a lot of effort. We hope this article about mold in pools was of help to your mold and pool-related concerns.