Once your pool water turns into something that looks like milk, or worse, you need to act. The change in colour occurs slowly, until one day, you cannot see the bottom of the pool. Not only is this an ugly sight, but it also means that your pool is a breeding ground for dangerous bacteria. If you don't handle the issue on time, the water will damage the circulation system. To avoid expensive damage and acute illnesses, call in a professional in swimming pool maintenance to figure out the reason behind the murky water. The solutions to this problem vary depending on the source of the cloudy pool water:

Milky Water

Hardness salts dissolve because of high total alkalinity or high pH and create fine particles that float in your pool water. The build-up of dirt pollution can lead to insufficient chlorine or inadequate filtration. High levels of a stabiliser (cyanuric acid) can also lead to the milky-white pool water. 

Remedies include lowering alkalinity with dry acid applied at a rate of 1kg for every 100 cubic metres daily until the suspended particles clear. Treat insufficient chlorine by super-chlorinating with products like calcium hypochlorite and raise levels to at least 10ppm. If there is over-stabilisation, drain the pool and top it up with fresh water, then super-chlorinate it.

Green Water

Green is a sign that algae are colonising your pool. Reasons for this include chlorine levels falling or becoming ineffective. A shock dose with un-stabilised chlorine or algicide offers the fastest results. For pool water that is tinted green, consider super-chlorinating to 10ppm. For serious problems such as pea-soup green water, shock treatment of up to 25ppm will help kill the algae. 

At the same time, remove algae lurking on the water surface as well as colonies behind and around the stepladders and underwater lighting. Backwash your pool filter a day after removing the dead algae from the screen. Afterwards, maintain chlorine levels at 3pp to prevent a recurrence of the problem.

The key to a clean and well-maintained pool is limiting potential issues that take the fun out of having a pool in the first place. If you feel swimming pool maintenance is a task that's too big to keep up with, always have a company like Leisure Coast Pool Centre come in and take care of weekly maintenance. A reputable maintenance technician will continuously test water pH and chlorine levels, clean the filters and pumps and clear debris floating on your pool water.