How To Clean A Dirty Pool?

How To Clean A Dirty Pool? Cleaning the pool is always a dreaded task, no matter how clean it is. But it is especially awful (not to mention gross) when the water and the sides and bottom of the pool are extra dirty.

Some dirt is expected, maybe even some grass and bugs, maybe even a little bit of algae. But what do you do when the water is green? Or the sides are green? What is the fastest way to clean a dirty pool?

You would think that just turning the vacuum on and letting it do its thing would solve your problem. It should just suck everything up and leave the sides and bottom sparkly clean again, right? In short, the answer is no.

While the fastest way to clean a dirty pool sounds tedious, it will leave the pool the cleanest it can be in the quickest way. There are faster ways, but they won’t necessarily clean the pool. You’ll just have a slightly less dirty pool that you still can’t swim in.

Read on to find the quickest way to clean a dirty pool the best.

Use a net

The first thing you need to do is use a net to get out as much debris as possible. You’ll want to use a bigger net than the handheld one. Use a leaf skimmer so that you can get down into the depths of the pool and get everything stirred up.

Stirring up the yucky stuff may seem counterintuitive and actually make your pool look dirtier. However, it makes it easier to scoop up the larger pieces of debris that are sitting on the bottom of the pool. Scoop out as much of the debris as you can.

Using a big net will make the job go faster and let you scoop up more at one time than the little handheld net will.

Test the water levels

After you have scooped out as much debris as possible, you need to test the water. You need to balance out the pH and alkaline levels. If they are unbalanced, they need to be corrected, or else the water won’t be able to be cleared up.

You can get a home kit from your local pool supply store. You can also take a bottle of your pool water into the pool store. Many stores will test it for you and direct you to the supplies you need to balance your pool water.

Add the chlorine

After you have skimmed out the debris and balanced the water, you need to chlorinate the pool. If your pool is extremely dirty, you may need to shock the pool. This means dumping in multiples gallons of chlorine at a time, possibly for multiple days.

You want to continue to add chlorine until the water turns anywhere from clear to very light green. It is recommended to start with three to four gallons at a time and add that amount each day until the water has cleared up.

Use the filter

Use the filter! If your pool is very dirty, you should run the filter for the entire twenty four hours of the day until the water is clear. This also means you may need to turn it off and clean the filter periodically. Continue to run the filter until the water has cleared up and you’re able to only run the filter periodically.

Use the vacuum

The filter and the skimmer should clear up most of the debris. However, it may not catch all of it and you may need to use the vacuum. If it is small enough to safely be sucked up by the vacuum and won’t break the vacuum, you can run it yourself.

If it is a lot of debris and the skimmer isn’t helping, you may need a professional to vacuum it up.

How To Clean A Dirty Pool? – Conclusion

Doing all of this should only take a few days, and by the end of that time period, your pool should be good to go. If it is still dirty, double-check that your filter works. If you are sure that it does and the pool is still dirty, it may be time to think about hiring a professional to clean it for you!