How To Get Rid Of Water Mold In Pool? Ultimate Guide

How to remove water mold from a pool begins with figuring out what kind of water mold you have.

It’s no surprise that mold grows in swimming pools, given that water and moisture are two of mold’s most common food sources. Despite the fact that water mold is common, you should not allow it.

What is White Water Mold?

White water mold is a fungus, much like any other species of mold. All fungi are molds, but not all molds are fungus, and vice versa. A nice example of a fungus is yeast, but it’s not mold since without it, we wouldn’t be able to make bread or beer. Penicillin, on the other hand, wouldn’t exist if mold wasn’t there. Regardless, you don’t want white water mold in your pool.

What is That Pink Slime in a Pool?

Pink slime in a pool is sometimes referred to as pink algae because of its color. This is not, however, algae. Serratia marcescens, or pink bacteria, is the scientific name for it.

You’ve probably seen it before, most likely in your bathroom, at home. Shower curtain or toilet bowl water line may be a good place to put it. “Oh, that’s just rust,” you may have heard some people say. The water here is rather hard.

There isn’t any rust on it. As a type of airborne microbe, it thrives in damp places like toilets, where soap scum contains mineral deposits. It also enjoys the fatty residue left behind by soap and shampoo. Pink bacterium doesn’t seem to have a particular preference when it comes to food.

In addition to being unattractive, it poses a threat to one’s safety. Bacteria can cause a variety of ailments, including pneumonia, urinary tract infections, and lower respiratory tract infections, if it enters the body through the eyes or nose. As a result, removing it from your pool as soon as you detect it, or preventing it from appearing in the first place, is critical.

A pet’s water dish is another place where pink bacteria can be found in your home. The dish must be cleaned and sanitized and kept clean to prevent illness if this occurs. UTI in dogs and bacteremia in both dogs and cats can be made worse by Serratia marcescens.

What Are Water Molds?

Mold flourishes in pools since surface water is its primary food source, therefore it seems sense that they be present.

There are a variety of water molds that can be found in a swimming pool, and each one is distinguished by its color. White mold and pink slime are two of the most frequent types of mold.

Among water molds, white mold is one of the most well-known types. Getting rid of white mold in a pool is easy if you follow the instructions in this article.

What do water molds look like?

There are a variety of water molds, as was discussed earlier. White mold is the most well-known of these.

A natural white mold that grows on water is unaffected by pool chemicals. White molds, on the other hand, are much more susceptible to the sun’s rays than green algae.

In appearance, white molds resemble ripped tissue paper because of their filmy appearance. Pink slime, on the other hand, resembles algae.

White mold and pink slime are often found together. When compared to white mold, it’s a lot easier to find.

The pool’s walls and filters are the most common sites for pink slime. They also have a slimy texture, so avoid touching them with your bare hands.

What causes water molds?

If left unchecked, white mold and pink slime colonies can soon spread to enormous proportions. Filtration difficulties are the most typical cause of their development, however there are many more.

Mold thrives in stagnant water because of filtration system problems. Microorganisms might thrive in your pool’s stagnant water.

Pink slime and white water mold can also be caused by an imbalance in the water supply. Pools shouldn’t harbor these naturally occurring water molds.

White mold and pink slime can form in a swimming pool that lacks biguanide or chlorine. If this were to happen, your pool would no longer be safe to swim in.

What are the effects of water mold on the pool?

Long-term contact with mold can be harmful to one’s health. You can get sick if you eat water mold, or get it in your eyes if you ingest it.

To learn more about what happens after drinking mold, check read this page on mold poisoning.

If you are exposed to pink slime for a long period of time, you may develop an infection. White mold, on the other hand, is reasonably safe as long as you don’t expose yourself to it on a frequent basis.

As a result, if you have a sensitivity to mold, you may experience an allergic reaction when swimming.

What is That Pink Slime in a Pool?

Pink slime in a pool is sometimes referred to as pink algae because of its color. This is not, however, algae. Serratia marcescens, or pink bacteria, is the scientific name for it.

You’ve probably seen it before, most likely in your bathroom, at home. Shower curtain or toilet bowl water line may be a good place to put it. “Oh, that’s just rust,” you may have heard some people say. The water here is rather hard.

There isn’t any rust on it. As a type of airborne microbe, it thrives in damp places like toilets, where soap scum contains mineral deposits. It also enjoys the fatty residue left behind by soap and shampoo. Pink bacterium doesn’t seem to have a particular preference when it comes to food.

In addition to being unattractive, it poses a threat to one’s safety. Bacteria can cause a variety of ailments, including pneumonia, urinary tract infections, and lower respiratory tract infections, if it enters the body through the eyes or nose. As a result, removing it from your pool as soon as you detect it, or preventing it from appearing in the first place, is critical.

A pet’s water dish is another place where pink bacteria can be found in your home. The dish must be cleaned and sanitized and kept clean to prevent illness if this occurs. UTI in dogs and bacteremia in both dogs and cats can be made worse by Serratia marcescens.

What Causes White Water Mold and Pink Slime?

White water mold and pink slime, like any other variety of fungus or bacterium, are organic, naturally occurring entities.

Your pool has to be cleaned and the water needs to be correctly balanced if you detect one or both of these in your pool.

Does Biguanide Cause White Water Mold?

No. For some reason, this rumor has persisted, but it is false. No white mold can form in your pool if you apply Biguanide (the brand name Baquacil).

You can actually use biguanide to get rid of it if that’s the method you already have in place.

Cleaning your pool is always the first step in eradicating mold or slime, no matter what the issue is.

How to Eradicate an Existing Colony

Prior to removing mold from the water, it’s vital to inspect the pump’s operation, as it could signal a problem with the filtration system. Once you’ve confirmed that the pump is working properly, you can begin.

Step 1

Using a skimmer, remove as much of the mold as you can from the top of the water, and then use a hose to thoroughly clean the pool’s walls and bottom. Take out the skimmer basket and allow it to dry off in the sun while you clean around the jets and behind the ladders.

Step 2

Add 3 or 4 pounds of calcium hypochlorite shock per 10,000 gallons to triple or quadruple shock your pool. The pH must be between 7.2 and 7.6, else the shock would not work. If necessary, use chemicals to alter the pH.

Step 3

Allow the filtration system to run for at least 24 hours before using it as normal. Backwash the filter or remove the cartridge and clean it manually after this time period. There are commercial cleaners available that can kill any microorganisms that may have gotten stuck in the filter fibers.

Step 4

For the next four days, maintain the pool’s cleanliness and run the filtration system. Take a sample of the water to a pool dealer for testing after this time period. If mold is found in the water, shock the pool again.

Step 5

To ensure that no debris has accumulated, run a vacuum around the pool’s bottom and dump it in the garbage. Before utilizing the pool, recheck the pH and alkalinity levels and add chemicals as necessary to restore them to normal.

How to Get Rid of White Water Mold in a Chlorine Pool

Any trace of white water mold left behind can quickly grow into a major issue, therefore it’s critical that the removal process itself be as thorough as possible.

1. Clean the Filter

If your pool has white water mold, it’s likely that your filter has, too. As a result, it is imperative that you thoroughly clean the filter before proceeding with any other steps. If it is contaminated with mold, it will be less effective.

It is sufficient to backwash a sand or D.E. filter or spray a cartridge with water, but filter cleaning can be used if desired.

2. Balance the Water

Acidity (pH) is the most critical factor to maintain. With 7.5 being the optimal, make sure it’s between 7.4 and 7.6

3. Shock the Pool

White water mold cannot be eradicated with a single dose. The chlorine shock in your pool will need to be tripled or perhaps quadrupled. For every 10,000 gallons of water, 3 to 4 pounds of calcium hypochlorite shock must be added.

What Causes White Water Mold In A Pool?

White water mold is commonly thought to occur as a result of unbalanced pool water. Another myth is that the presence of biguanide is a significant element.

You may be surprised to learn that your garden hose or tap water may naturally produce white water mold (and even pink slime).

Because this sort of mold thrives on plastic surfaces, be sure to let your pool fill up for at least two minutes before shutting off the hose, in order to prevent any potential mold from being transmitted into the water.

Why Is Pool Water Mold A Problem?

In reality, white water mold isn’t dangerous; it’s the pink slime bacterium that is.

In any event, it’s a nasty problem to deal with. This is due to the fact that it is likely to be found in your pool’s pipes and filters, not just floating in the water. To get rid of it completely, you’ll need to do a lot of heavy lifting when it comes to pool maintenance.

Bacteria will eventually grow where mold does. Respiratory system problems, pneumonia, and urinary tract infections have been linked to the pink slime that forms on top of white water mold. Your eyes, nose, or an open wound can all be entry points for the disease. You don’t want pink slime in your pool at all (or home for that matter).

Chlorine and bromine-based sanitizers are similarly ineffective against white water mold. But don’t worry, you can get rid of it.

How Do You Fix White Water Mold In Your Pool?

White water mold is hard to get rid of. The best way to get rid of the mold in your swimming pool is to stick to a tight cleaning program and even repeat sections of it.

Step 1. Clean Out Your Filter

There is a good likelihood that you already have mold in your pipes and filtration system if you have white water mold problems. Since a clogged filter is useless, the first thing you should do is clean it.

So hose down your cartridge filter or backwash your sand or DE filter to get rid of any accumulated dirt.

Step 2. Balance The PH Level

Step 3 will only be possible if the pool’s pH level is properly regulated. The optimal pH range for a swimming pool is between 7.2 and 7.6, with 7.4 being the sweet spot.

Test strips and liquid test kits can be used to monitor water quality.

Step 3. Shock Hard!

To get rid of the mold, you’ll need to shock the pool with chlorine.

This is going to come as no surprise to anyone. Isn’t it true that chlorine-based sanitizers have trouble combating white water mold? Yes, I did, in fact.

Although they still work. A lot of it is all you need.

One pound (or one bag) of shock is used per 10,000 gallons of pool water when shocking.

To combat white water mold, you’ll need to apply three or four times as much shock per 10,000 gallons, or 3 or 4 lbs. of shock.

Step 4. Brush, Pump & Brush Again

The pool should be brushed carefully with the appropriate brush for its finish (soft bristles for vinyl/tile finishes, steel bristles for plaster/concrete). A good place for mold to live is around rungs, the pool skimmer and any other “dead places,” so be sure to get in there.

After then, leave the pump running for the remainder of the day. This will allow the filter to catch as much mold as possible before it needs to be changed.

Then, go over the entire surface again. Is it possible to remove all of the mold off a surface on the first try?

Step 5. Vacuum

Using a vacuum cleaner to manually remove the mold from your pool is the final step in the process. You may notice that the water level is low when you’re done.

You can use a garden hose to fill the pool, but make sure to run it for a few minutes first. You never know if the hose has mold growing in it.

Step 6. Clean The Filter & Retest

Finally, perform a thorough cleaning of the water filter, perform a water test, and re-balance the water.

To clean your cartridge, you may want to use a chemical soak or sand/DE filter cleaner.

How To Prevent Mold In Your Pool

In order to keep mold out of your pool, the best thing you can do is maintain it clean. Maintaining a regular program of upkeep is what this entails.

Regularly clean the surfaces that sanitizers can’t reach, like the filtering system, brushes, and other hard-to-reach areas. Always maintain the right level of sanitizer in your pool water, as well.

Conclusion

It takes a lot of work to follow the directions for removing water mold from a pool. We hope this post on mold in swimming pools was helpful to you.