How to Remove Pollen from Your Pool
When spring arrives and the sun comes out, it usually brings an unwelcome friend: pollen! This annoying allergen bothers many pool owners during daily activities, and it can become a nuisance when it covers the pool. Ridding your pool of pollen can seem a full-time job. But are you actually dealing with pollen, or something else? What does pollen even look like? And what are the best steps for removing pollen from the pool? We are here to help!
To remove pollen from the pool, you will need to:
Make sure your pool pump runs long enough each day to properly filter the water.
Use a fine mesh skimmer to remove pollen from the surface of the pool.
Apply enzymes and clarifiers to the pool to help break down the pollen and boost filtration efficiency.
Is it Actually Pollen?
The first step is recognizing what’s pollen and what isn’t. Tiny pollen debris can be confused with some types of algae, such as yellow (mustard) algae, which is yellow in color. In this case, it’s easy to tell the difference. Mustard algae will stick to the walls and floors of your pool, while pollen will simply float on the water’s surface, or stick to the tile and the inside of the skimmer. Pollen on the surface of the pool is also easily moved by wind. As such, if you notice yellow powder floating on the surface of your pool water, you’ve probably got a pollen problem.
Run the Filter
Step one should always be to run your pool filter. While this may seem obvious, it can be easy to forget if you aren’t already running your filter all day. Running your filter won’t eliminate everything, but it will keep the pollen manageable. To catch even more of the powdery yellow residue, you can try debris shield skimmer socks. Just remember to check your skimmer regularly and clean the skimmer sock often, so the pollen it catches isn't restricting water flow.
Skim the Pool
Your next step will be to skim your water manually on a daily basis. This should usually happen every morning, since the pollen tends to accumulate overnight. To effectively remove it, however, you’ll need a different kind of skimmer net than you'd normally use. Fine mesh nets are specially designed to capture smaller particles than normal.
Take it to the Next Level
With daily filtering and skimming, you should be able to manage your pollen and keep your water clear. It's challenging to get all the pollen removed from the pool through skimming and filtering alone. In these cases, you can take your pollen remedy to the next level with an enzyme product like Leslie's Clear Aid or Leslie's Perfect Weekly. Enzymes help break down pollen and other non-living organic contaminants. Clear Aid also contains a clarifier, which helps boost filter effectiveness.
One other thing to note is that pollen can play host to some harmful microorganisms that live off of the pollen while it decays. The simplest way to take care of these little guys is to shock your pool, preferably at night. A chlorine-based shock is designed to kill bacteria and other pollutants, and is the final step in eliminating pollen and its negative effect on your pool water. But sanitizers like pool shock can only work effectively if your pool water is balanced. To make sure all aspects of your pool's water chemistry are within proper ranges, bring a sample into your local Leslie's store for a free 10-point AccuBlue® water test.
Spring Cleaning
Especially during spring, the pollen volume can be relentless, and you don’t want to let it build up in your pool. Stay on top of it with the remedies listed above. In most cases, what your filter won’t catch, a fine-mesh skimmer probably will, and there are chemicals to help fill in the gaps. Just remember that taking care of your pool is a daily task! For more pool care tips and cleaning advice, call or stop by your local Leslie's