Brown Pool water

[Guest Jeanne whitley]

Well, good grief.......thank you all for sharing your experience. I've been made to feel like I"M the problem since I've never had a clear above ground pool in five years. Not since I first filled this $6000.00 above ground that was installed by Absolute Pools of Houston and sold to me by Rec Fac Warehouse for a grand total of more than a modest in-ground pool would cost.

I have been told by Recreational Factory Warehouse employees over and over that metals have no part in my problems, or in any one else's problems, since my pool is vinyl, and metals don't interact with plastic..........Be aware that Recreational Factory Warehouse no longer has a store in Houston..

I have a 30 ft diameter 4.5 foot deep above ground pool from Recreational Factory Warehouse with a 4.5 HP two speed motor powering their standard pump.

bought this sucker 4 years ago..../..swam in it twice..............their tech support is no help, is designed to get you to buy more products that still don't work/ they will swear it is your fault, your pH is off, your alkalinity sucks...the new thing is metals......for vinyl pools!!!!!!!!!...don't listen....I've had all mine tested while undergoing their 300 dollar and up purge processses...........my water tests balanced by independent labs. It's a scam to get you to keep throwing bucks into a black hole, or to keep you from suing them for non-performance.....and for false advertising................4.5 years later after following countless pool advisors, I still have a very expensive, cloudy, green and brown pool that I've swam in twice, and total cost is at 8,500.00. Needless to say, the cost does not justify the benefit..... I see who benefits here........Leslie's Pool Supply, Warehouse Pool Supply, Wal-Mart, Recreational Factory Warehouse, and I see a new vocation here, representing dissastified owners.......there's an excellent article on the net re: marketers overselling hP on pumps to get the males on board, i.e., more hP is more power,,,,,,,the samea article goes on to state that most above ground pools of any size are terribly overpowered by their pumps.........In fact, I can look at my pool discharge, observe the clouds, and know I've been had............

[rsmith45694s]

I know this may sound redicoulus but it worked for me I have a 16 foot intek pool I also have well water it turned rust colored immediatly I was reading somewhere about using a 1 gal windshield washer jug and fiberfill and attaching it to the filter outlet well i did one better and I had a old submersible pump here and put one on each of them it took about a week or two but now my water is atleast clear and swimmable. the only thing left to do is vacuume it out from all the kids and it will be perfect. hope this can help you.

Hi Erin...I was just looking around on the web for any suggestions for my brown pool water. I can't even begin to tell you my miserable story of the last couple of weeks fighting brown/green pool water. To make a long story short....after several trips back and forth to the pool supply store and several other places for chemicals. (trying to save a little money on a few items) ....... I come home and decide I'm going to win this battle with my brown water. Well...like you...I get it cleared up for a day or two.........and guess what.....only to have it turn back brown again for two or three days. I have had a pool for 2 weeks and enjoyed swimming in it only twice. I am still determined to win this battle even though I have spoke with 3 pool supply stores and researched the internet only to find ....no one can help me. So...here I go off to the pool to change my brown rusty filter again. Oh...by the way...I do have well water....I have used about 6 bottles of Metal Out/Pool Magnet Plus...had my water tested several times...went through about 8 filters (and thats reusing and cleaning over and over again)...along with several other suggestions given to me. I am still determined that my family and I will have a pool this summer and we will have clear water at some point.

Sooooo....with all that being said.....please let me know if you find out any deep dark hidden secret on clearing brown/green water and I'll do the same for you.

Good luck. P.S. as for the money end of it...I have definitely spent more on chemicals then what I paid for the pool itself....only in two weeks time....by the time its over....I probably would have been better off putting an in the ground pool.....hahaha

[rsmith45694s]

I dont know if it would help your problem or not but I tried everything last year on one of those easy set pools and never did get clear water this year bought a bigger pool and started out the same way till I read a post on using a one gallon windshiled washer jug drilling 1/4 in hole in the bottom of it and filling with fiberfill to filter the water 2 weeks later I have clear blue water gets a little cloudy because of not vacuming it yet. but its clear and has been for over a week Keeping jug just in case I used 2 of them at first one on the pump and one on a small submersible pump i had here at the house It cleared it up in 3-4 days the first time but took filters out to soon. It did not cost me a thing I had everything here save me lots of head aches and heartaches.

Well, good grief.......thank you all for sharing your experience. I've been made to feel like I"M the problem since I've never had a clear above ground pool in five years. Not since I first filled this $6000.00 above ground that was installed by Absolute Pools of Houston and sold to me by Rec Fac Warehouse for a grand total of more than a modest in-ground pool would cost.

I have been told by Recreational Factory Warehouse employees over and over that metals have no part in my problems, or in any one else's problems, since my pool is vinyl, and metals don't interact with plastic..........Be aware that Recreational Factory Warehouse no longer has a store in Houston..

I have a 30 ft diameter 4.5 foot deep above ground pool from Recreational Factory Warehouse with a 4.5 HP two speed motor powering their standard pump.

bought this sucker 4 years ago..../..swam in it twice..............their tech support is no help, is designed to get you to buy more products that still don't work/ they will swear it is your fault, your pH is off, your alkalinity sucks...the new thing is metals......for vinyl pools!!!!!!!!!...don't listen....I've had all mine tested while undergoing their 300 dollar and up purge processses...........my water tests balanced by independent labs. It's a scam to get you to keep throwing bucks into a black hole, or to keep you from suing them for non-performance.....and for false advertising................4.5 years later after following countless pool advisors, I still have a very expensive, cloudy, green and brown pool that I've swam in twice, and total cost is at 8,500.00. Needless to say, the cost does not justify the benefit..... I see who benefits here........Leslie's Pool Supply, Warehouse Pool Supply, Wal-Mart, Recreational Factory Warehouse, and I see a new vocation here, representing dissastified owners.......there's an excellent article on the net re: marketers overselling hP on pumps to get the males on board, i.e., more hP is more power,,,,,,,the samea article goes on to state that most above ground pools of any size are terribly overpowered by their pumps.........In fact, I can look at my pool discharge, observe the clouds, and know I've been had............

[carlsoca]

Thank you one and all!!! I am so glad I found this site. My Easy Set pool was fine for 1 year and then I had a problem with the salt based chlorine generator. The pool wasn't brown.....yet, but It kept telling me the salt level was low so I kept adding salt. When I finally changed the electrlytic cell, the water had too much salt. I had been adding liquid chlorine when it wasn't working so the water was still good. However, I now decide to drain about 1 foot of water out to get the salt level right so the chlorine generator would start working properly. What happened next shocked me. I added back the 1 foot of water from my well (the same well used to fill it 1 year earlier) and in a day the water turned brown as tea. I thought it was algea so I kept running the chlorine generator sincee it was now working but it steadily got darker. Then I decided to search google and I found this posting. My well purifications system must not have been removong iron the day I added water and that 1 foot made the pool a mess for the last 2 weeks. Based on all these stories, I am going to do a "radiator" flush on the pool. I pull water from a pond for my sprinklers so I am gonna use that water to flush the bad water out. I would drain it completely except I buried it 2 feet in the ground and the walls will colapse if I do that. I will follow up once I am done this weekend.

[dymondgeezer]

Greetings fellow green / brown well water pool fillers!

Had same problem, although I use a softener which removed most of the iron, I forgot to recharge the softener and the second day I filled the rest of the pool with straight well water. Dope!

The chemical reaction occurs when you add chlorine. It causes the metals to release from the water and appear. Sequestering agents only 'push' the metals back into the water so you can't see them, but they're still there.

The best (and cheapest) way to remove the iron is chlorine! I didn't use the 'milk jug with stuffed toy fill' method, which isn't as crazy as it seems, I tried the following:

Increase chlorine until pool goes green / brown. Place a white towel in front of the water inlet or return hose. I have an Intex above ground so it's easy to drape the towel over the steps of the ladder. I also put an old white cotton sock inside the skimmer basket.

After a couple of hours you'll be amazed at how yellow / brown the towel and sock is. Rinse them out, add more chlorine and repeat. It took me about a week and the worst of it was gone. Then I added a shot of metal sequester and bingo, beautiful blue water!

[daisy]

I have an in ground pool with the same problem.....it costs more to deal with this problem with an inground pool....You are definately better off treating a small one.

I know this may sound redicoulus but it worked for me I have a 16 foot intek pool I also have well water it turned rust colored immediatly I was reading somewhere about using a 1 gal windshield washer jug and fiberfill and attaching it to the filter outlet well i did one better and I had a old submersible pump here and put one on each of them it took about a week or two but now my water is atleast clear and swimmable. the only thing left to do is vacuume it out from all the kids and it will be perfect. hope this can help you.

Hi Erin...I was just looking around on the web for any suggestions for my brown pool water. I can't even begin to tell you my miserable story of the last couple of weeks fighting brown/green pool water. To make a long story short....after several trips back and forth to the pool supply store and several other places for chemicals. (trying to save a little money on a few items) ....... I come home and decide I'm going to win this battle with my brown water. Well...like you...I get it cleared up for a day or two.........and guess what.....only to have it turn back brown again for two or three days. I have had a pool for 2 weeks and enjoyed swimming in it only twice. I am still determined to win this battle even though I have spoke with 3 pool supply stores and researched the internet only to find ....no one can help me. So...here I go off to the pool to change my brown rusty filter again. Oh...by the way...I do have well water....I have used about 6 bottles of Metal Out/Pool Magnet Plus...had my water tested several times...went through about 8 filters (and thats reusing and cleaning over and over again)...along with several other suggestions given to me. I am still determined that my family and I will have a pool this summer and we will have clear water at some point.

Sooooo....with all that being said.....please let me know if you find out any deep dark hidden secret on clearing brown/green water and I'll do the same for you.

Good luck. P.S. as for the money end of it...I have definitely spent more on chemicals then what I paid for the pool itself....only in two weeks time....by the time its over....I probably would have been better off putting an in the ground pool.....hahaha

[lizm]

I have recently purchased an 18 x 48 above ground pool, only to find out that well water and clorine don't mix. Brown water isnl't verry nice to swim in.

Reading this site saved my pool and my summer. (3 grand kids)

I used a small net laundry bag full of pillow stuffing attached to the pool water output, and a submersable pump with another bag of fluff. The hose of the submersable pump I put into a small bucket, with holes drilled in for dranage, also filled with fluff.

I cleaned the fluff about once an hour. Within about 5 hours the pool only had slight colour left, and a bit of silt on the bottom.

I used the pool brush to lift this and just left the pool pump, with mesh bag, run for the night. In the morning I couldn't believe it perfectly clear water.

Thank you to every one.

[Chicago Area Mom]

I filled my pool with well water, only to have it look like it was filled by my coffee machine. I adjusted the PH and shocked the water, and then I tried an experiment. I filled a clean bird feeder with fiberfill, the kind you can get at any fabric store for about $3.00 per bag. I hung the bird feeder on the end of my hammock frame, which has a hook and I was able to hang it over the water. I plugged in a submersible pump and pumped the water through the bird feeder, being careful that the water did not end up out of the pool. I rinsed out the fiberfill every 5-6 hours, and let it run through the night. It was crystal clear within three days, and I did not have to add any extra chemicals to clean it up. I am keeping this birdfeeder/filter for future use, and I probably will run the water through every couple of weeks to help clean it up. Yes, mothers are necessary for inventions (or something like that). I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself.

[waterbear]

I filled my pool with well water, only to have it look like it was filled by my coffee machine. I adjusted the PH and shocked the water, and then I tried an experiment. I filled a clean bird feeder with fiberfill, the kind you can get at any fabric store for about $3.00 per bag. I hung the bird feeder on the end of my hammock frame, which has a hook and I was able to hang it over the water. I plugged in a submersible pump and pumped the water through the bird feeder, being careful that the water did not end up out of the pool. I rinsed out the fiberfill every 5-6 hours, and let it run through the night. It was crystal clear within three days, and I did not have to add any extra chemicals to clean it up. I am keeping this birdfeeder/filter for future use, and I probably will run the water through every couple of weeks to help clean it up. Yes, mothers are necessary for inventions (or something like that). I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself.

If you have particulate rust in the water then a mechanical filter is the only way to get rid of it. Metal removers will have no effect. They actually make spa fill wands that are nothing more than a small cartridge filter that attaches to the end of a garden hose for problem water like this.

[poolmomTi]

Hey..we bought one of the easy set pools from walmart...our water turned brown as soon as I filled it up and put shock in it..I took a sample to our local pool store..They gave me alkalinity plus and pool magnet...I put those in and it cleared up REALLY FAST!!! But, about 3 days later it turned green then brown again...I bought alkalinity plus and something called scale and stain remover from Home Depot in the pool supplies..This did NOT work...I really dont wanna spend 40.00 each time I get stuff from our local pool store to clear it up for 3 days...anything else that I can do to clear it up? Thanks

I had the same problem 2 years ago. It is iron in our well water and the chlorine. Cheapest fix was old white cotton socks. I put one on the inlet with a rubber band and one over the filter basket. I had to change them every couple of hours for a day, then water started to clear and the socks were not as orange. The great thing was that I could rinse out the socks, wash them in Iron Out, and reuse them. I also had to swap out the filter quite often and rinse it out. I did cut the top of a sock off and put it over the filter that seam to help too.

I read one lady fills her pool with a pillowcase full of cotton fluff tyed to the end of the hose. might be worth a try next time.

Good Luck!

[Mason10]

We have an Intex 14 X 42 metal frame pool, salt water filter. We started to fill the pool, left for half a day, came home to find the pool brown. We came to find out that they flushed the hydrants in our area. We ran our filter 24/7, rinsing the filter every hour during the daytime. We also used the sock method over the outflow and rinsed that out every hour. After the fifth day I caved and went to the pool store to get something for the water. The gentleman at the store could not guarantee that it would work and suggested I drain the pool and start over. So I went home and did just that, but before I refilled it I put a sock over the hose that was filling the pool to find that the rust was still coming out of the hose. What we ended up doing is using four socks and two microfleece shamies that you dry your car with and put one inside the other and stuck the hose inside the socks and fleece and rubber-band them together. Every hour I went out and rinsed the socks out and then put them back on the hose and put the rubber band back on and did it all over again. Needless to say, it worked and our water is crystal clear. This story probably won't help you guys who can't or won't empty the pool, but hopefully it will help you guys who do not leave your pool up through the winter and have to fill it every year. Just initially put a sock over the hose, turn the water on, and you will see if there is rust in the water. I can guarantee we will be doing it every year.

[nanner_split]

This is a trick that I came up with a couple of years ago. It really works and it is nearly free. What you are going to do is make your own filter that is 1000% better than a cheezy stock disposable filer.

Things you will need:

1. An old windshield washer fluid bottle (or milk carton).

2. A big wad of fiberfill (the fluffy stuff that is in pillows).

3. A 1/4" drill bit and drill.

4. A short length of hose that will fit into the nozzle where water goes back into the pool from the filter.

5. A nylon pull tie or two.

First: Remove the stock filter from your pump. You can put it back in when you are finished clearing the pool of rust.

Second: Drill a bunch of holes into the bottom of the windshield washer bottle. 10 or 20 is good enough.

Third: Pack the windshield washer bottle with fiberfill. Put a lot in it. Pack it good.

Fourth: Attach your short length of hose to the bottle. Use a nylon pull tie.

Fifth: Attach the other end of the hose to the nozzle that lets water back into your pool from the pump.

Sixth: Wait overnight to see a ton of rust in your home made filter.

Tips: Remove the filter from the pool and rinse with hose water every day until the pool is clear.

Dont attach the home made filter into the nozzle that takes water from the pool. It may suck fiberfill into your pump and if it floats it will suck air into yor pump and make it stop.

Reader: I just wanted to thank you.I tried this method and it worked great. I have struggled with this problem for 2 years and spend alot of money trying to get rid of the rust.

I used an old window washer fluid bottle,filled it with fiberfill and drilled 1/4 inch wholes in the bottom and attached it to the filter discharge and within 2 hrs could see the difference.....

AWSOME THANKS AGAIN

Just a little trick to add for those of you with the "easy Up" pools, if you add a sink strainer to the inside of the 2 liter bottle it will keep the fiber fill from bunching up in the neck of the bottle. Also the bottle will screw into the outlet once the debris cover is removed. I have had this issue for the last three years, and my pool was so rusty you couldn't see the bottom two days ago. As of right now, the pool is swimmable clear. Thanks a Million!

Im confused where do you put the bottle with the fiber fill in it..somewhere in the pool or where??

We have a quick set Metal Frame pool that came with a skimmer basket. We just took the skimmer basket out of the frame and shove the poly fill in there. It worked awesome. In 72 hours our pool went from chocolate/butterscotch milk to crystal clear. We never removed the filter cartridge, but did replace it after 48 hours. It was caked with rust. This is the greatest idea. Even now when the pool is clear, it's still pulling out quite a bit of rust. Patience patience Patience!!!

[Lets_Go_Swim]

We have had a small ring pool for the last three years now. I have really hated setting it up because we have so much iron in our well water that the water turns brown in a matter of hours after filling. Last year I used an RV filter which seemed to help, but still I had to fight it for weeks to get the water clear. This year I took a sample of my water to the local pool store to have them test. They said that the iron content was the highest they had seen so far this year. They recommended a chemical (won't bother mentioning what it is since it didn't help) that would remove the iron. Well after a day and a half, and not seeing any improvement I started searching the Internet for the answer. I ran across using the poly-fil in a container. I had my doubts, but it only cost me about $3 for a bag of poly-fil. I stuffed it in a clear empty plastic juice container and drilled several holes in the bottom. I used duct tape and cable ties to attach to the outfeed hose of my pump. I draped it over the wall of the pool. In about 4 hours the poly-fil started turning brown, and I saw a noticable improvement in the color of the water. Since I have two pool pumps, the next morning I made another filter using the same method. In about 3 hours the filters were full of rust, and I could finally see the bottom of the pool. Actually the slower running pump seemed to work better. Most likely it wasn't forcing as much rust back in the water. This method really works. It's cheap and a lot safer than added a bunch of chemicals. I will be using this method from now on. In less than 24 hours the water went from brown to clear.

[hallierose]

Well....it was that time of the year again when I would buy a new Intex above ground pool for the summer. I would call it our disposable pool because like a lot of you on this forum.......I have WELL water! Same thing would happen, I would fill it up and by the next morning it was green. The kids would swim for two days and then I would have to kick them out while I tried hopelessly to clear it up. First, I would put in the chlorine...then the water would turn to dark brown....then I would filter, filter, filter! I have tried everything and just gave up! Then I bought our 6th pool for my son's birthday party and checked to see if any body else had figured out some cure for the brown water. I read one post where they used pillow batting to filter and so I decided to try it. I took a new pillow, cut a small hole on one end and inserted the garden hose and put a hose clamp on to hold it in place. I filled the pool and I am proud and SHOCKED to say that we are on day 9 and the water is still as clear as when I filled the pool. It didn't turn green.........I didn't use any chemicals what so ever. I look every morning thinking we can't be this lucky??? I know that the chlorine mixing with the iron in my water is what caused the water to turn brown but what I cant figure out is what the pillow did to stop it from turning green in the first place? Nevertheless, I am so happy and so are my kids! PS..I even thought that my well water had changed somehow but the stock tank is still green! I am going to use the pillow to fill it up too just to see

[waterbear]

Many pool owners will have to fight with brown pool water from time to time. Stains that appear reddish brown or very dark colors are typically related to metals in your pool water. If minerals are present in the pool water, they can cause the pool water to turn green, brown, yellow, and even purple.

First, you are reviving an old thread.

Second, brown pool water is either from particulate iron or algae. The first can be difficult to deal with and is a fill water problem, the second only happens with improper water maintenance.

Perhaps knowledge of pool water chemistry is not quite as advanced in India, where you IP address is located, as it is in the US?

[Matt Archer]

Thanks to everyone who has posted here.. I am one of the lucky ones you guys have helped, finding this forum on day 2 of my issue.. I have a 15', 48" above ground pool and saw that the water from my well had minerals it as it had a slight green tinge when filling. Then on day 2 decided to put some chlorine in and BOOM, turned muddy brown in about 5 minutes flat (quite a spectacle). It strikes me the consensus in the forum is to filter out the metals using some home made filter based around a microfibre filler. I guess the question is do I do it on the "dirty" water in the pool or on a clean refill... I am lucky as I can refill at about 2500 litres an hour so have the luxury of emptying and trying different approaches (as long as the wife's veggie garden doesn't get washed away on emptying ). I am greatly appreciative and are happy to try suggestions if there is "something you wished you could have tried".

[waterbear]

Thanks to everyone who has posted here.. I am one of the lucky ones you guys have helped, finding this forum on day 2 of my issue.. I have a 15', 48" above ground pool and saw that the water from my well had minerals it as it had a slight green tinge when filling.

Your water has iron in it. The green tinge you saw was from the yellowish water against the blue background of the pool liner. (Yellow + Blue = Green). Copper produces a clear green color to the water and many people confuse this!

Then on day 2 decided to put some chlorine in and BOOM, turned muddy brown in about 5 minutes flat (quite a spectacle).

You oxidized the iron ions in the water into iron oxide (rust) which precipitated out of the water as a particulate instead of being a dissolved, colored molecule.

It strikes me the consensus in the forum is to filter out the metals using some home made filter based around a microfibre filler. I guess the question is do I do it on the "dirty" water in the pool or on a clean refill

Microfiber filters cannot filter out ionic (dissolved) iron. They can filter out the rust that precipitates when chlorine is added. To remove ionic iron you would have to use an ion exchange filter such as a 'green sand' filter or a water softener to filter your fill water or you would need to add a metal sequestrant on filling (and every week or two thereafter) to "deactivate" the iron so it does not react with the chlorine. If you go the seqestrant root use one based on HEDP such as Jack's Magic Pink Stuff or Proteam Metal Magic and stay away from the EDTA based ones like Natural Chemistry's Metal Magic.

... I am lucky as I can refill at about 2500 litres an hour so have the luxury of emptying and trying different approaches (as long as the wife's veggie garden doesn't get washed away on emptying ). I am greatly appreciative and are happy to try suggestions if there is "something you wished you could have tried".

Hope this helps.

[Beth D.]

Hi,

We are new 27' above ground pool owners. We added one qt. bottle of Metal Out to the delivered pool water (that came from a well) as instructed by pool company. This was not adequate, should have been 2 bottles according to the instructions. Not knowing, we added shock after more than 24 hours and now have brown water. Added second bottle of Metal Out today. Will it help to shut off filter and let things settle and vac out in morning as suggested on bottle?

Thanks for any suggestions!