What’s causing the yellow algae in my pool?
Yellow algae (also known as mustard algae) can be common in the summer months in the Phoenix valley. Airborne spores can get introduced to the pool through wind and rain so the summer monsoons can often wreak havoc on pools even when they are receiving proper weekly maintenance.
Is there anything I can do to help prevent yellow algae?
- Water Circulation: Algae grows in areas of low water circulation so it is very important to make sure that you always have a working cleaning system on the pool. The pop-ups or vacuum that your pool has is an important part of the pool’s circulation so it’s important that if you have a vacuum that it keeps moving and likewise if you pool has in-floor pop ups that they are working as intended and there are no dead zones.
- Pump run times/speeds: We recommend that the pump run for a full 12 hours per day in the summer to assure that there is adequate filtration and water circulation. Running the pool for too little or at speeds that are not adequate to properly move the water around can both contribute to a yellow algae breakout.
- Sanitizer: Chlorine kills the algae spores that are introduced to the pool so it is important to maintain an appropriate free chlorine in the water to keep things properly sanitized.
- It is important to keep the water balanced for calcium hardness as the yellow algae diatoms can thrive in a higher calcium environment especially if circulation is poor.
If yellow algae has set in, what can I do?
- Verify that the pool has proper filtration and circulation
- Maintain a higher than normal chlorine level during treatment – it can take double the amount of chlorine to kill yellow algae as it does green algae.
- Maintain the ph at 7.4ppm or below
- Brush pool walls and steps thoroughly
If you need professional assistance, please call or text us at 602-699-5404.
We service the Phoenix valley including Avondale, Buckeye, Chandler, El Mirage, Gilbert, Glendale, Goodyear, Litchfield Park, Mesa, Peoria, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Sun City, Surprise, Waddell, and Wittmann.
