How to fix Black Algae

Black algae can be really tough. It is a form of algae that grows legs that dig into the plaster of the pool then has a hard protective head that you have to break and get chlorine into to really kill. We have learned that the very best way to get rid of it is to dump the pool and chlorine wash the surface with liquid chlorine. Using a ventilator suitable for chlorine and proper safety gear. Usually the black algae can be scrubbed off with the chlorine and a brush fairly easily but every once in a while we run in to very tough one that takes hard scrubbing to get rid of.

Once this is done the pool can be refilled and I personally think that the pool is always at a little more risk for that algae coming back. It's not hopeless though we have had great success keeping it gone once we chlorine wash and then continue to maintain the pool properly every week.

Do I need to dump my pool?

We have some customers that just know, once every 5 years or so I need to completely dump my pool and start over. Searching for this information on line you'll probably hear about 10 years. I think that may be true up north, but in Texas we have serious heat and serous algae, not to mention all kinds of trees and pollen...you name it.

There are times that we have been servicing a pool and with perfectly balanced chemistry, plenty of brushing, vacuuming, making sure phosphates are treated, pH is perfect, basically just doing all the right things. If the pool still doesn't shine and sparkle and just look down right great and you find out that the pool hasn't been dumped in 10 years or more, maybe you even test for TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) and find that to be high. As much of the chemistry and treatments and things swimmers carry in to the pool never evaporate out of the pool hence you end up with high TDS and a dingy looking pool.

At this point we drop in a pump and start over. Then we see the customer smile and see the joy of such a sparkling pool! That makes us happy. So yes, I say dump every so often.

In the city of Dallas (you should check your cities ordinances) as long as you let the chlorine levels go below 5 ppm and the pH is balanced you can usually dump the pool and in some cities may need a permit. It is usually preferred to go straight to the sewer clean-out if you can find one.

We do this all the time for green pools. If there is algae on the side of the pool then you look at chlorine washing the sides of the pool which is also a great way to clean a pool and make it sparkle.

Do I need a home warranty company to cover my pool?

I have a lot of opinions about home warranty companies.  When I used to sell houses I sold warranties to my clients thinking they would be so helpful of anything went wrong with the house, especially HVAC equipment which is quite costly to repair.  They do tend to give people piece of mind and on occasion I have seen the warranty company come through for the customer and cover costly repairs.

Unfortunately what I am seeing more often in the pool industry is a band-aide repair that may get a customer through for a week or several months or just until another service fee would be due which is usually 6 months.  I shouldn't even say it's just the pool industry as when our AC at home was not working correctly it took 3 different people and over a year for the warranty company to finally admit they needed to do a costly repair.  In fact the contractor that finally did the proper repair told me that if he did too many of those he would not continue to get work from the warranty company.  Ah Ha!  That's what I thought!

We advertise our pool services to new home buyers all the time, so of course we have a lot of clients that have home warranties.  I always encourage our customers to use the warranty when our technicians see a repair that should be covered, I mean the customer paid for it so they should get their monies worth.  

Unfortunately more often than not the repair is not done the way we would have done it.  I've seen patched grids put back in DE filters (they never hold), refurbished motors (usually spray painted...is that an attempt to look new?  Cover up manufacture dates?  How old are these things?), another common one is replacing parts in outdated equipment rather than replacing the outdated obsolete equipment.

I remind our service clients that sometimes paying a $60 to $75 fee to have them come out (another fee for everything they can call a "new" issue) is often not worth it when you can pay maybe that or a little more for a long-term fix.  Pools need properly working equipment to function well and stay safe and sanitary...remember you CAN get sick from a improperly functioning pool or an unbalanced pool.

And finally my biggest complaint.  In Texas pool repair companies have to be licensed and the ones that I have seen working for warranty companies without a license and installing used motors with no bonding wires, and missing back plates, leaving our customers exposed to dangers that we have to fix for them makes me down right mad!  These are big corporations that should be encouraging safe repairs and should not be allowing unlicensed irresponsible companies onto your property.

I would like to see warranty companies insisting that anyone who is an approved contractor for them comply with the law and protect consumers and consumers rights to file complaints.  Then I'll stop complaining about warranty companies.

Texas Oasis Pools is a licensed Dallas area pool company operating under Appliance Installer License number 230, which is listed under our corporate name of JS Moore, Inc. on the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation web site.

Texas Oasis Pools
9720 Coit Rd. Ste 220146
Plano, TX 75025
214-532-7971
Fax: 214-407-8044
www.TexasOasisPools.com