Unfortunately, Central Florida was not spared from hurricanes this season. While we’ve given advice to pool owners on protecting your pool and patio from damage before a storm hits, it’s now time to talk about cleaning up after the sustained high winds and torrential rains of a hurricane pass. Add to this the flooding that many homes experienced. Dealing with a flooded pool is understandably a low priority when you’re trying to salvage your furniture and everything else you own from knee-deep water in your house, but it is one important step of hurricane recovery in terms of health and safety for your family.
Procedure for Cleaning Your Pool After a Hurricane
We thank the pool construction and pool maintenance pros at GPS Pools, Leslie’s Pool Care and Pools By Bradley for the following 10 steps in getting your pool back in working order.
1. Check Your Pool for Structural Damage
Do a thorough visual inspection of the pool’s walls, floor and surrounding deck for cracks, leaks, visible shifts in the structure, loose tiles, damaged coping and any debris that might indicate potential damage.
2. Remove Post-storm Debris
Remove any floating debris on the surface of the pool. as well as any that has settled on the bottom. Do this with your skimmer/leaf net on an extendable pole so you can rake and scoop up the leaves and debris from the surface and bottom of the pool. Concentrate on the larger debris at this point, as any small dirt particles will be vacuumed up later in the process.
The greatest concern with leaving debris in your pool after a heavy rainfall is the growth of algae. Rainstorms bring pollen and plant matter that encourage the growth and spread of algae. Algae growth in the pool water that is left untreated for any period of time becomes very difficult to remove and can cause damage that is difficult to repair.
If your electrical power is out, remove as much debris as you can, and superchlorinate the pool water. Bring the Free Available Chlorine (FAC) level up to at least 5–10 ppm (parts per million) using dichlor shock or liquid chlorine. Maintain FAC levels between 2–4 ppm to prevent algae and hinder mosquito larvae growth. For owners of a vinyl liner pool, stir up the water with a pool brush or battery-operated pool cleaner to avoid problems with liner bleaching or surface discoloration. Once the power is restored, complete the remainder of the steps.
3. Clean Out Skimmer Baskets and Pump Strainer
With the power and filtration still off, clean out all the skimmer baskets and the pump strainer. You will likely find a significant amount of debris in both of them after a hurricane. If they aren’t cleaned properly, it could cause a clog in your system.
4. Check Electrical Equipment and Turn Power Back On
Before the hurricane, you should have turned off and unplugged your pump. Leaving your pump running during a storm can cause electrical damage to the motor or cause it to completely short out.
Before turning the power on, make sure to remove all coverings from the pool equipment and check for signs of water damage. If you see any indication of potential water damage, do not turn the power back on! Call a licensed electrician to come out and check your equipment. This will prevent any injuries to yourself, as well as any serious or permanent damage to your pool equipment. Do not try to clean the equipment or turn the power on by yourself!
If your equipment is dry and free from water damage, turn the power on and run your pool’s filtration and circulation systems.
5. Check Pool Water Levels
Excess water is one of the biggest problems caused by a hurricane or tropical storm. Heavy rainfall has the potential to cause flooding for pool and spa owners, leading to debris and extra runoff in your pool. It can also flood the pool equipment. If your pool doesn’t overflow but the water levels are too high, surface skimmers also become ineffective. Bring the water level back to normal using a sump pump or a siphon.
Tip: You can gauge how high your pool’s water level should be by looking at the mid-tile line. If it’s at mid-tile line, it’s perfect. Over mid-tile, it’s too full; under mid-tile, it’s too low.
6. Clean and Backwash the Pool Filter
A hurricane or tropical storm will lead to large amounts of small particles, dust and dirt in your pool water, meaning your filter will need to be cleaned and backwashed before the filtration system can be run. You may have to do this several times due to the severity of the storm and the amount of small particles that settled in your pool. Refer to your manufacturer’s operation manual to make sure you’re cleaning your filter properly. For DE filters, this is the time to replace the DE filter media. For cartridge filters, you may want to consider removing the cartridges and cleaning each one or replace them with new ones.
7. Vacuum and Brush Pool Walls and Floor
Once your pool equipment is back on and the pool water is mid-tile line, it is time to remove the fine dirt and dust from your pool. First, vacuum up the dirt and debris off the bottom of the pool using your automatic pool cleaner or pool vacuum. You may also want to vacuum directly to waste if possible, as running the debris through the filter can quickly cause clogging. After you finish vacuuming, thoroughly brush your pool to remove the dirt and debris from the walls. Repeat this process until you see that the water is practically clear. If you are not able to vacuum your pool, you will need to monitor the pressure gauge of your filter frequently and repeat the cleaning and backwashing of the filter if the pressure gets too high.
8. Shock Your Swimming Pool
At this point your pool water may appear to be clean and clear, but there is still a significant amount of potentially harmful microscopic contaminants present – which sets up conditions for algae and bacteria to grow. To prevent this growth, shock your pool and raise the chlorine level to around 10.0 ppm.
9. Test and Balance the Pool Water Chemistry
Test your water about 24 hours after shocking. If the chlorine has subsided to around 3 ppm, it’s time to get your water back in balance. Use an at-home kit to test water each time you make an adjustment. The most important levels to measure are pH, total alkalinity and Calcium Hardness. The following are the levels needed for each for proper balancing:
- pH: 7.4-7.6
- Total Alkalinity: 80-120 ppm
- Calcium Hardness: 180-200 ppm
10. Run Circulation and Filtration Systems
The last step to get your pool back in shape after a storm is to run your circulation and filtration systems. Run this equipment until the water is clean, which could take up to several days. It may seem excessive to have it run that entire time, but you need to be sure you’ve removed any and all particles from the water.
Take extra care to check the skimmer baskets, the pump strainer basket and the pressure of the pool filter while running the equipment around the clock. Empty the baskets as soon as they fill up with debris, and backwash your filter if the pressure gauge reads 8–10 psi higher than the clean starting pressure.
The Take-Home Message
Hopefully, Central Florida has seen the last of hurricanes for quite a while. But major storms cutting through our area are always a possibility during hurricane season. And keep in mind that this season marked the beginning of the La Nina cycle, which usually lasts one to three years, and is marked by more frequent and intense hurricanes. Our blog post – “Hurricane Season is Here! How to Protect Your Pool and Patio” – explains this cycle in greater detail.
While we do not perform swimming pool maintenance or complex repairs, we want you, your pool and your property to be protected and safe! We look after all of your leak-related issues, be it your swimming pool, spa or fountain. We serve areas throughout Central Florida, including Orlando, Longwood, Lake Mary, Sanford, Kissimmee, Clermont and Winter Springs. Contact us for quick and reliable service.