This pool had been left to sit for a long time, and it showed. The water had turned so dark it looked more like a pond than a pool. A thick layer of jacaranda petals, leaves, and debris covered the entire surface, and underneath it the water had gone black from months of algae feeding on everything that fell in. The spa was in the same shape, packed with muck and standing water that had nowhere to go. When a pool gets to this point, it is not just dirty. The whole balance of the water has collapsed, and it takes a real plan to bring it back.
We started by clearing the surface. All the petals, leaves, and floating debris had to come off before we could see what we were actually working with. Once the top was skimmed and the heavy debris was pulled from the pool and spa, we could get to the water itself. That first look told us how far gone it was. Black water like this usually means a heavy algae bloom that has taken over, and the only way through it is to attack it directly and give the equipment time to do its job.
From there we shocked the pool hard and got the water moving. As the chlorine took hold, the black started to break down into a deep green, which is exactly what you want to see early on. Green means the algae is dying off and lifting into the water where the filter can grab it. We kept the system running, brushed the walls and floor to knock loose everything clinging to the plaster, and stayed on top of the chemistry so the treatment did not stall out halfway through.
Day by day the color kept climbing back toward normal. The deep green faded to a lighter green, then to a cloudy teal as the dead algae got pulled out and the water started to clear from the bottom up. This is the slow part of any recovery like this. It takes patience, steady brushing, and constant filtering to move from murky to clear, and rushing it only sets you back. We backwashed and cleaned the filter as it loaded up with everything it was pulling out of the water.
By the end the pool was back to a clean, clear blue, and the spa was sitting clear right alongside it. What started as a black, abandoned mess was swimmable again. A recovery like this is proof that most green pools are not lost causes. With the right treatment and someone willing to see it through, even the worst looking water can come back. If your pool has turned green or gone neglected over the season, Aqualux Pool Care brings green pools back to life across San Jacinto and the greater San Jacinto Valley, CA. Call us and we will get your water clear again.
