Pool water troubleshooter
Describe what your water is doing in your own words. An AI assistant, briefed with CDC guidance and this site’s calculators, suggests the likely cause, the fix and what to test.
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Try an example:
Diagnosis
Your answer will appear here. Meanwhile, the quick guide below covers the six most common problems.
AI answers can be wrong. Test before you treat, follow labels, and never mix chemicals. Your text is sent to an AI model via Vercel AI Gateway and not stored.
Quick guide to common problems
| Symptom | Usual cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Cloudy water | Low chlorine for your CYA, high pH/calcium, or poor filtration. | Test FC & CYA → raise FC to target → run filter 24 h → clean filter if pressure is high. Calculator |
| Green water | Algae: chlorine fell below ~7.5% of CYA. | Brush, then shock to ~40% of CYA and hold until clear and CC ≤ 0.5. Calculator |
| Strong chlorine smell, red eyes | Combined chlorine (chloramines), or pH far off. | Test total vs free chlorine; shock if CC > 0.5; check pH. Calculator |
| White scale at waterline | Scale-forming water: high LSI (pH, calcium, TA or temp). | Check LSI; lower pH and TA; dilute if calcium is very high. Calculator |
| Chlorine disappears overnight | Algae or organics consuming it, or no stabilizer outdoors. | Overnight chlorine loss test; if > 1 ppm, shock. Add CYA if it’s zero. Calculator |
| pH keeps climbing | CO₂ outgassing: high TA, aeration, salt cell. | Lower TA toward 60–80 ppm; reduce waterfalls when not in use. Calculator |
Questions pool owners ask
Why is my pool cloudy?
The most common causes are chlorine too low for your stabilizer level (early algae), high pH with high calcium (calcium carbonate clouding), and a filter that isn’t running long enough or needs cleaning. Test free chlorine, CYA and pH first.
Why is my pool green even with chlorine?
Usually free chlorine is too low relative to stabilizer, so the chlorine present works too slowly. At 80 ppm CYA you need at least about 6 ppm FC to keep algae away. Shock to about 40% of CYA and hold it there until the water clears.
Why does my pool smell strongly of chlorine?
A strong “chlorine” smell usually means combined chlorine (chloramines), not too much chlorine. Test total and free chlorine; if the difference is above about 0.5 ppm, shock the pool.
Is the AI answer safe to follow?
The assistant is instructed with CDC ranges and never to recommend mixing chemicals, and it points you to the calculators for exact doses. It can still be wrong. Always test first, follow product labels, and call a pool professional for anything electrical, gas-related or structural.