Wildfire Smoke & Ash Can Impact Pool Water

Wondering how to manage your pool after a wildfire? With wildfire smoke and ash once again affecting parts of Illinois, it’s a good time to look at how airborne contaminants can create additional challenges for pool maintenance.

Ash and smoke can introduce contaminants that increase sanitizer demand, raise pH levels, contribute to phosphate buildup, and place extra strain on filtration systems. In this article, we look at how you can handle your pool. First, we start with a quick overview, then we look at the problem in depth.

You can always bring us a water sample for testing and contact us for expert advice!

Overview of What to Do

✅ Test Water More Frequently

• Ash from vegetation can increase pH, making it harder for chlorine to work effectively.
• Maintain pH between 7.4–7.6 and monitor free chlorine closely.
• Monitor the pool for elevated pH and difficulty maintaining free chlorine residual caused by the introduction of debris and ash.

✅ Maintain Sanitizer Levels

• Pools may require additional shocking to overcome increased chlorine demand.
• Consider products such as Shock Complete, Smart Shock®, BurnOut® 3, or BurnOut® 73 when chlorine residuals become difficult to maintain.

✅ Watch Phosphate Levels

• Ash can introduce phosphorus into the water, increasing the risk of algae growth.
• Test phosphates regularly and recommend Zero Phos® when needed.

✅ Stay Proactive with Algae Prevention

• Maintaining weekly algaecide applications like Algae Complete can help prevent problems if sanitizer levels become stressed. You can even add initial doses again (8oz per 10,000 gallons) as levels become depleted this time of year.

✅ Give the Filter Extra Attention

• Run the filtration system continuously when possible.
• Monitor pressure gauges and clean or backwash filters more frequently as debris accumulates. It’s a great time to chemically clean your filters with Strip Kwik and/or Kleen It!

✅ Keep Water Clear

• Pool Complete® Weekly helps support water clarity and phosphate management.
• If your water becomes cloudy, products such as Pool Complete® 911 or Polysheen® Blue can help restore clarity. Make sure to remove visible debris and stay diligent with testing and maintenance during periods of heavy smoke or ash exposure. Skim Mor socks help remove some precipitate as well!

In Depth Look at What to Do

✅ Test water and keep up with balance, sanitization, and disinfection

When safe to do so, and if possible, remove any visible debris from your pool. As always, test the pool water frequently. Ash coming from trees and vegetation contains large amounts of carbon, making it highly alkaline, which can radically increase the pH. High pH environments are not ideal for maintaining adequate free chlorine. When chlorine is added to water, hypochlorous acid (HOCl), the killing form of chlorine needed to disinfect and sanitize, is generated. It is especially important to keep pH between 7.4 and 7. so that enough HOCl is present. When the pH rises above 7.6, more hypochlorite (-OCl) is formed, reducing chlorine’s ability to disinfect. Use Lo ‘n Slo to reduce pH to 7.4-7.6 when possible.

It will be important to maintain a free chlorine residual. The pool may need to be shocked more often if the free chlorine residual keeps dropping. Shock regularly with Smart Shock, BurnOut 3 or BurnOut 73. Chlorine demands are possible, so heavy chlorination may be necessary to destroy contaminants enough for the residual to be maintained for at least 48 hours. Oxysheen may be needed if combined chlorine readings are excessive.

In addition to carbon, ash also contains magnesium, calcium, and phosphorus. Being mindful of total hardness and orthophosphate will also be important for keeping water properly balanced. With potentially higher pH environments and added calcium, calcium scaling is possible. Scale Inhibitor may be needed to prevent carbonate scaling on surfaces. Be sure to keep an eye on orthophosphate levels. Use Zero Phos, (previously known as Pool Juice Zero), if the phosphate level exceeds 500 ppb, and continue to maintain with Pool Complete Weekly.

✅ Be sure to keep up with preventative algicides.

Since it may be a challenge to maintain the free chlorine residual, algae prevention will also be difficult. Be sure to apply Algae Complete, Banish, Back Up 2, or Algae All 60 at least weekly. More may be needed if early growth is observed. More brushing may be needed to keep any grime or dirt from building up on pool surfaces.

✅ Filtration & Troubleshooting

Be sure to continuously operate your filter and monitor the filter pressure gauge for any increases. Backwashing or chemically cleaning may be needed more often for heavily soiled pools.

If water balance is properly maintained and an adequate sanitizer residual is established and maintained, troubleshooting products can also come in handy to keep contaminants filtering away. Pool Complete Weekly (formerly known as Pool Juice Weekly) can be used weekly to keep water clear as contaminants are introduced and phosphate levels low. The enzyme package within can help target any waste introduced from vegetation. Skim-mor is an excellent way to screen debris from the surface to reduce physical accumulation on the filter so the circulation is not heavily impacted.

If water becomes cloudy, Pool Complete 911 (Pool Juice 911) or Polysheen Blue can be used to quickly restore the water to its clear state. Always monitor the filter pressure after clarifier usage and clean when pressure increases by more than 10 PSI. For pools that can be vacuumed to waste, PowerFloc can be used.