You’re enjoying a beautiful sunny day by the pool and the clouds start to roll in - you know rain is coming! It is always a bummer when the weather gets in the way of your plans, but all storms pass eventually. Unfortunately, when a big rain storm passes over, it can leave you with cloudy pool water.

Why does rain cause cloudy pool water?

No matter if you’re in the city or a mountain vista, there are pollutants in the air. Whether from cars, pollen, dirt, or otherwise, when the rain falls down, the water traps them in its downpour. This is great for air quality, but not so great for your pool because all that rain is now in your water - yuck!

Trust us, it’s not as bad as it seems and is an easy problem to fix. Keeping your water clear after a rain storm is as simple as keeping your chemistry balanced with a few simple products.

Strom Prep

You’ve heard that prevention is the best medicine and the same goes for your pool! Keeping up with your pool's water chemistry and addressing small problems will save you from having to tackle bigger ones in the future. Your water can’t maintain perfect balance forever, there will always be slight differences occurring, but you can do your best to prepare for the next storm by balancing before it hits!

In case you forgot, these are the proper ranges to look for when testing and maintaining balanced water.

		Optimal Ranges
Total Alkalinity		80-100 ppm pH 7.4-7.6 ppm
Calcium Hardness		200-400 ppm
Cyanuric Acid		30-50 ppm
Chlorine		2.0-4.0 ppm
Phosphates		0 ppb
Total Dissolved Solids		0-2500 ppm
Metals		0 ppm

A Shocking Storm

If there is an exceptionally large storm coming your way that needs your preparation, it is a good idea to apply some shock. This will boost the chlorine in your water and act as an extra layer of defense from the pollutants that will wash into your pool.

You can also apply algaecide to hinder algae growth, which can be a particular issue in the summer. Algae can hitch a ride from the rain and grow rapidly when temps are warm and the sun comes out after the storm, so it is a great precaution to take.

After the Storm

When the weather clears, it's time to test your water again! You can refer to the same chart above to check if anything needs balancing. Pay special attention to the Total Dissolved Solids in your water, as these are the pollutants we talked about earlier.

It is also a good idea to go ahead and shock your pool again after the storm to boost up the sanitizing process.

Clear the Clouds

So, your water chemistry is balanced, shocked and you made sure to scoop out all of those leaves and debris…but your water is still cloudy. This is where a clarifier comes in!

Water clarifiers clear out the cloudiness by binding to small debris in the water and helping it pass through your pool's filter. It is easy to apply directly into the pool and takes about 48 hours to remove all the contaminants through the filtering system. Afterward, you should get back to seeing a beautifully clear pool!

Next time the clouds come in, don’t let the weather get you down! Now you know how simple it is to take care of your water chemistry and clarify your pool after the next rain storm. If you have any trouble, you can reach out to our experienced team of pool experts to help get your pool sparkling clear!