How to clean out sunscreen from your pool

By Clark Rubber | 17th October, 2019

Slip, slop, slap… you know the drill. Protecting your skin from the sun’s harmful rays is important during the hot Australian summer, and it’s recommended we reapply sunscreen regularly when outdoors - especially after we’ve been for a swim.

Yes, sunscreen does come off in the water, an issue that household pool owners should be aware of. Whether you own a portable or above-ground pool, sunscreen runoff from swimmers will impact the water quality.

The following are some important pool care considerations:

How sunscreen affects pool water quality

When sunscreen is worn into your pool, it dissolves and reacts with chlorine and other chemicals in the water. This can lead to a chemical imbalance, causing the water to go cloudy, and swimmers may start to get skin or eye irritations.

There is no simple way to prevent this from happening. After all, householders should be putting pool chemicals in the water to keep the pool clean and swimmers should be sun-smart. However, there are ways to deal with the issues sunscreen causes as they occur.

How to clear up sunscreen in the pool

When you notice the pool water starting to go cloudy as a result of sunscreen runoff, an effective solution is to use a product like Filtrite Pool Ultra Shock Plus in conjunction with Filtrite 4 in 1 Pool Clarifier, which can completely clear up your pool water in as little six hours.

We then recommend that you clean your pool’s filter by backwashing, if it is a sand filter, or by cleaning the element in a cartridge filter.

Regular pool maintenance is important

Keeping your pool well maintained can be an ongoing job, especially if a lot of people are using your pool. Regularly cleaning out sunscreen runoff or contamination from others chemicals or debris will help make your summer more enjoyable.

If you are unsure of how to resolve a pool maintenance problem, the professionals at Clark Rubber can help. Simply bring us a sample of your pool water and we will analyse it and give our expert opinion. We can also do the work for you with our Onsite Pool Care service. Why not come by and talk to us today.