Pool Chemical Problems and How to Fix Them

Nathaniel Perez

Nathaniel Perez

Member
Could you explain in detail the issues you’ve experienced with pool chemicals (such as cloudy water, skin irritation, or strong chlorine smell), the possible causes, and the steps or dosage adjustments you’ve found effective to fix them?
 
At first, I often dealt with cloudy water, itchy skin, and a strong chlorine smell in the pool. The causes varied from unbalanced pH/alkalinity and high chlorine levels to chloramine buildup.
Once I started testing the water regularly, keeping pH between 7.2–7.6, cleaning the filter, and doing a shock treatment when the chlorine smell appeared, those problems became much less frequent.
 
I ran into an issue once where the pool water looked crystal clear but swimmers kept getting red eyes and dry skin. Turned out the calcium hardness was way out of balance. I had been so focused on pH and chlorine that I overlooked it. After slowly bringing calcium back into range with the right additive, the irritation pretty much disappeared.

Another odd one was a faint foamy layer that wouldn’t go away. I later learned it was from sunscreen and body oils mixing with low sanitizer levels. A couple of enzyme treatments plus upping circulation cleared it within a day or two.

What I’ve noticed is a lot of these problems don’t just come from “too much chlorine” but from the smaller details, like stabilizer (CYA) being too high or hardness being ignored. Once I started checking the full panel instead of just pH/chlorine, things got way easier to manage.
 
I’ve had something similar happen before! The pool water looked clear, but my eyes were getting red and my skin was dry. Turned out the calcium hardness was off. After adding calcium and adjusting the pH, the issue disappeared. So, it’s really important to check all the details!
 
Harper Clark said:
At first, I often dealt with cloudy water, itchy skin, and a strong chlorine smell in the pool. The causes varied from unbalanced pH/alkalinity and high chlorine levels to chloramine buildup.
Once I started testing the water regularly, keeping pH between 7.2–7.6, cleaning the filter, and doing a shock treatment when the chlorine smell appeared, those problems became much less frequent.
Click to expand...
Thanks for sharing your experience! I’ll definitely focus on balancing the pH and cleaning the filter more regularly to avoid similar issues.
 
Jason Bennett said:
I ran into an issue once where the pool water looked crystal clear but swimmers kept getting red eyes and dry skin. Turned out the calcium hardness was way out of balance. I had been so focused on pH and chlorine that I overlooked it. After slowly bringing calcium back into range with the right additive, the irritation pretty much disappeared.

Another odd one was a faint foamy layer that wouldn’t go away. I later learned it was from sunscreen and body oils mixing with low sanitizer levels. A couple of enzyme treatments plus upping circulation cleared it within a day or two.

What I’ve noticed is a lot of these problems don’t just come from “too much chlorine” but from the smaller details, like stabilizer (CYA) being too high or hardness being ignored. Once I started checking the full panel instead of just pH/chlorine, things got way easier to manage.
Click to expand...
Thanks for sharing your experience! I’ll make sure to check more than just pH and chlorine levels to avoid missing the smaller details.
 
Lily Allen said:
I’ve had something similar happen before! The pool water looked clear, but my eyes were getting red and my skin was dry. Turned out the calcium hardness was off. After adding calcium and adjusting the pH, the issue disappeared. So, it’s really important to check all the details!
Click to expand...
Thanks for sharing your experience! I’ll definitely pay closer attention to calcium hardness and other details to avoid similar issues.
 
I’ve run into a few of these issues too. For me, the most common problems were cloudy water and that strong chlorine smell. Usually it came down to pH and alkalinity being a little off or the filter needing a clean. I also noticed that if the stabilizer (CYA) was too high, chlorine didn’t work as effectively, which caused some lingering odors.

A few things that helped me:
  • Test the full panel regularly—pH, chlorine, alkalinity, calcium, and stabilizer.
  • Keep pH around 7.2–7.6 and chlorine at the recommended level.
  • Shock the pool if there’s a strong chlorine smell or after heavy use.
  • Make sure the filter is clean and running long enough for proper circulation.
  • For foamy water, a quick enzyme treatment plus brushing and extra circulation usually clears it.
Once I started checking all the details and not just chlorine/pH, the water stayed clear, and skin/eye irritation was minimal.
 
I had an issue where foam formed along the waterline, and it wasn’t going away despite regular shocking. After some research, I realized it was from a combination of old sunscreen residues and low circulation near the surface. Brushing the walls, running the jets longer, and adding a small enzyme treatment cleared it up quickly. Now I try to keep circulation more even and ask swimmers to rinse off before getting in.
 
Had this happen a while back, pool looked crystal clear, but everyone’s eyes were burning and it smelled like way too much chlorine. I figured I overdid it, but turns out it was the opposite. The chlorine wasn’t working right because I hadn’t shocked the pool in ages, so all the used-up chlorine (chloramines) built up. Gave it a good shock, ran the pump overnight, and the smell disappeared.

Another time my stabilizer was through the roof from using too many chlorine tablets. The chlorine basically stopped doing its job. Ended up draining part of the pool and switching to liquid chlorine for a bit, that fixed it fast.

Now I just test the water properly once a week and rinse out the filter. Haven’t had a single issue since.
 
I ran into cloudy water and a strong chlorine smell last summer, and at first, I thought I was just over-chlorinating. Turns out, the problem was chloramine buildup from not shocking the pool often enough and running short filter cycles. After doing a proper shock treatment and letting the pump run overnight, the smell disappeared and the water cleared up fast.

Later, I noticed swimmers getting mild skin irritation even though the water looked perfect. The culprit was low alkalinity, once I brought it back into range with a pH buffer, everything balanced out. Now I test all levels weekly, not just chlorine and pH, and clean the filter more consistently. Since then, no cloudy water or irritation at all.
 
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