Why do I keep finding tiny brown flakes floating on the surface every morning?

[Freddie]

Every morning when I check the pool, there are small brown flakes floating on the surface. They almost look like little bits of bark or dried leaves but there’s no tree right above the pool. During the day the water stays clean but overnight the flakes show up again. I’m not sure if it’s coming from the cover the skimmer or something breaking down in the water.

 

[Zephyr]

Every morning when I check the pool, there are small brown flakes floating on the surface. They almost look like little bits of bark or dried leaves but there’s no tree right above the pool. During the day the water stays clean but overnight the flakes show up again. I’m not sure if it’s coming from the cover the skimmer or something breaking down in the water.

Those could be bugs shedding their wings overnight. During warm nights certain insects drop their wing casings and they float on the pool surface. Happens every summer at my place.

 

[Manikshaw]

Every morning when I check the pool, there are small brown flakes floating on the surface. They almost look like little bits of bark or dried leaves but there’s no tree right above the pool. During the day the water stays clean but overnight the flakes show up again. I’m not sure if it’s coming from the cover the skimmer or something breaking down in the water.

Check inside your skimmer throat. Sometimes algae or organic buildup forms there and dries out during the day. When the pump shuts off overnight, it floats back out as little flakes.

 

[Diego Rodriguez]

If it’s mostly showing up overnight, it’s often just insect “shed” that drops on warm nights and floats. But I’d also check the skimmer throat and basket, sometimes a thin algae/organic film dries out and flakes off, then when the pump shuts off overnight it floats back up. I’d clean that skimmer area first and see if it still shows up the next morning.

 

[Ashley Hernandez]

It’s usually one of two things: insect “shed” dropping on warm nights, or a thin film of gunk/algae in the skimmer throat that dries and flakes off. I’d clean the skimmer throat and basket first and see if it still shows up tomorrow.

 

[Matthew Collins]

I ran into something really similar a couple seasons ago and it drove me nuts for a week. Looked exactly like little brown paper flakes every morning, then by afternoon the pool looked totally normal again. In my case it turned out to be stuff coming out of the filter when the system first kicked on in the morning.

What was happening was my cartridge filter was a bit loaded up and when the pump shut off overnight, some of that trapped organic gunk would loosen up. When the pump started again in the morning it pushed a little bit of that fine debris back into the pool before everything settled. My filter pressure had crept up about 7 psi over the clean starting pressure and I didnt even notice at first.

After I pulled the cartridges and gave them a proper deep rinse, the flakes basically disappeared the next day. Might be worth checking your filter pressure and seeing if your morning pump cycle lines up with when those flakes appear. If your system starts early morning that could be a clue. Anyone else notice this happen right when the pump turns on?