How To Sanitize A Pool After A Fecal Matter Incident
The truth is, accidents happen in pools. Perhaps a child was so excited to be swimming they forgot to use the restroom, or perhaps someone has a medical condition that they can't control. If someone goes to the bathroom in your pool, it is important to know how to respond.
Close the Pool Right Away
As soon as you know that someone has gone to the bathroom in the pool, you need to close your pool and ask everyone to get out. You don't need to scream and yell; just calmly let everyone know that the pool is closed for a little bit and that everyone needs to get out right now. There is no need to bring extra attention to the offending party.
Clean Things Up
If the person passed fecal matter into the pool, remove all the fecal matter if you can. Put on gloves for this process; do not touch someone else's fecal matter with your hands. The best tool to use is your net. Use it to skim and scoop the waste out of the pool.
If someone urinates in your pool, you can't do anything to remove the urine.
Check the pH
Next, you need to check the pH of the pool. When someone goes to the bathroom in the pool, the pH levels of the pool are generally impacted. If the pH levels are not at the right spot, add the appropriate chemicals to balance out the pH levels.
Add Chlorine
It is now time to add some chlorine to the pool. Chlorine is going to sanitize and kill the germs that are in your pool. If the fecal matter was solid, you can use a smaller amount of chlorine. If the fecal matter was loose, you need to use more chlorine to clean the pool. If you don't have chlorine, you can use granular shock instead.
Check the Filtration
Next, you need to check the filtration system and make sure that it is operating. You need to make sure the filtration system is working properly.
Wait for Things to Stabilize
Finally, you need to wait for things to stabilize. For solid fecal matter, that should only take a few hours. For explosive fecal matter, you may need to shut the pool for an entire day.
If someone releases fecal matter in your pool, you need to get everyone out of the pool right away, and you need to clean and sanitize your pool before you let anyone back into the pool.
To learn more about pool care, contact a pool contractor.