The Bold Mold

Slowly, it creeps through our liners. It starts as a little brownish-black stain then it gradually grows to cover larger and larger areas and sometimes it takes over the entire bottom!

What is it exactly and why is it there? Where did it come from? These are some of the questions scientists are now trying to answer. What we know right now is that it is becoming an increasingly troublesome problem which is spreading to more and more areas of the country. Otherwise known as "bleed through", this process affects vinyl lined pools. Bleed through occurs when mold in the soil beneath the pool seeps into the porous liner and leaves a discoloration. It is most common in the southern states where the soil is damp, but it has been becoming increasingly more obvious in the northeastern states as well, especially after an unusually warm winter. It is easy to misdiagnose. The best known treatment to date is Shock Treatment. It doesn't kill it or eliminate it but it does hide it temporarily and routine shocking and higher chlorine levels could make it unnoticeable.

These mysterious brownish-black stains are found mostly on pool bottoms. The stains are not from inferior material, bad installations, or improper water chemistry. The problem is the attack by one of several opportunistic species of mold. These molds thrive in moist ground. They occur more frequently after a mild winter when there hasn't been enough of a frost to fully kill mold spores in the ground and, of course, during or following a wet season or if you happen to be experiencing a leak in your pool causing the ground to be wet. They effect both inground and above ground pools. Pools that have been in the ground twenty years and never been effected can get attacked by mold.

Don't be fooled thinking you have a chemical problem. Whether you use chlorine, Pristine Blue, ionization mineral purification, biguanides, or any other type of sanitation, your pool can get stained by mold. It's not anything that you are doing wrong, it just happens. There are no stain removers, algaecides, or any other specific solutions to eliminate it to date. The only common known treatment from coast to coast is maintaining higher chlorine levels which basically bleach out the stains. Unfortunately, what it also does in the long run, is that this process shortens the life of your liner when treated continuously.

The problem is that the stain isn't coming from inside the pool, it's coming from the outside, from the soil. The good news is that based on studies performed, the pigments excreted by these organisms are soluble in vinyl but the pigment is completely harmless to swimmers and really doesn't do anything to the vinyl other than make it look bad. Once you get the mold doesn't mean that you'll always have the mold. Some years are worse than others. Remember, it is worse when the ground is wet. So . . . rain, rain, go away!

As mentioned, studies are being performed. Certain types of mold have been found and documented and solutions are being worked on. As soon as the solution hits the public, Family Pools will bring it to your doorstep! Until then, do a little sun dance.