Wet Weather Pool Care: What to Do After It Rains

Parts of the NSW Central and South Coasts are currently being battered by a powerful coastal low, bringing damaging winds, flash flooding, and torrential rainfall. Over 130mm of rain has fallen in some suburbs overnight.

Amid these extreme conditions, it’s easy to forget about pool care, but your pool water may already be under stress. Heavy rain and debris can throw your water chemistry into chaos, damage equipment, and leave you with murky or green water once the skies clear.

Here’s how to keep your pool in top condition through the rainy days ahead.

Why Rain Affects Your Pool

Rainwater may seem harmless, but it’s far from “pure.” When it lands in your pool, it introduces:

• Contaminants and debris from the air and surrounding landscape
  
  
• Water that dilutes pool chemicals, especially chlorine, salt, buffer and hardness
  
  
• Phosphates and pollutants from runoff of nearby gardens or hard surfaces
  
  

The result? Your pool’s chemistry becomes unbalanced, and the water starts looking murky or worse, green.

Post-Rain Pool Recovery: Step-by-Step

Whether it was a light shower or a heavy downpour, here’s what to do to bring your pool back to health:

1. Skim, Brush, and Vacuum

Rain tends to wash in leaves, dirt, and other debris. Start by:

• Skimming the surface with baskets fitted out with Baracuda Filter Sox
  
  
• Brushing the pool walls and steps with Baracuda brushes for your every need
  
  
• Vacuuming the pool floor with a rechargeable Baracuda Smart Vac

This prevents build-up and reduces organic material that could fuel algae growth.

2. Empty Your Skimmer Box and Pump Baskets and Clean Your Filter.

Remove leaves and other debris from your skimmer box and pump baskets. 

Rainwater brings in fine particles that can clog your filter, which will need cleaning. 

If you have:

• A cartridge filter: remove and rinse it thoroughly
  
  
• A sand or DE filter: perform a backwash cycle
  

A clean filter and pump basket ensures optimal circulation and helps clear cloudy water faster. Use Baracuda Filter Cleaner & Degreaser for a deep clean of built up oils and grime.

3. Test and Rebalance Pool Chemistry

Rain dilutes essential chemicals like chlorine and disrupts pH and alkalinity. After a storm, we recommend testing your pool water using Baracuda test strips to adjust and balance chemicals back to optimal levels. Start by using Baracuda 6-in-1 Test Strips with the Baracuda SmartDose App to determine your pool’s water chemistry post-rain.

Next, we recommend using:

• Chlorine: Top it up your pool’s chlorine levels to between 1–3 ppm using Baracuda Triple Action Chlorine. In salt pools, check Salt levels to ensure the chlorinator is running optimally.
  
• Balancer Chemicals: Adjust pH levels to 7.2–7.6 with Baracuda Dry Acid to lower the pH and Total Alkalinity of your pool, or Baracuda Soda Ash, to increase pool water pH levels.
• Alkalinity: Keep pool water levels between 80–120 ppm using Baracuda Buffer, which helps raise Total Alkalinity in your pool.
  

Balancing these chemicals helps stabilise your pool’s water and prevent unwanted nasties like bacteria and algae from taking hold.

4. Shock the Pool

If the water is cloudy, or you suspect a drop in sanitation, we recommend shocking your pool with Baracuda Xtreme Shock treatment. This kills bacteria, oxidises contaminants, and gives your water a fresh start.

Make sure to:

• Follow dosage instructions
  
• Run your pump for at least 8 hours to circulate the shock treatment
  

5. Remove Phosphates

If your pool is prone to going green after rain, you may have high phosphate levels, a key food source for algae. Baracuda Phosphate Remover helps eliminate this, and prevents future blooms.

6. Use a Flocculant (If Needed)

Still seeing cloudy water after treatment? Add Baracuda Liquid Flocculant to bind tiny particles together. These will settle at the bottom, ready to be vacuumed out. This is especially useful after large storms with a lot of runoff.

Prevention Is Better Than Cure

You can’t stop the rain, but you can prepare your pool for extreme weather occurrences by:

• Keeping your chemicals balanced, especially during the wetter months
• Trimming overhanging trees to reduce leaf litter
• Checking your pool cover (if you use one) for damage or pooling water
• Maintaining your filtration system for peak performance
  

Being proactive will make post-rain recovery much easier, and your pool safer to swim in.

Conclusion

Seasonal rain showers don’t have to derail your pool enjoyment. With a solid maintenance routine and a few quick actions after a storm, your pool can stay clean, clear, and swim-ready.

Need help choosing the right products for rainy weather pool care? Our Baracuda pool care experts have got you covered.