Sydney just copped 100mm overnight. You wake up, look outside, and your pool looks like a murky pond.
Leaves everywhere. Water overflowing. That crystal clear water from yesterday? Gone.
Here’s what you need to do right now to prevent bigger problems later.
Don’t Panic (But Don’t Wait Either)
First things first. Assess the damage before you start throwing chemicals around.
Safety check before anything else:
✓ Turn off pool equipment at the breaker
✓ Check for obvious electrical damage
✓ Look for fallen branches or debris that could damage equipment
✓ If any electrical equipment was submerged, don’t turn it on (call a pro)
Once you’ve confirmed it’s safe, you can start the cleanup.
The Biggest Mistake Pool Owners Make
Here it comes. You’re thinking about draining the pool, right?
Don’t.
Seriously. Don’t drain your pool after flooding or heavy rain. Empty pools can literally pop out of the ground when the surrounding soil is saturated. Thousands of dollars in structural damage.
If your water level is too high, remove excess water using your filter’s waste setting or a submersible pump. Get it back to normal skimmer level. That’s it.
Step One: Remove the Obvious Stuff
Before chemicals. Before testing. Before anything else. Get the big stuff out.
Your debris removal checklist:
- Skim the surface (leaves, branches, whatever blew in)
- Empty skimmer baskets (probably overflowing)
- Clean pump basket
- Remove any larger debris by hand if needed
This takes 15 minutes. Skip it and you’ll clog your filter, overwork your pump, and waste money on chemicals trying to treat water full of organic matter.
Leaves sitting on the bottom will stain your pool surface. Get them out while they’re still fresh.
Step Two: Check Your Equipment
Sydney storms can damage pool equipment. Better to find out now than when you turn everything back on.
Quick equipment inspection:
→ Filter pressure gauge (high pressure means you need to backwash)
→ Pump for obvious cracks or damage
→ Salt cell for problems
→ Timer settings (power surges reset these)
→ Chlorinator function
If your chlorinator got damaged, you can temporarily use floating chlorine tablets while you arrange repairs. Not ideal long term, but it keeps the pool from going green.
Step Three: Deal With Muddy Water
If your pool looks like chocolate milk, you’ve got suspended dirt and mud. Regular filtration won’t clear this.
For muddy pools, use flocculant:
- Add floc according to package directions
- Run pump for 2 hours to distribute
- Turn pump off for 24 to 48 hours
- Sediment drops to bottom
- Vacuum directly to waste (bypass filter)
This clears muddy water fast. Trying to filter it normally just clogs everything.
Step Four: Test Your Water
Rain dilutes everything. Your chlorine is probably low. Your pH is probably off. Rain is naturally acidic, so it drops pH levels.
Test these immediately:
- pH (should be 7.2 to 7.6)
- Chlorine (needs to be 1 to 3 ppm minimum)
- Alkalinity (keeps pH stable)
- Calcium hardness (if you had flooding)
Don’t guess. Test properly. Take your sample from elbow depth, not the surface. Surface water doesn’t represent what’s happening in your pool.
Step Five: Balance Your Chemicals
Once you know where your levels are, fix them in the right order.
Chemical balancing sequence:
1. Alkalinity first (80 to 120 ppm)
This stabilizes your pH
2. pH second (7.2 to 7.6)
Use pH increaser or decreaser as needed
3. Calcium hardness (200 to 400 ppm)
Especially important after flooding
4. Chlorine last (maintain 1 to 3 ppm)
Don’t shock until everything else is balanced
Why this order? Because alkalinity affects pH. pH affects how well chlorine works. Get the foundation right first.
Step Six: Shock Your Pool
After heavy rain, your pool picked up contaminants. Bacteria. Algae spores. Organic matter from gardens and gutters. Phosphates that feed algae.
Time to shock.
When to shock:
- Evening is best (sun breaks down chlorine)
- After chemical levels are balanced
- When pH is in range (chlorine works better)
How much to shock:
- Aim for 10 ppm free chlorine
- Follow product directions
- Run pump continuously for at least 24 hours after shocking
Post-storm pool recovery needs aggressive treatment. This isn’t your regular maintenance shock. You’re killing everything that blew in overnight.
Step Seven: Run Your Filter Hard
After shocking, your filter needs to work overtime.
Run it continuously for 24 to 48 hours. Not your normal 6 hours. Not 12 hours. Full time until the water clears.
Monitor filter pressure:
- Backwash sand filters when pressure rises
- Clean cartridge filters when needed
- Don’t let high pressure damage your system
Clean filters work efficiently. Dirty filters just move dirty water around.
What About Green Water?
Sometimes you don’t catch it fast enough. Now you’ve got green water.
For green pools:
- Brush the walls and floor
- Add algaecide
- Shock heavily (double or triple dose)
- Run filter continuously
- Vacuum to waste once algae dies
Green pools take several days to recover. Acting fast after storms prevents this.
The Phosphate Problem
Rain brings phosphates. Phosphates feed algae. Even after clearing water, lingering phosphates trigger algae blooms weeks later.
Use phosphate remover after storm cleanup. Pool Boys includes this in our storm recovery service because we prevent problems, not just react to them.
How Long Until You Can Swim?
After all this work, when is it safe?
Wait until:
- Water is clear (can see the bottom)
- Chemical levels are balanced
- Chlorine is between 1 to 3 ppm
- pH is between 7.2 and 7.6
- At least 24 hours after shocking
Rushing this risks skin irritation, eye problems, or swimming in water that’s not properly sanitized.
When DIY Becomes Too Much
Look, cleaning a pool after a storm takes time. Hours of work. Multiple days of monitoring. Constant testing and adjusting.
Most Sydney pool owners don’t enjoy this process and would rather not spend their weekend dealing with dirty pool water.
Call professionals for post-storm pool recovery if:
- Your pool is completely muddy or flooded
- The equipment got damaged during the storm
- You’ve tried DIY and water won’t clear
- You don’t have time for days of intensive treatment
- You want it done right the first time
Pool Boys specialises in how to clean a pool after Sydney storms hit hard. We handle everything from debris removal to chemical balancing. Fixed-fee service. No surprise costs.
Prevention for Next Time
Sydney gets storms regularly.
Before the next big rain:
→ Lower water level slightly
→ Remove loose items
→ Clean skimmer and pump baskets
→ Consider shocking beforehand
Can’t prevent rain. But you can minimise cleanup.
Your Pool Deserves Better Than Emergency Fixes
Post-storm pool recovery is reactive. Regular maintenance is proactive.
Pool Boys keeps your pool balanced year-round, so storms don’t create disasters. We handle weekly testing, chemical balancing, and equipment checks. When Sydney gets hit with heavy rain, our clients don’t panic.
We service the eastern suburbs, inner west, south Sydney, and north shore. Professional pool cleaning Sydney services that actually prevent problems.
Ready to stop dealing with dirty pool water after every storm?
Get a QuoteSet it, forget it, swim even after the storm.
