What will cut the cooking oil that was spilled in a swimming pool?

Question

My daughter thought putting cooking oil on a slide would me her slide down better. She put a 24 oz. bottle of cooling oil on the slide which when into the swimming pool and around the deck. HELP PLEASE. Will this harm the pools pump>>

Answer 1

Don't panic. Go to a pool store and get a bottle of enzymes made by Natural Chemistry. They will digest the oil and turn it to smoke. It is designed to remove body oils and suntan lotions. Works like a wonder drug.

Answer 2

Pool guy here. Don't use any form of soap. I've seen someone do this and the results aren't funny, at least not to the owner. No it won't hurt the pump, but may have an impact on a cartrige filter or DE filter, requiring them to be cleaned daily until the last of the oil is gone using the method I will explain in a minute. If it's a sand filter, don't worry, they only filter to 40 microns and the oil will pass through and not clog it.
I saw someone had suggested a product called Pool Perfect, in this case it will work fairly well, but it's priced like gold and will still take some time and elbow grease.
There's a very simple solution that works well with any oil (cooking or sunbathing). Take a clean, cheap sponge and put it in your skimmer basket. Just let it float around in there. Every day replace that sponge (or wring it out the very best you can) with a new one until it no longer has oil in it or you don't see oil on the pool surface. Every chance you get, give the pool sides a scrub, oil will be adhering there ( will look like a black ring around the pool at the water's surface). The size of the spill will likely take just a week or less to deal with
That's it.
You can go to a pool store and get the funky sponge ball, but any sponge will do.
Now...I think I've heard them all , greasing up a slide, lol.
Cheers

Answer 3

That is a lot of oil.
It won't hurt the pump, but it might clog the filter though.
Dawn will cut the oil but will suds like crazy!
Over filling the pool and letting the oil float off is one way.
Sucking off the top with a wet vac is another. Be careful.
If you have a complete system, probably the best way is the direct the skimmer flow to the drain (sewer) bypassing the filter and continuous fill the pool until the amount of oil is manageable.

Answer 4

It shouldn't harm the pump. Go to an industrial supply store and buy those special rags that only soak up oil. Turn your pump off, let the oil float to the top, place the oil eating rags on top of the water and let them soak it up. Once the oil is gone, you should be back in business

Answer 5

The smartest thing you can do is drain the pool and clean with dish soap but before doing so consult a pool specialist they may have a chemical that will cut through that without having to drain the pool. Good Luck

Answer 6

dawn dishwashing liquid cuts any oil