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Green to Clean Recovery
Algae bloom after a rainy week. Hurricane debris. Vacation neglect. Whatever turned your water green, we run a guaranteed seven-day green pool cleanup process and back it with the Sundays Promise: if you are not swimming by day seven, we keep working at no extra charge.
How green is yours?
We will not quote until we have eyes on the pool. But the closest swatch tells you which tier you are looking at and how the recovery probably plays out.
Probably no recovery needed
If the water is already clear, a green-to-clean recovery is the wrong service. Save the cleanup budget. Look at our weekly pool cleaning service instead. Most homeowners we onboard at this stage stay clear from there forward, no recovery ever needed.
Mild tier · $150 to $300 · 3 to 4 days
One shock treatment, one filter cleaning, two or three visits, and the water comes back. We test the chemistry on day one and tell you what caused the drop, so the same thing does not happen again next month.
Moderate tier · $300 to $600 · 5 to 7 days
Two or three shocks, two filter cleans, a brush-and-vacuum pass, and a chemistry rebalance. Daily progress photos sent to your phone. Most pools at this severity are swimmable by Saturday of the same week we start.
Severe tier · $600 to $950 · 7 to 10 days
Three shocks, three filter cleans, sometimes a vacuum-to-waste run if dead algae piles up on the floor. We diagnose the algae type on day one (green, mustard, black, or pink), each of which has its own kill protocol. Worth the patience.
Drain + acid wash · $1,200+ · 10 to 14 days
If chlorine and filtration cannot reach the water in the pool you have, the right move is a partial drain and acid wash before recovery starts. Starts at $1,200 and scales with pool size, plaster condition, and waste-haul access. We give you a written breakdown at the day-one assessment of why the standard cleanup will not work and exactly what the drain protocol covers.
Not sure which one matches? Text a photo to (941) 414-1720 and Sam will tell you the tier himself within an hour.
The process, day by day
Most green pool cleanup in Sarasota is sold as "we will see what we can do." That is not a process. This is.
We arrive on the same day you book. We test free chlorine, combined chlorine, pH, total alkalinity, calcium hardness, cyanuric acid, and phosphates. We identify the algae type (green, mustard, black, or pink) because each one has a different kill protocol. You get a written diagnosis and the recovery timeline before we leave.
We hit the pool with the right shock dose for the algae type. We brush every accessible surface to break up algae colonies attached to the wall, including behind ladders and skimmer baskets. The pump runs 24 hours from this point forward.
The filter is now clogged with dead algae. We pull and clean the cartridges (or backwash the DE/sand filter). pH and alkalinity get a balance pass. You will see the water shift from dark green to cloudy gray. That is progress.
Dead algae settles to the floor. We vacuum it out to waste so it never re-enters the filter. The water level drops about an inch and gets refilled. Visibility on the pool floor returns for the first time.
We add a clarifier or floc to capture remaining suspended particles. The filter gets a second cleaning. The water moves from cloudy gray to faint blue. We brush again. Daily progress photos are sent to your phone.
Free chlorine is brought back to a swimmable range. Stabilizer is checked. Salt cell or chlorinator is reset. We confirm chemistry meets Florida Department of Health pool guidelines. The pool looks ready, but we do one more pass before signing off.
Sam walks the pool with you. You get a printed chemistry log, a 30-day algae return guarantee in writing, and a free first-week of weekly maintenance if you choose to continue with us. If the water is not swim-ready, we keep working until it is.
What is included
Our green pool cleanup in Sarasota is a single flat-rate service. The price you see at the day-one assessment is the price you pay, even if recovery takes nine days instead of seven.
"Most companies say green to clean is one big number. We say it is seven small wins. Day one is a real diagnosis. Day seven is a swim. Every day in between earns its own progress photo. That is the standard." Samuel Michaels, Owner
Transparent pricing
We do not quote until we have eyes on the pool. The ranges below are honest pricing for the recoveries we typically run across Sarasota, Bradenton, Venice, North Port, and Lakewood Ranch.
Mild
$150to $300
Light green tint. Pool floor still visible. Chemistry off but not severe. Usually 3 to 4 days to clear.
Moderate
$300to $600
Visible algae growth on walls and floor. Floor partially obscured. Usually 5 to 7 days to clear. The most common case.
Severe
$600to $950
Dark green water. Floor not visible. Black or mustard algae present. Usually 7 to 10 days to clear.
Drain + acid wash
$1,200and up
Black water, plaster heavily stained, or pool stagnant for months. Partial drain, acid-wash the surface, refill, then balance. Usually 10 to 14 days end-to-end. See the acid wash process →
Every recovery starts with a $65 day-one site assessment, fully credited toward the cost of the recovery if you book the work. See the CDC pool chemistry guidelines for context on why severely contaminated water sometimes needs a fresh fill.
Pool acid wash Sarasota
Some pools are past the point chlorine and a brush can save. Plaster has been stained for years. Calcium has built into the surface. The water keeps drifting back to ugly no matter what you dose. That is the case acid wash exists for. It removes a hair-thin layer of the plaster and takes the years of staining with it. Before you scroll, try the surface below.
Fresh plaster
Just resurfaced. Surface is bright, smooth, free of stain or calcium scale.
Hold weekly chemistry. Acid wash isn't on the radar yet.
Plaster ages on a curve. Most pools hit their first acid wash around year 9 to 12 and can take roughly three to five washes total before the surface is too thin to recover. Drag the slider above to see what each stage actually looks like; the recommendations on the right are what Sam would tell you at the door.
The acid wash process
An acid wash takes about a working week from drain start to swim-ready. We tell you the timeline at the assessment so you can plan around it.
Sam reads the plaster condition, looks for cracks or hollows that could open up under acid, and confirms whether your pool is actually a candidate. We open the hydrostatic relief valve, drop a submersible pump, and start the drain. Drain time is 12 to 18 hours on most residential pools.
We rinse loose debris off the dry plaster, then apply diluted muriatic acid (10:1) section by section, starting at the deep end and working up. Every square foot gets an acid brush, neutralized as we go, with the dilution refreshed any time the surface fizzes white. The acid eats the calcium, the staining, and the very top layer of plaster all at once.
Heavy rinse with clean water plus a soda-ash neutralizer. We pump the wastewater out to a code-approved drain. Spot-check the surface for stubborn stains and re-treat them. Then we open the hose and start the refill (we factor your municipal water rate into the quote so the number you see is the number you pay).
Refill takes 18 to 24 hours on most pools. We come back when the water hits the skimmer line, get the chemistry right, and run the equipment to confirm everything works under load. By day 7 most pools are swim-ready and looking like a different pool than the one that started.
Lawyer mode for a second. Acid wash is the right answer for a lot of plaster pools, and it is the wrong answer for some. Here is the honest line.
Not sure if your pool's a candidate? Book the $65 site assessment. Sam reads the plaster in person before we quote anything.
Why pick Sundays for the recovery
Same crew through the whole recovery. Photo updates every day, not weekly. Standards Sam built on Beverly Hills pools, applied to yours.
Big pool companies rotate techs through your route. Yours could be a different person every visit, none of whom know your equipment. We assign a single technician to your pool. They learn the pump, the gate latch, and the dog's name.
Most pool services are a black box: the water is somehow clean, an invoice arrives at the end of the month. With us, you get a photo and the full chemistry numbers every visit. Trust by default, not on faith.
Including pool work for celebrity homes in Los Angeles before moving home to Florida. The standards he learned on a $500,000 pool in Beverly Hills are the same standards he holds on a $20,000 pool in Bradenton.
Pool people work every day of the year, and most never see their kids on a weekend. Samuel built this company so his crew gets one real day with their families. You get six days of crystal-clear care, plus a weekend to enjoy it.
If your water is not swim-ready by the weekend, we come back Monday at no extra charge until it is. No invoices for any service that did not deliver clear water. We stand on the work.
From real Gulf Coast homes
Two of Sam's Google reviewers, named so you can verify them yourself.
★★★★★
Sundays Pools does great work! Easy to get a hold of and actually calls back. His pool repair is reliable and his pool light and equipment installation is well worth it and priced very well. I would definitely recommend him to anyone looking for a reliable, truthful pool repair and maintenance work.
★★★★★
Had an outstanding experience with Sundays Pools. From start to finish, Sam was incredibly responsive. Sam's knowledge and expertise really stood out. It is rare to find someone that combines professionalism with a genuine willingness to educate the customer. Pricing was solid and transparent with no surprises.
Common questions
Ready for clear water?
Tell us your ZIP and a quick description of how green it is. Sam will be on the property within 24 hours for a free in-person assessment, with a flat-rate quote in writing before he leaves. No contract, no surprise charges, and the Sundays Promise on every recovery.
Family-owned. Licensed and insured in Florida. Closed Sundays, because Sundays are for family. Serving Sarasota, Bradenton, Venice, North Port, and Lakewood Ranch for green pool cleanup, pool repairs, and new equipment installation.
