Pink Slime in Swimming Pools

Customers regularly add fresh water from their tap without letting the hose-water run for a couple of minutes (the pink slime is already present in the garden hose and is transferred to the pool).

 Pools with sand filters are not changing the sand every 2 to 3 years AND not chemically cleaning the filter sand 3 times a season (once every 6 to 8 weeks).
 Newer observation:  Most of the affected seem to use publicly treated drinking water.  Pools filled with well water appear to be not as severely affected.
 Affected pools are not as fastidiously maintained chemically (water balance, use of borate additives such as BioGuard Optimizer Plus or Proteam Supreme, regular shocking), as clean pools.

Another observation is that many water companies across the country, in partial response to "consumer calls" to "get rid of chlorine in the drinking water" are now using mono-chloramines to treat the water (over the past 15 to 20 years). Mono-chloramines do an essentially good job at treating pathogens in the drinking water, however, some of the non-pathogenic organisms may indeed be getting by. Unfortunately, there is only experiential or anecdotal evidence.Prevention of "pink slime" is preferred over treatment. Follow these steps to help prevent pink slime: Physically brush & clean ALL Pool surfaces weekly, including ladder steps (especially underneath each step) & rails

 Expose ALL pool surfaces to as much sunlight as possible (sunlight & UV are natural oxidizers) 
  Remove the lid from the skimmer to allow sunlight into the basket for several hours each day ** INGROUND POOLS MUST USE EXTREME CAUTION in doing this in order to avoid a person falling into or otherwise injuring themselves due to an open skimmer. 
  Regularly add oxidizing chemicals into the skimmer to purge & clean the filtration lines of any bio-film (use extreme caution if doing this.  Add chemicals slowly and remove ANY and ALL objects, including slow dissolving chlorine tablets or sticks, to avoid a potential chemical reaction such as explosion.
  When adding make-up water from the garden hose, allow the water to run for 2 to 3 minutes before putting the hose into the pool.
 Regularly clean pool toys & floats (use BioGuard Stow Away acting as a mildewcide)
 Regularly clean pool solar blanket (use BioGuard Stow Away)
  Chemically clean the pool filter every 4 to 6 weeks (use Strip Kwik, Kleen It or Soft Swim® Filter Cleaner).  This is a very important step regardless of the filter type; sand, DE or Cartridge.
 Add regular Maintenance dosages of "Shock" & Algicide every 1 to 2 weeks as prescribed (3 to 4 weeks in bguanide pools).
  Use borate products such as BioGuard Optimizer Plus as a preventative measure (borates, when used properly at a rate of 50 - 80 ppm, allow the sanitizer to sanitize rather than sanitize and prevent algae growth).
  Run the filter a minimum of 12 hours daily to prevent "dead spots" in the pool.
 Remember to clean & rinse the brushes, hoses & vacuums that you use to clean the pool
 Leave as much of your pool equipment exposed to the sun (sunlight is a natural oxidizer) 
 Keep the water balanced at all times. Recheck after heavy usage or rain or large "top-offs" of new water. Water balance refers to Free Available Sanitizer level, pH, Total Alkalinity, Calcium Hardness.