How to Diagnose and Test Swimming Pool Stains
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- Опубліковано 15 вер 2024
- WEBSITE: www.swimmingpoo...
In this video I will go over the four main type of staining you will see in a swimming pool. There is sometimes some confusion of what exactly you are looking at when you see a stain in your pool.
Organic Stains:
I start with the easiest to remove which is Organic stains. This happens when a lot of leaves fall in and leave marks on the pool surface. You can also have dirt staining in your pool especially if it is a fiberglass pool. Simply by raising the chlorine level for a day or so will take care of the organic stains. For a fiberglass pool with dirt staining you can use HASA Super stain out or another product designed to remove organic stains in the pool. The Thichlor tablet is the best way to determine if stain is organic. Simply rub it over the stain and see if it disappears or lightens. If so it is organic. Aggressive mustard algae can also form in the pool and that can look a lot like a Metal Stain. Here is a video on this type of algae bloom:
Pentair Algae-Gon Chlorine Tablet Holder 542068 for Algae Stains & Black Algae
• Pentair Algae-Gon Chlo...
Metal Stains:
These are commonly found in your pool. It can be either Iron or Copper based. A Vitamin C tablet is a good way to tell if you are dealing with an Iron or Copper stain. Jacks' Magic also sells a kit with a sample of their stain removing product that will also allow you to know if it is Iron or Copper. You can use Dry Acid in a sock on an area to see if an acid wash or a topical Copper stain product will remove the stain. I also came up with a squirt bottle acid test that is effective. If you try this with a 3 to 1 acid mix and get no results - add more acid to make it stronger and test again. The stain should come off as the acid hits the plaster (It doesn't cause etching). Ascorbic Acid works good on Iron Stains and there are several Acid based products that can be used for copper staining without draining the pool.
Here are some videos on Metal Stains:
Removing a Rust Stain in your pool with Vitamin C - Ascorbic Acid Treatment: • Removing a Rust Stain ...
Metal in Pool Water, How to Treat and Eliminate Metal: • Metal in Pool Water, H...
Ascorbic Acid Treatment for Removing Stains in Your Pool: • Ascorbic Acid Treatmen...
CuLator Metal Eliminator & Stain Preventer: • CuLator Metal Eliminat...
Calcium Stains:
If your Calcium Hardness gets too high the water in the pool will deposit out the calcium it can no longer hold. This causes scaling. If the calcium and scaling are widespread then an acid wash and a power sanding of the plaster is the only solution. I see a lot of spot calcium either like these circles or streaks like tears running down the side of the plaster. Those can be sanded out in the Summer by diving down and using sand paper. Again, large areas are harder to clean without draining.
Mottling of the Plaster:
This is more pronounced in a colored plaster pool. There is a good article on it from the National Plaster Council - here is the link:
www.npconline.o...
Scroll down to "A Note about Colored Plaster" in the article:
Here they talk about Mottling and some of the causes - the gist of it is a combination of the plaster itself and the additives to it.
A bad start up can also cause strange things to happen to the plaster - especially if the water is not circulating for several days.
And as always TFP has a good article on Mottling also:
www.troublefree...
So I hope the video helps you identify your pool staining type.
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Awesome stuff man. I learned a lot of these tricks at a recent pool trade expo, but some of those i didnt. Great tips thanks.
Very helpfull. Thanks for the conscientious effort.
Very nice video! Thank you"
Random question - what kind of gloves are you wearing? They seem to be great in the water. Thanks for all your videos they are very helpful!
These are the Wells Lamont Nitrile gloves but they are hard to find lately. So I switched to these with good results. www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00558V358/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
excellent info. Thank you. /John
I really learned a lot from your video!! Thanks so much!! I tried different chemical cleaners on my tile to clean, I'm pretty sure that's where the problemstemmed from. Now I noticed that I have what looks like rust fragments on the steps and in the shallow end on the floor wall...i have no idea what it is or how to get off? I've tried vitamin c, pumis stone and nothing wants to remove this. It must if been from the chemicals that were in the cleaner, it was from a hardware store and not a pool store. Any ideas you could help me with? How could I show you a picture of what it looks like. Anything you could help me with sure would be appreciated. I definitely learned a lesson!!
You can email me a photo of it and I will take a look. Swimmingpoollearning@gmail.com
My kid threw a AA battery into the pool an before I found it and before I found it and took it out it leaked and stained the pool about the size of a Silver Dollar. Should I get the kit you spoke about on the video to test? =0
What is best product for copper stain removal- we use a copper algaecide in pool as we are allergic to chlorine.
Ascorbic Acid works pretty well
3 parts acid and 1 parts water…. I am a visual person so can you please show me what that looks like? Thank you.
have you tried a pumice stone?
does the copper staining also come from copper ionizers like the solar remington copper ionizer?
It can. Depending on how high the copper level gets.
Eyeball fittings stains...how to clean them...?
If you can remove them, replacing them is the best solution.
Hello, I Have a Light graish blemishes in gunite saltwater pool..Visible when overcast..What can i do to remove them? Thanks so much!!
maybe send me some photos on my website: www.swimmingpoollearning.com/. Use the contact me form.
I will take a look and assess the stains for you.
I had my pool '' professionally " drained and acid washed . Now there is a pattern of staining running down to the lowest point similar to the Japanese flag ! It is a pebble finish pool , after the treatment the filter cartridge was full of pebbles . What would you call this staining and can it be fixed without emptying ? thanks for any help .
I would have to see a photo of it. Maybe shot one over to my thru my website.
My kid threw a AA battery in my plaster pool and before I found it it stained. Should I get the kit?
try putting some ascorbic acid on the stains. You may need the powder form in a sock and set it on the stains.
Florida?
Hello, i have a colored plaster pool, which i'm draining at the moment at the recommendation of the pool supply store due to high total dissovled solids level. I had two colored stains, one was an orange/rust color which completely came off with pouring clorine directly on it. I have another stain that I'm not sure if it's a modelling (splg?) issue as you've described in your video or something else. It's somewhat a chalky looking color. is there a test that i can perform on it as it's empty or is it best to treat these stains when full?
+Shauna Hogg An acid wash should remove most of the stains. If it is just plaster discoloration the acid wash will lighten it but not remove it - mottling.
Hey, I have installed a new liner in my 24ft round this year, and have started using the floatron ionizer. I left the floatron in the pool too long, and now have brownish stains everywhere. I am assuming they are copper stains, any suggestions on removing them. Could I try what you did in your video?
An Ascorbic acid treatment is the way to go. Test a small area by holing a vitamin C tablet over it briefly. You can also rub the stain and see if it removes or lightens it. If so then a complete treatment might work for you.
Ascorbic Acid Treatment for Removing Stains in Your Pool: ua-cam.com/video/9kgyASHiiAw/v-deo.html
Thanks for the speedy response!! I will try the vitamin c tablet tommorow and see what happens..thanks again
When I first tried vitamin C it was like darker and then it faded away. Is that normal?
Yes. The metal was oxidized by it. Did the stain remain? If so it could be copper.
Hey..I tried the vitamin c and noticed it had no effect on the stain...I know this is hard to diagnose without seeing it but once again the liner is only a few months old and the only thing I have changed is adding a floatron...the stain is a lightish grey and will not come off...I even tried scraping a little off with my fingernail and it has no effect... the pools alkalinity is low but everything else seems to be in range...any ideas or clues..once again thanks
David, I think I may have the same problem as your pool. We bought the largest Intex rectangular pool 3 years ago with the Intex Saltwater System. We didn't do anything with the pool from last summer & last month we drained it to relevel it. It's clear & ready & have been swimming for a week now. But, there are white / grayish spots from the bottom to me way up the wall. Tried brushing but still present just lighter. We also use well water & had the local pool place test just the well water. It has 0.49 iron but nothing else showed up. They sold me Metal Wizard, but instructions on bottle say not to use with saltwater generators. So, taking it back tomorrow. Have you had any luck discovering what the stains are & if so what did you use to remove them?
What about fiberglass pools?
Pretty easy to treat. With Ascorbic Acid
I have stains in my pool. I get leaves in the pool so not sure if due to that or algae, so I tried scrubbing with a 3" Chlorine tablet. Below are some pictures of the stain and some after scrubbing and it took a lot of scrubbing to even get these results.
screencast.com/t/T8lhbMZa
screencast.com/t/dKUrwSI4jG
screencast.com/t/hUYovKff
screencast.com/t/xJnNTH8em4wq
Should I shock treat the pool if so should I use that Yellow-Tri also. What do you recommend.
+bilskro Hard to say, it could be some metal staining or just mottling of the plaster. Did you try rubbing the stain with a Vitamin C tablet?
Yes I tried Vitamin and it did not do anything. The Chlorine tablet seemed to work where I rubbed it. Do you not think this is a organic stain? This is just white plaster.
+bilskro It is possible that it is some very strong organic stains. Could be iron stains also and the acid in the tablet is taking it off. How old is the pool?
The pool was built with the home back in the 70s, but I had it re-plastered with just the basic white plaster about 3 years ago. These stains just started to appear relatively recently and are mostly in the shallow end of the pool especially on the steps. I do get a lot of leaves that fall into the pool but they fall just as much in the deep end and for some reason the deep end does not seem that bad.
+bilskro It wouldn't hurt to try a bottle or two of HASA Super Stain Out. This works well on organic staining. You can order it on Amazon.com.
It is possible it is organic staining.
hey u should make a pool truck gear video on your route,,
Swimming Pool Stains: Here is a video covering the most common types of pool stains and some ways to test the stain to see if it is organic or a metal stain.