Heads Up - CYA Sock Method - Keep sock off of coping - I etched my pool coping

[santacruzpool]

Hello - just a heads up for anyone interested.

I added CYA to our pool last week using the "Sock Method" and dangled the sock in front of a return jet - I just laid the top of the sock on the coping and put a weight on it to keep it in place over the return.

I did this in two locations - one was on my stronger return - with the cover open - then I moved it to another jet when I closed our safety cover.

I had the top of the sock draped up over the coping, and the slight ribbing in the sock etched my coping a tiny amount. I now have visible stripes on the surface of my coping that match the ribs in the sock!

I did a little sanding to make it less obvious, but to get rid of it completely would require me to sand off the top layer of the very smooth concrete and start to expose more of the sand/aggregate.

It would have been better to hang the sock on a pole extended out over the water in retrospect...

I didn't see anywhere a mention of this anywhere, so I thought I would share my experience.

 

[Texas Splash]

Re: Heads Up - CYA Sock Method etched my concrete pool coping

Just to be clear .... from your description, are you saying that it was the rubbing of the sock itself (and not the stabilizer) that etched the coping?

 

[santacruzpool]

Re: Heads Up - CYA Sock Method etched my concrete pool coping

No the etching was more from the ribs in the sock fabric hitting the coping concrete surface. Since the sock I used was slightly ribbed - those ribs are what were sitting against the surface. It didn't rub - just now there is a exact duplicate of my sock cloth texture etched into the concrete.

Edit:
Think of this texture etched into the concrete ever so slightly...

 

[Texas Splash]

Re: Heads Up - CYA Sock Method etched my concrete pool coping

That is unfortunate. Almost like a "sock-print" of sorts huh? I've never heard of that happening.

 

[tim5055]

Re: Heads Up - CYA Sock Method etched my concrete pool coping

I wonder if the ribs could have acted as little wicks and wicked the acidic liquid and that did the etching???

 

[santacruzpool]

Re: Heads Up - CYA Sock Method etched my concrete pool coping

I wonder if the ribs could have acted as little wicks and wicked the acidic liquid and that did the etching???

That is most likely what happened.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Re: Heads Up - CYA Sock Method etched my concrete pool coping

Pure Cyanuric acid is acidic. A saturated solution of CYA and water has a pH of ~4.8 according to this source. That is low and could possibly cause the damage that you see. Hopefully the sanding and continued weathering of the cement will even it out.

In the future, you could always just put the sock in a blue chemical puck floater. That way it stays in the water and is less likely to cause any damage. I'm a "bad boy" and I put my socks of CYA in the skimmer, but I'm always careful to make sure the pump is running or else I pull the sock out and leave it in a small plastic container.


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[santacruzpool]

Re: Heads Up - CYA Sock Method etched my concrete pool coping

I should have been more careful - but I now know!!!

I think it will disappear eventually - a little sanding to make it fade away a little has helped.

Thought I would post for anyone else to beware of allowing the sock to sit on any surface that could be damaged by the acid that invariably wicks up the fabric.

 

[jmastron]

Re: Heads Up - CYA Sock Method etched my concrete pool coping

I should have been more careful - but I now know!!!

I think it will disappear eventually - a little sanding to make it fade away a little has helped.

Thought I would post for anyone else to beware of allowing the sock to sit on any surface that could be damaged by the acid that invariably wicks up the fabric.

It's a good point, and would be good to put in the various pool school places that mention CYA, not to hang the sock right off the edge -- when I did it, I tied a nylon cord around the sock, then around a 3' long stick that I hung over the pool, with a brick holding the stick down. The idea was to have it in the return stream but not have the sock touch the edge of the pool. Next time I'm going to try the other method of pouring in the skimmer to see how that works; a little less fuss that way. I need to clean my filter first though.

 

[Agent99]

Re: Heads Up - CYA Sock Method etched my concrete pool coping

I toss my CYA sock in the skimmer.

I've seen others ties a string/rope around the sock and with a weight on the rope, let the sock dangle in the water but I think that looks goofy so I like the more inconspicuous approach.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Re: Heads Up - CYA Sock Method etched my concrete pool coping

It's a good point, and would be good to put in the various pool school places that mention CYA, not to hang the sock right off the edge -- when I did it, I tied a nylon cord around the sock, then around a 3' long stick that I hung over the pool, with a brick holding the stick down. The idea was to have it in the return stream but not have the sock touch the edge of the pool. Next time I'm going to try the other method of pouring in the skimmer to see how that works; a little less fuss that way. I need to clean my filter first though.

The Pool School articles actually teach the method of putting the sock in the skimmer and not hanging it in front of the returns. So when you do use the skimmer method you still need to use a sock to hold the CYA and you must ensure that the pumps run continuously while the sock is in there. Pool School recommends running the pumps for 24 hours and no backwashing for a week if you use the skimmer method.

 

[santacruzpool]

I changed the title to better represent what happened - with a warning to keep the sock off of the coping...