Warts on the bottom

[Billysabu]

So i searched the threads and did not see anything about this. Forgive me if i missed something.

We have lived in (rented) this house for 5 years. It came with a guy who comes and services the pool every Monday. I don't really get involved with it, other than to make sure to tip him once in a while. Other than rinsing the filter out in my yard (sigh) (twice) after i asked him to take it to the street, he does a fine job. I love my pool, even though i can only use it 4 months of the years (un-heated). I am in it every day i can be.

However, this summer i noticed some spots on the bottom of the pool . I also noticed that the paint seemed to be eroding at a faster rate than normal. He (pool guy) had not noticed this, at all. So these spots are in the shallow end and about the size of a quarter. There may be 20 of them. The closest i can come to describing them is that they look and feel like warts. Really hard warts. It appears that they came and set up shop, multiplied a bit, but now are not multiplying, but are not going way. The paint, however, continues to chip away.

When i asked him (the pool guy) about this this morning, he recommended draining the pool and giving it an acid wash. I know nothing about this and am going to have to help my landlord figure this out. Can you, TFP experts, help me help him? I do not relish paying for 20,000 gallons of water in drought stricken California, now or ever.

Thanks for your time,
Billy

 

[Texas Splash]

Hello Billy and welcome to TFP. I'm assuming you have a plaster pool which would explain some of your concerns about the paint eroding in places. The spots you describe as warts (lumps) apparently do not simply go away with normal rubbing/brushing correct? Do they have any standard color to them? Is there any chance these lumps are pushing-up from within or under the plaster, or can you tell if they are indeed simply on the surface? Is there any chance you could post a pic or two of them? You can try to upload them as an attachment, or you can try linking your photos from Photobucket. That's what many of us do here on TFP. Upload your pics to Photobucket (free), then copy & paste the IMG code for that pic from Photobucket to your TFP post. Works great.

It might also be valuable to us if you could post a ful set of water test results :FC, CC, CYA, pH, TA, CH) from your TF-100 or Taylor K-2006 test kit.

Also, please add your pool info to your signature by going to the top of the TFP web page (just under the Pool School button) and select "SETTINGS". On the next page look to the left for a menu bar that says, “MY SETTINGS” and go to "EDIT SIGNATURE" to enter your pool and equipment info there. It will help us later. Hopefully with some more information we can try to point you (or your pool guy) in the right direction.

 

[duraleigh]

Posting a picture is your first, best step towards identification.

 

[Billysabu]

Posting a picture is your first, best step towards identification.

Shallow end, about 3 feet.

 

[duraleigh]

I am trying hard to get a perspective on them and I cannot. One looks like white bumps, the other like dark bumps. What is the waviness in pics 2,3,4? How come it doesn't show in pic one?

 

[JamesW]

I would suspect that they're calcium nodules. However, that's just a guess. It's hard to tell.

Paint never does well. When was it last painted?

Can you post a full set of chemistry readings?

When you brush does it create a cloud?

 

[Billysabu]

I would suspect that they're calcium nodules. However, that's just a guess. It's hard to tell.

Paint never does well. When was it last painted?

Can you post a full set of chemistry readings?

When you brush does it create a cloud?

I don't know when it was painted last. 10 years? There is no cloud when brushed. These things are super hard. I would have to chip them off.

- - - Updated - - -

I'm finding this forum more difficult than usual for posting and responding. I am old, but, not THAT old So if my posts seem a little disjointed, all apologies. (Nirvana)

 

[JamesW]

Paint typically won't last that long. I would suspect that it's not painted. My best guess would be calcium nodules for the bumps.

 

[domct203]

Paint typically won't last that long. I would suspect that it's not painted. My best guess would be calcium nodules for the bumps.

+1

http://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/66499-Calcium-Nodules-in-Pools

Dom