Why does my pool look like this

[cbrach411]

Hi everyone coming over from the construction part of the forum. Our pool is about 8 months old and the water lines on the tile are just getting worse and worse. Any idea of what it could be? Any ideas on how to fix it? Someone mentioned ph level but that is at 7.2

 

[tim5055]

That looks like minerals and salt being left behind as water evaporates along that line. The pointy spikes are the same thing, jut that the water is being wicked up the grout line and evaporates in that pattern. It can be removed with a misture of diluted muratic acid.

I get similar stains on my pool and purchased a Purity Pool OS Out Spot Stain Remover. You fill it with full strength acid and just slowly move it along the stain to remove it. It's not a scrubber, just an acid delivery device.

 

[jblizzle]

Welcome to the hard water and high evaporation rates of AZ

No real way to stop this. By keeping the water a little more aggressive (CSI < 0) it might slow it down a little. I have seen mine get worse when I am lax on keeping the pH down.

There is a reason that soda / bead blasting companies are fairly common ... although for the cost of getting it done, you can get a decent setup to do it yourself. I am planning to figure that out in the next year or so myself.

- - - Updated - - -

Or maybe i will take a look at the device Tim posted. Just not sure how well it will work when it gets thick.

 

[pooldv]

If you keep your CSI level at -0.1 to -0.2 it will prevent that from happening in the future. Enter all your test results in Poolmath including the water temp and it will give you a CSI score. Tweak the PH and possibly the TA to adjust the number.

Post your latest test results and some recent ones if you have them. What test kit are you using?

 

[Patrick_B]

Like many of us, you likely have hard Alkaline water too, so it's caused by minerals being deposited. Some is difficult to stop, but it can be managed. Do you have records of your water testing? You've likely had some imbalances with TA, pH, CH, or any combination thereof. One or more of them being out of range to the high side. All of these have to be managed aggressively to reduce, or eliminate it. Removal with Acid as Tim suggested is a good one to try and get rid of it. It may take some scrubbing too. Have you tried scrubbing it at all?

 

[cbrach411]

So, I don't have a test kit just have been using the strips that the pool builder gave us. I'm going to pick up the test kit you guys recommend and get a handle on this situation I haven't tried with anything other than my finger so it might come off easily.

 

[tim5055]

Or maybe i will take a look at the device Tim posted. Just not sure how well it will work when it gets thick.

My problem is efflorescence on the high side of my pool where high water table water actually comes through the grout in several areas. For the "thick" stuff I gently used a flat blade screwdriver and small hammer (think almost a jewelers hammer) to slowly chip the thick stuff off. Then I used the Purity Pool OS Out Spot Stain Remover for the cleanup work. Now, when I see it starting to appear I hit it with acid before it gets too thick, but when I need an acid addition anyway.

It's funny, but in one spot I hit the grout instead of the thick stain and punched a tiny hole through the grout. It looked like a fountain with water squirting into the pool from behind the tile.......

 

[Patrick_B]

So, I don't have a test kit just have been using the strips that the pool builder gave us. I'm going to pick up the test kit you guys recommend and get a handle on this situation I haven't tried with anything other than my finger so it might come off easily.

Good plan, and do not hesitate to start up a thread when you have questions. We will all be happy to help if you do. Start reading up in Pool School if you haven't already, that will help a lot.

 

[pooldv]

So, I don't have a test kit just have been using the strips that the pool builder gave us. I'm going to pick up the test kit you guys recommend and get a handle on this situation I haven't tried with anything other than my finger so it might come off easily.

Ok, good plan. I use the TF100 from TFTestkits.net. Or you can use a Taylor K-2006C. Both use the same reagents. The TF100 has a better mix of tests for residential pools and more bang for the buck.

More here, Pool School - Test Kits Compared

 

[kimkats]

Make sure to not get the Taylor 2005..........this is the one that most pool stores carry. They will TRY to tell you it has every test you need BUT it does not have the good FC test you will need. Use the link above to see the different test kits.

Kim

 

[errorz]

I also live in Surprise (welcome!) and strangely enough, my water isn't very hard (Calcium is only about 125-150) on city (not epcor) water. Recently purchased the home w/ the pool with an owner who didn't care to mind their tile.

Have you taken a brillo pad to it just to see how "tough" the grime is? Do you have a Salt water chlorine generator? I too lose water to evaporation like its going out of style, but for a new pool that does seem a little strange.

With a fresh refill (our CYA was through the roof on purchase) without putting any calcium (mine is ~150) keeps my CSI negative quite a bit which as others have said should at least help at not depositing more calcium onto it. Looking forward to seeing your test results!