Stain Stop

[Deb04]

Had my PB open the pool on Tuesday. I knew they'd put algaecide in, they always do. They use one with no copper so I've always just let it go. But I just got the invoice and they also put in something called "Stain Stop." What the heck is that. I've googled it and don't see it. This is summer 9 of the pool and we've been using TFP since Day 1, so I know I don't need it. I just want to know what it is.

Now I'm going to have to let them know next year not to put in anything. The algaecide + the Stain Stop came to $51. 51 bucks for useless stuff.

 

[pooldv]

It is probably a sequestrant to prevent metal stains. Something like Jack's Magic.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

There's a Stain Stop product by EZChlor and one by Poolife (Lonza Chemicals). The MSDS for the EZChlor products shows it to be a mixture of dry acid (sodium bisulfate) and sodium erythorbate which acts a lot like ascorbic acid in that it dissolves metal stains. Unfortunately the Poolife product has no online MSDS but, if you email Lonza Chemicals, the parent company, they will provide one. I suspect their product is likely similar to the EZChlor product - an acid + a mild metal chelating agent. The Poolife product line has an "Pool Opening Kit" which contains some shock chemical and a stain lifter.

But your gut feeling is correct, you don't need any of it. If you closed your pool yourself using the process laid out on TFP then opening would be a snap. Most pool owners that follow the opening/closing procedures here find their water stays clear through the winter and is easy to quickly get balanced. If you're physically unable to open/close your pool, I understand that and would simply agree that you need to tell the pool service company to forget all the chemical stuff and you'll do that part yourself.