I've searched all over this forum, but could not find the answer to this. I plan on using 5:1 diluted muriatic acid in a spray bottle to clean the deposits on the pool tiles. What's missing from this equation is what to use to actually rub off the deposits without it dissolving from the acid or scratching the tiles. Anyone have suggestions based on their experience?
What Tool to Remove Tile Deposits?
- Thread starter Michael1
- Start date
I'm interested in how to do this, too, without draining and sandblasting.
I chipped some off the other day using a screwdriver and found a nice little colony of algae underneath. I was not expecting that.
I chipped some off the other day using a screwdriver and found a nice little colony of algae underneath. I was not expecting that.
The number one tool you need is the TF-100 test kit to prevent the stains in the first place. I had white calcium stains on my tiles around my pool a couple of years ago. I cleaned it off repeatedly. Until I started managing my water chemistry better and the stains are gone and haven't returned in years. Enter your test results in Poolmath and it will calculate your CSI for you. Keep your CSI between -0.3 and 0. This will prevent scaling on your tile, your plaster and your SWG. Tweak PH, TA and possibly CH to adjust your CSI.
More here, Pool School - Calcium Scaling
More here, Pool School - Calcium Scaling
Hi pooled
That is great advice but,in the meantime, that stuff is not going to remove itself
Any advice that doesn't involve draining and sandblasting would be greatly appreciated
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
That is great advice but,in the meantime, that stuff is not going to remove itself
Any advice that doesn't involve draining and sandblasting would be greatly appreciated
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I've been using a pumice stone, and a small river rock to tap at the heavy scaling (believe it or not, I have scale that is 1/16th - 1/8th inch deep near where the waterline was). The rock has put a few small nicks in the finish, and I do believe the pumice stone is scratching the tile a bit (renovating the pool is planned for the near future, so I'm not as concerned with a little bit of tile scratching or a ding or two).
I've seen suggestions to use a mixture of muriatic acid and water in a spray bottle - mind the blowback! For what to use to scrub, people have suggested sponges - and yes, it will eat the sponge. I think there were a couple of other suggestions, but I don't recall what they were.
A local pool builder suggested to me that I use a razorblade to get up behind the scale (when he saw how thick the scale in the remaining sections of the pool was, he said "yeah, no way acid is going to put a dent in that!"). My scale is a bit flaky, and he said a razor blade will do a great job of getting the massive amount of overburden off, leaving thinner deposits that the pumice stone will take right off. He did caution me to ensure if any of the blades cracked to get any pieces that fall into the pool out immediately - you don't want rust stains or a blade piece in someone's foot. I don't know what effect the blade will have on the tile finish.
I've seen suggestions to use a mixture of muriatic acid and water in a spray bottle - mind the blowback! For what to use to scrub, people have suggested sponges - and yes, it will eat the sponge. I think there were a couple of other suggestions, but I don't recall what they were.
A local pool builder suggested to me that I use a razorblade to get up behind the scale (when he saw how thick the scale in the remaining sections of the pool was, he said "yeah, no way acid is going to put a dent in that!"). My scale is a bit flaky, and he said a razor blade will do a great job of getting the massive amount of overburden off, leaving thinner deposits that the pumice stone will take right off. He did caution me to ensure if any of the blades cracked to get any pieces that fall into the pool out immediately - you don't want rust stains or a blade piece in someone's foot. I don't know what effect the blade will have on the tile finish.
Interested in this subject as well. I will be dealing with this in a couple weeks when we move into our new to us home and pool. My first order of business is to test and get the chemistry under control but I'm sure Ill need to manually removal the build up from the tile.
Do you think a spray bottle of diluted MA and this would work? It's got stiff bristles but not hard enough to damage tile. I had very light build up on my tiles and I used this to remove it, but without the MA solution.
- May 23, 2015
- 24,379
- Pool Size
- 16000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
The nylon brush will likely not work. When calcium deposits are thick, there's only one mechanical method that will work - bead blasting. HOWEVER, there's a big caveat with that. The company doing the blasting needs to use a modified soda blasting process which uses a material called kieserite (pronounced chi-sear-rite, magnesium sulfate monohydrate) to blast away the scale and NOT glass media. Glass is too hard and will damage tile glaze. Kierserite, on the Mohs hardness scale is about 3.5, while calcium carbonate is about 3.0. So the kieserite literally explodes on contact with the tile and blasts the calcium scale off. It is very effective at cleaning tile and I had it done to my pool a few years back when a winter spent ignoring my pool's CSI led to horrible waterline and spa facade scaling. It does require specialized equipment (though I may try it on my own some day) and so you'd need to find a pool tile cleaning company that can do it. If they want to use glass media (which typically has a Mohs hardness near 7), then don't bother because glass media will scratch your tile glaze.
I am going to post this in another section, and see if I can find some people who have done this. I think we all have more questions than answers here.