When will plaster dust go away?

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shcuck

shcuck

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Aug 15, 2011
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Frisco, Tx
Hi all, so we finished our pool a couple weeks ago and I have been brushing the plaster at least twice a day as instructed by the PB. They said the dust should be gone in about 14 days. We are a few days past the that mark and still seem to have a lot of plaster dust in the pool.

So a few questions.....

How long did it take you guys for the dust to be completely gone?

Is there anything I can do to speed this up?

Because I know you will ask, I have been keeping the PH at 7.6-7.4 and when it goes up I use approx 1cup acid for every point I want to bring it down.

I have reduced the flow of the skimmers so that most of the suction comes from the main drains.

Anything else I can do?

I have been holding off turning on the heater until all the dust is gone, but I am getting frustrated that no matter how much I brush, the darn dust is still not gone.

Any best practices or suggestions would be great.
 
Mine took almost a full month to get rid of all the dust with brushing twice daily and running the main drains while brushing and for an hour afterwards. My brother just had his pool redone this summer and his cleared up in 2 weeks. My pool is almost a year old so we plastered with cooler weather. I don't know if that had anything to do with it. We both have white plaster.
 
mckay said:
I sped mine up substantially by changing to a silt bag on my polaris cleaner.

Amazon has them.
Click to expand...

Thanks mckay,
but I was told not to use the cleaner until the dust is completely gone as the wheels can leave marks in the plaster. I was wanting to just use the cleaner as a water mover... if nothing else just to stir up the water and have the main drain pick it up, but have been hesitant due to leaving tacks.
 
My PB had my cleaner in at three days, the plaster was rock hard in one. I had dust until I put the bag on then it took about two days and it was all done.
I would have to say if there is a risk of delam from running a wheeled cleaner, then the plaster was not properly applied to begin with. JMO
 
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I know this will sound counter-intuitive, but the best way to stop plaster dust from forming is to raise the alkalinity high and keeping the pH below 8.0 as soon as the pool fills up. That is the principle behind the "Bicarb Start-up" process. The best program however, is to increase the alkalinity of the tap water to above 250 ppm before it is used to fill up the plaster pool. If that is done, then no plaster dust would develop. After 30 days, the alkalinity should then be lowered to the proper level.

But there are other factors that play a role in how much plaster dust develops, mainly things that a plasterer does and doesn't do. The amount of plaster dust is related to whether the right things were performed or not.
 
I have maintained my PH at around 7.4-7.6 with the TA at around 60 (I know this is low, but I was advised to not worry about the TA until after brushing). Today is 3 weeks and I still see plaster dust in the pool. After brushing at least twice daily and checking the PH to ensure it is where it should be, I would have expected to be done with the Plaster dust.

How long did it take you guys to get rid of it all with constant brushing?

Thanks
 

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I don't know how the others feel, but I prefer non-aggressive water for new plaster. I am against low TA and low Calcium levels during start-ups. Along as the pool has been plastered properly, I believe the dust will stop as soon as you raise the TA to at least 150 ppm and the calcium level to 200 while keeping the pH below 8.0. After one month, the TA can be lowered to your desired level. But to answer your question, I believe most of the pool people on this website will tell you that plaster dusting should end within two to three weeks in general. If plaster dusting continues beyond 3 weeks, then I think something is amiss. It may not be a serious issue, and everything will probably be okay in the long run, but I am just trying to give you some information to consider.
 
Que or Hal,

Welcome to TFP.

We performed our first Bicarb Start-up in July of 2007. Took a lot of convincing and hand holding with the pool owner for him to let us do it. Do believe it was the first Bicarb Start-up to have been done in San Jose CA. After the pool was filled I held my breath while my brush was on the top step and pushed the brush forward. In amazement, there was NO plaster dust! We've been a big fan ever since. Thank You.

I also agree, it does sound strange that plaster dust is still occurring after 3 or 4 weeks.
 
PoolGuyNJ said:
If the Intelliflow is on low speed, this might explain things a bit. You might be pushing old dust. I would try, at this point, gently vacuuming and lifting the vac head to turn(unless you have wheels that swivel).

Scott
Click to expand...

Hi PoolGuy, Regarding the Intelliflow, I have been running it on High Speed non stop 24hr/day for more than 3 weeks now and brushing 2 times per day. I think I am right there with you, that I am just pushing around old dust that has not been pulled by the main drain.
I get the feeling that the plaster has cured as my PH levels have remained at 7.2-7.5 with only adding 2 cups of acid every few days (if needed).

I don't have a vacuum brush, just the robot cleaner. I was thinking of running the robot cleaner to at least help stir up the water and help getting the dust to the main drain.

Any other suggestions on clearing up the dust?

Also, on another note, would I run any risk by running my heater at this point? I have heard some say that the plaster dust is what could damage the heater, while others say it is the raising of the PH that will kill the heater. Any clarification on this point would be great. IF, PH is the one that will damage my heater than I think I am good to go as I have been at 7.2-7.5 constantly, but if it is plaster dust that will damage it, then... not sure how much dust is too much.

Last time I cleaned the filter ( 3 days ago) the plaster dust in the filter was minimal compared to the last few filter cleanings.

Oh Also need to mention, incase it is an important factor.. my TA is around 60. I was advised to worry about the PH first until plaster is gone and then balance TA. With this said, could the low TA damage the Heater?

Thanks for everyone that has commented. This forum has been a great resource for info.
 
Pontiac,
This is Kim. Although there are three onBalance guys (Que and Doug are the other two), I signed in as onBalance. Probably should have come up with a different name. I want to let you know I appreciate the "plug." But you were willing to try the Bicarb start-up and make it work.

Shcuck, you stated that the plaster dust in the filter was minimal on the last cleaning. I wonder if for the some reason the filter isn't catching the plaster dust now?
 
onBalance said:
Shcuck, you stated that the plaster dust in the filter was minimal on the last cleaning. I wonder if for the some reason the filter isn't catching the plaster dust now?
Click to expand...

Hi Kim,
And I guess this is where my newb-ness comes in with owning a pool. When I brush, there are times where more "dust" is apparent on the pool floor (none on the walls) whereas some times it is so minimal that I think I am done with the plaster dust. So this leads me to believe that I am done with the plaster dust process and what I see when I brush is dust/dirt that might have settled to the bottom. Does this make sense or is this not something that would happen?

Regarding the filter, I was advised that when the plaster curing process is done and all the plaster dust is gone, that the filter would be clear of plaster dust. On my last cleaning I saw a lot less dust than I had in the past. This again leads me to believe that the process is almost done or close to being done.

So in summary, when I brush, should I still see debris being moved even when the plaster dust has been removed or when they tell me to brush until the plaster dust is gone, does that mean that nothing should be seen on the bottom floor?

Thanks again for the replies.
 
If you aren't getting dust when brushing walls, then I think plaster dusting is over with. Yes, depending on the weather, wind, etc. a small amount of dirt (light tan color) can settle on floors every day. That is why brushing once or twice per week is always necessary. So your filter is probably okay too and doing its job. I think you are good. Too bad summer is over, or just turn on the heater.
 
onBalance said:
Too bad summer is over, or just turn on the heater.
Click to expand...

This is exactly where all this is going :-D ... I have been debating whether or not to turn on the heater as the PB says to not use it until all the dust is gone or I can damage the heater. But with brushing for 3 weeks now twice per day and when I brush I don't know if what I am brushing is still plaster dust or other dirst dust that has settled, I am concerned about using the heater.

All water tests point to it being ok to use the heater as the PH as remained flat at about 7.2-7.5 for a while now.
 
The quickest way to resolve the dust in the pool at this time is to gently use a manual vacuum. It wont take too long to vacuum and just be sure to vacuum the entire surface of the pool.

I believe you are seeing dust that just will not make it to the drains and just settles after each brushing. Use the manual vacuum then brush and most likely you will not see much dust at all.
 

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