Re: What maintenance would you do with a pool before refilli
I searched and, unfortunately, there wasn't a good pictorial DIY thread on this forum on
how to perform an acid wash.
This was the best I could find:
-
How to acid wash pool walls
So I guess I'll write up a quick DIY (based on googling) to help everyone, including myself; but it would be better written by someone who actually knows what they're doing . Be that as it may ...
How would you improve this step-by-step DIY?
0. Wear protective clothing & equipment & go section by section.
- goggles, mask, gloves, boots, + respirator (acid fumes are heavier than air & you're standing in a big tub)
- don't acid wash a vinyl or above-ground pool (only plaster in-ground pools)
- acid actually removes a very thin layer of the plaster, which is about 1.5 inches thick to start with
- some suggest washing and brushing with trisodiumphosphate (TSP) before doing an acid wash
- don't let the TSP stay for too long
1. Set up a submersible pump in the deep end to pump out the acidified water
- neutralize water with 2 pounds of soda ash for every gallon of 14.5% HCl
2. Pour one gallon of water into a pump sprayer
- never add water to acid
3. Add one gallon of 14.5% muriatic acid (HCl) to that one gallon of water (I wonder if vinegar will work?)
- half a gallon if 29% HCl (each article has a different ratio - and some even use it full strength!)
- some suggest 8% to 10% final concentration of muriatic acid
- one gallon of 10% solution will cover about 100 sq ft
4. Some say to add dish detergent to the mix
-
this DIY says dish detergent is reputed to lessen the fumes
5. From above, spray the walls with water from a garden hose
- start at the deep end and work your way to the shallow end
- one 5-foor-wide or 10-foot-wide section at a time
6. Pour the acid/water mixture down the side of the pool
- having a helper topside is recommended
7. Wait 30 seconds for the acid to do its work, and then scrub the walls with an acid brush
- some say to wait for the bubbling to stop
- all say to not allow the acid to stay for too long
- an acid brush has a wood handle with heavy bristles
8. Rinse thoroughly with water
- ensure the submersible pump is pumping the neutrilized water out of the deep end to a safe location
- make sure the water path doesn't etch a channel in the pool (keep rinsing the path)
- some suggest a scrubbing with TSP to neutralize the acid
9. You may need to repeat
- painting can follow - it will take about 6 gallons or more of expoxy paint
picture relocated due to captions
Video of an acid wash
While googling for acid wash DIYs, I found this warning about hydrostatic plugs:
If you decide to drain and clean your own pool, make sure that the hydrostatic relief plugs are pulled as soon as possible
EDIT: Apparently the hydrostatic plugs are in the main drain, which is still under water - which makes it kind of hard to remove becuase the pool has to be empty in the first place.
Apparently the plugs open themselves though ... so that warning is confusing to me.
EDIT: Acid washing is only for
three purposes, apparently, none of which are calcium deposits!
1. Etch the surface of new concrete
2. Remove stubborn stains
3. Prepare the surface for lamination of a new coating
So, maybe I won't acid wash after all this ...
EDIT: It turns out that I might not have calcium deposits in the first place; it may just be leached plaster. So, the key question is the TEST for calcium deposits is needed!
But, if it 'is' Calcium deposits, and if acid washing isn't to remove calcium deposits - the obvious question is HOW do we remove calcium deposits?
EDIT: Given what I now know:
a) I don't want to paint
b) I don't want to acid wash
I think all I need to do before refilling is:
A) Test 'what' the substance is that is gritty (Calcium or not)
B) If it 'is' calcium, then figure out how to remove it, otherwise ...
A) Just clean the pool sides (with a pressure washer)
B) Fix leaks (not so easily done)...
At this point, the main questions still open are:
Q1: How do you test for calcium deposits and if this 'is' calcium, how do you remove them (if it's not acid washing???)?
Q2: How would you fix a leaking Jandy valve which is almost impossible to access?
EDIT: I found out by using the USENET that the Jandy valves would either be cracked or leaking from o-rings as nothing else (apparently) can be replaced; so I'll see if I can get the top off (it's extremely tight there with all the pipes packed in together) and replace hte o-ring. Is this normal to have a dozen Jandy valves so close together that there isn't more than a quarter inch to a half inch between them?
http://www3.picturepush.com/photo/a/8198286/640/8198286.jpg]picture relocated due to captions