Ascorbic Treatment to rid Pool of metal stains

[rcy]

My chlorine is zero because I'm doing an AA treatment. I have added 40% algaecide (poly something or other on the bottle), which should help prevent any algae. I was concerned about other unwanted things in the water that chlorine normally kills (bacteria etc.) and this is why I was wondering about the monopersulfate.

My water has turned a bit cloudy after doing the treatment and adding a sequestrant, which is another reason I was curious about shocking.

 

[JasonLion]

Some clouding of the water after adding sequestrant is completely normal.

You shouldn't be swimming until you can maintain an FC level, so bacteria/viruses in the water do not matter in the short run. They will all be killed off quickly as soon as you start adding chlorine again (starting 24 hours after using AA).

 

[maggie36]

Thanks mbar for the very clear directions. My pool store is telling me the water has to be up to at least 60 degrees before starting this chemical process. True or not? It's been chilly in East TN so I'd have to wait weeks. Thanks for all your info.

This is my first time in 32 years of having iron in the water. It's a 50,000 gallon vinyl liner pool with a 1/2 hp Hayward motor. That's about all I know. We use BioGuard Silk Tablets but none of their other stuff so far. The clohrine is down to 1 and the ph is 6.8. I'm taking the water in to be tested tomorrow. I bought my chemicals from The Pool Geek and my ascorbic acid from TheSpiceSage.com. Much cheaper than other places. Everything should be here tomorrow or Friday. I'd like to be able to at least put the ascorbic acid in this weekend. Thanks again

 

[todd.scallions]

I just wanted to thank TFP for this guide. I did the AA treatment today and WOW what a difference! It's like I have a brand new liner!


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[JeffM]

I treated my pool yesterday with ascorbic acid and am amazed with the results. I had stains that were 10 years old and now they are gone. I did treat it with a heavy dose of about 1,5 lbs per 10000 gal. I am so thankful that I joined this forum. thank yoiu. I bought my ascorbic acid at http://www.myspicesage.com/index.php?ma ... pping_cart. Much cheaper than pool companies.

 

[Machelle]

I only have stains on my steps and return lines. My liner is stain free. Did the vitamin C test on my step. Cleaned it right up. My question is: Is there something I can get just to directly clean my steps and returns instead of having to put asorbic acid in my pool and wait?

 

[JasonLion]

You can use ascorbic acid in a sock, or cloth bag, and place it on various spots on the steps until you have cleaned up the whole thing.

 

[Machelle]

Can I also use citric acid or crushed up vitamin C tablets? Do you have any idea which would be cheaper?

 

[royalrider33]

I have a hayward cartridge filter that does not recirculate...Cant I just remove the cartridge overnight and let it run? Seems like it would be the same as another filter that can recirculate...
Oh, my names Mike BTW...Newbie, 14,000 inground fiberglass w/ SWCG...GREAT find this forum!!!!!!

 

[JasonLion]

Machelle, yes any of those will do. If you use citric acid you will need almost twice as much. Even so, citric acid is usually the least expensive approach.

royalrider33, yes removing the cartridge will have the same effect.

 

[phillyphan]

I tried this last week using 2lbs of citric acid. It worked great. I got the stains after I had my pool drained, acid washed and then filled. Thanks for putting this thread together my pool's spotless again.

 

[SubGuy]

I wanted to thank you all for the great recommendation of using Ascorbic Acid to get rid of stains.

Background is: My wife, bless her heart, cleaned the edge of the pool with steal wool when we opened it last April. Needless to say the steal wool settled to the bottom and left a terrible rust pitting (small little rust spots) along the entire bottom edge of the pool.

So in true wife fashion she has been freaking the heck out since she did this and refused to believe that something as simple as Ascorbic Acid could work. SO in true guy fashion, I first took a bottle of Vitamin C chewable tablets and put them in a sock and submerged (I'm a submarine guy so I like that word) it and sure enough the stain in that area went away. SO in true guy fashion I ordered a cubic Crud ton of Ascorbic Acid powder and earlier today it came in, threw it in the pool (following the guidance on page 1 of this thread) and within 30 minutes a noticeable difference was present. We are now in the circulate for 24 hours process and the smile on her face has won me MAJOR good times for a long time.

THANK YOU!!!!!! I owe you all.

Ciao from Sicily.

 

[TomAtlanta]

Does this actually remove the metal from the water, or just the metal stains? I made the mistake of adding a metal algaecide and I am starting to get some stains and want to remove the metal from the water.

 

[Bama Rambler]

The only reliable way to remove metals from the water is to replace the water with metal-free water. The AA treatment just removes the stains but then you'll have to maintain a sequestrant level or they'll just redeposit.

 

[UnderWaterVanya]

The only reliable way to remove metals from the water is to replace the water with metal-free water. The AA treatment just removes the stains but then you'll have to maintain a sequestrant level or they'll just redeposit.

When you have small stains - is there really much risk of redepositing or is this mainly an issue with all over staining? I have 3 - 5 small rust stains where someone dropped a few quick links into the pool and left them there causing stains the shape of the quick links. I was thinking of using vitamin c tabs and a weight to hold these on top of the stains - but if this will just result in a mild stain all over I'd rather not bother with this.

 

[Melt In The Sun]

I wouldn't worry about that little amount. To have a problem with redepositing stains, you really need a lot of metal in the water, much more than a few quicklink-size stains could introduce.

 

[UnderWaterVanya]

I wouldn't worry about that little amount. To have a problem with redepositing stains, you really need a lot of metal in the water, much more than a few quicklink-size stains could introduce.

Thanks! That was my impression but I was second guessing things.

Does temperature impact the effectiveness? I was wondering if winter/fall would be a good time to do this since chlorine needs are low and the drop in FC would be less of an issue. However then I wondered if the temp would reduce the usefulness of the treatments...

 

[TomAtlanta]

Has anyone here used Culator to remove metal from water? I found a few old posts in this forum saying it worked OK, but on Amazon there are lots of reviews that say it doesn't work.

 

[Swampwoman]

Tom, In my experience, it doesn't appear to work, at least during my 30 day trial of it.

UWVanya - my recent AA treatment was not as effective as I had hoped on some really old stains, but I realized it was because my water was so cold. I promised a heated pool birthday party next weekend for my son, who's coming home for his 21st...so I've snookered myself by having toooo short a window. It did lighten them, but much more slowly in cold water...my bad. Just thought I'd share. So if you're in cold water (eg 60) be prepared to leave more time to let the AA work, AND to get the water back before you shock to close.

 

[MyBad]

Bloody ****!!

What a difference this has made.

I did an AA treatment today, and stains I really was not even sure what they were, have vanished. With a water temp of 58, I thought I may not get good results, but I am extremely impressed.
Took a couple hours to really see a transformation. My steps had this light brown patches on them, and now they look like a fresh plaster job.

I can't see a better bang for the buck!

Thanks MB