Footprints in plaster!! Help!

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I spoke with a rep at Wet Edge. They said the scale that was removed by the acid wash is sticking and that the pool needed to brushed repeatedly, then vacuumed & a sequestering agent put in the pool. My understanding was the pool contractor was supposed do to this the 2+ weeks that the acid treatment was being done. But I have a suspicion he only went a couple of times.
The pool was vacuumed, not brushed, this past Friday.
I have hired an independent pool service guy. He brushed today, & took the water test. He is going back tomorrow to vacuum and add the sequestering agent.
Should I continue to brush as often as possible? What about vacuuming?
Thanks!
 
We have a Polaris sweep which is in the pool and working. Do we need to hand vacuum in addition to the Polaris? We also have a salt water generator but have not turned it on or put salt in the pool as yet. The pool contractor said to wait until we got this issue cleared up with the plaster. Any thoughts?
My test kit should arrive by early next week.
Thanks everyone for your input!
 
Hi again, The footprints are back.:pale:
The service guy came Monday & brushed. He did not go back Tuesday, instead he came yesterday said the Polaris sweep was good to vacuum and left.
(We will not be using his services anymore)
I went to the pool location yesterday and when I opened up the pool cover you could see the footprints reappearing.You can see my photos posted earlier in this thread to see how this looks. Does this mean the scale is back? How could this be after only 3 weeks since the acid wash was done?
The contractor is not taking responsibility to solve the issue(s) and says we need to contact the applicator.
The applicator told me on Monday they were finished with the acid wash process and had done all they will do.
I will contact Wet Edge again...

The slimy feeling on the plaster surface was much better on the horizontal surfaces but not on the vertical ones. And there is a whitish cloudy residue when I brush the vertical surfaces.
I should have the TF test kit any day now, hopefully before the weekend. And I ordered the Whale brush.
I will be in Healdsburg (pool location) Sat-Mon this weekend. What should I do?
Thanks
 
If you brush the pool there should be NO slimy feel. Lack of chlorine can make a pool feel slimey.. but others may chime in on the
high amount of soda ash... this could deposit on the sides and floor.

I would use a Stainless Steel pool brush - which is safe on plaster/ pebble surfaces for aggressive cleaning.
I use one one on and off again in my plaster pool - but it would be preferred to remove any deposits, and help polish the plaster and pebble finish.

Would also clean your filters to make sure you are getting good filtration for the plaster dust.

Recap
Clean Filter
Brush with Stainless Brush a couple of time + work the foot print area.
Make sure you have good chlorine. 3-6ppm
SWIM AND ENJOY (even if its not perfect) :kim:

By brushing and filtering you should not really be getting new dust after the first aggressive brush with stainless or so since you pool was finished last year. You may initially stir up some calcium, CYA, Salt and soda ash that would stick to the sides and floor... and a bit of plaster dust (but after the first time or so you should not be getting dust or debris).

Immediately after brushing the pool should not feel slimey.
Keep chlorine and brush once a week + keep water in balance.

If the finish does not resolve - footprints etc I would go back to the Installer or MFG.
You would have to drain, and buff with a pro tool. This is often done with Pebble surfaces, but not sure about wetedge.

Watch this
polishing a pool finish - YouTube

This is the company that mfg the product/device that hooks to a power washer. They even will rent or loan a buffer.
Welcome to Coyote Abrasives - Let our diamonds polish your profits

Let us know..

Heildsburg is a beautiful area... if I was up there I would come help you.
B
 
The footprints are not due to scaling. Obviously, water cannot scale or etch in a footprint pattern.:confused:
You will need to decide whether to push hard and fight with the contractor and plaster contractor over this problem.
If you decide to push back, then might think about calling the California Contractors License Board.
 
Brushed & brushed and will brush some more today. Also been running the pump and the sweep 24/7 for 2 days.
got my test kit, yay! Today's results:(I did all of them 2x just to be sure my results were correct. ��)Here are my results.
FC - .5
CC - .5
ph - 8.2
TA - 120
CYA - 0
Cal. Hardness - 625
The little vial with the ph and chlorine test showed no chlorine. It didn't turn yellow at all.

The slimy residue is less but it's still there. See photo of it on heel after rubbing side of pool.
imagejpeg



Trying not to panic!
Lee
 

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No one else has mentioned this - perhaps for a reason - not sure. You have no FC in your pool and no CYA. Neither of those should be 0. I understand that you are waiting for salt to run the SWCG, but you do need to add CYA immediately and then use bleach to chlorinate until you startup the SWCG. With no CYA, any bleach added gets depleted by the sun in a matter of a few sunny hours (and more quickly if there is algae). And FC of 3-6 with no CYA is terribly strong (no CYA to buffer).

What has your testing and adding bleach regimen been? I could see a direct link to no chlorine and slimy surfaces.

Also, your pH is too high, bring to 7.5 with Muriatic acid. That high of pH and the very high CH level you have are a recipe for calcium scaling in short order.
 
Yes, no chlorine can result in a slimy surface. However, in this case, the plaster material and color is rubbing off. That is not the result of a lack of chlorine.
It is a result of a plaster surface that is deteriorating. Also, if the pool water was in an overly scaling condition, then it would be depositing a white and rough scale, and would not result in the dark plaster color rubbing off.

And note in the earlier pictures that the footprints, or rather the "shoe" prints are darker than the rest of the plaster surface. That is not the result of scaling problems. What may have happened during the plastering process, walking on the newly formed plaster surface, the shoes compacted the surface which resulted in a more dense surface.
There is a difference between white scaling, and color plaster that is turning white because of a soft and porous plaster surface. Yes, it is difficult to tell the difference between the two.
Water troweling, and/or acid washing and treatments can make the plaster surface more porous. And that is what can slowly makes the plaster color turn whitish.
 
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