- Jul 23, 2007
- 401
- Pool Size
- 17500
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
What does this generally cost? I got a quote for $750 and have no idea if that is high, low or just right?
kierserite tile cleaning
- Thread starter 4x4tx
- Start date
- Apr 10, 2018
- 5,272
- Pool Size
- 18375
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45
It's about $5 per linear foot around here now.
www.troublefreepool.com
Waterline Scale Removal - Further Reading
www.troublefreepool.com
- Jul 23, 2007
- 401
- Pool Size
- 17500
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
- Apr 10, 2018
- 5,272
- Pool Size
- 18375
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45
That may be a factor. There's not too many companies that do this, so you're kind of stuck with pricing in your area.
- Apr 10, 2018
- 5,272
- Pool Size
- 18375
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45
I should note that mine was done with glass beads. There are some negative effects on pool chemistry with kieserite. Do a bit of shopping around and see what you can find out.
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- Jul 23, 2007
- 401
- Pool Size
- 17500
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
What are the negative effects of keiserite? Supposedly they vac it all out afterward but I am sure that is not 100%.
- Apr 10, 2018
- 5,272
- Pool Size
- 18375
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45
See the post below regarding kieserite. @JoyfulNoise may have some additional comments.
www.troublefreepool.com
Salt Blasting
I've heard of glass bead blasting for tile cleaning but never pool tile salt blasting. Is there anyone that has had this done or do any of the pool surface experts here have any thoughts one way or the other on this procedure...
www.troublefreepool.com
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- Jul 23, 2007
- 401
- Pool Size
- 17500
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
- Jul 23, 2007
- 401
- Pool Size
- 17500
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
I find this interesting from the pool school article on the blasting because my pool has been blasting flakes out all summer. It has been extremely hot in Texas but my CH levels are low. Last I test I did was between 255-300 so why am I getting the flakes currently?
In general with any kind of blasting work, you want to match the blasting media so that it is as hard or harder than the material you want to remove but not so hard that it damages the underlying substrate. As you can see from above, the kierserite and glass beads will satisfy the first criteria BUT the glass beads can also cut into the tile glaze. Soda blasting is inadequate for scale removal. The downside to kierserite is that it does dissolve slowly in water and so, if you are not vacuuming it out of the pool, it will raise your sulfate levels. If your pool tends to have high CH you could experience calcium sulfate scale formation when the SWG chlorinator runs (it looks like snowflakes shooting out of the returns). Sulfates are known to degrade the metal coating on SWG plates over time and can damage plaster via "sulfate attack" and so you want to keep the total sulfate load below 300ppm. So that means the blasting should not use more than 31lbs of media per 10,000 gallons of pool water.
In general with any kind of blasting work, you want to match the blasting media so that it is as hard or harder than the material you want to remove but not so hard that it damages the underlying substrate. As you can see from above, the kierserite and glass beads will satisfy the first criteria BUT the glass beads can also cut into the tile glaze. Soda blasting is inadequate for scale removal. The downside to kierserite is that it does dissolve slowly in water and so, if you are not vacuuming it out of the pool, it will raise your sulfate levels. If your pool tends to have high CH you could experience calcium sulfate scale formation when the SWG chlorinator runs (it looks like snowflakes shooting out of the returns). Sulfates are known to degrade the metal coating on SWG plates over time and can damage plaster via "sulfate attack" and so you want to keep the total sulfate load below 300ppm. So that means the blasting should not use more than 31lbs of media per 10,000 gallons of pool water.
- Apr 10, 2018
- 5,272
- Pool Size
- 18375
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45
Are you getting flakes or calcium scale? Waterline scale is much different and generally cannot be prevented. Regular maintenance can mitigate the buildup of scale along the water line. Flakes are usually a chemistry issue. Feel free to post your full test results along with water temp, and we could probably help you out.
- Jul 23, 2007
- 401
- Pool Size
- 17500
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Ok thanks. I thought the poolmath app was working but doesnt seem like it is in my sig.
My latest testing was:
3.5FC
.0025 CC
8.2 PH
130 TA
225 CH
55 CYA
.58 CSI
I added about 60oz of acid to pull the PH down.
My latest testing was:
3.5FC
.0025 CC
8.2 PH
130 TA
225 CH
55 CYA
.58 CSI
I added about 60oz of acid to pull the PH down.
- Jul 23, 2007
- 401
- Pool Size
- 17500
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
This is what it looks like but this is not why I am getting the tile cleaning. I have scale on my wall tile for whatever reason but these flakes starting showing up this summer when it got really really hot here in Texas. I cleaned my salt cell in May after a year and it was clean, no scale in there at all. I really dont know how I am getting tile scale, my fill water is after a water softner so there is no CH in it, I have had to add CH manually to keep it within range because with that infinity basin I have had a hard time keeping it at the level I want. sometimes it will overflow so I lose water which when filled gets the zero CH fill water.
Attachments
Last edited:
- Apr 10, 2018
- 5,272
- Pool Size
- 18375
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45
Your high TA and pH are turning your SWG into a snowflake generator (SFG 
).
But really...your high TA is the main culprit, coupled with high water temps and uncontrolled pH. Even with low CH levels, these factors will result in flakes within the cell. Work on lowering your TA between 60-80 ppm and maintain CSI in the negative range, closer to -0.30. For me (with CH at 300) I start to see flakes when TA rises above 80. If you have high TA fill water, you may have a fight on your hands and will have to aerate. Check out the article below...
www.troublefreepool.com
).But really...your high TA is the main culprit, coupled with high water temps and uncontrolled pH. Even with low CH levels, these factors will result in flakes within the cell. Work on lowering your TA between 60-80 ppm and maintain CSI in the negative range, closer to -0.30. For me (with CH at 300) I start to see flakes when TA rises above 80. If you have high TA fill water, you may have a fight on your hands and will have to aerate. Check out the article below...
Lower Total Alkalinity
A lower Total Alkalinity level can help a pool owner stabalize their pH increase. We'll explain how to lower TA with a little help from muriatic acid.
www.troublefreepool.com
- Feb 6, 2015
- 6,273
- Pool Size
- 12300
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45 Plus
Your CSI (0.58) is probably causing this.
Get your TA down to 60-70 - see the link that Mike posted.
While lowering TA, lower pH rto no lower than 7.2 and then aerate to increase pH. Rinse, repeat.
Keep CSI in the 0.00 to -0.30 (negative 0.30) range. That should help minimize the SWG flakes and waterline scale.
What is the pH, TA and CH of your fill water?
Get your TA down to 60-70 - see the link that Mike posted.
While lowering TA, lower pH rto no lower than 7.2 and then aerate to increase pH. Rinse, repeat.
Keep CSI in the 0.00 to -0.30 (negative 0.30) range. That should help minimize the SWG flakes and waterline scale.
What is the pH, TA and CH of your fill water?
- Jul 23, 2007
- 401
- Pool Size
- 17500
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
- Jul 23, 2007
- 401
- Pool Size
- 17500
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
so is this tile cleaning sulfate going to cause me any more issues with what my test results are?
- Apr 10, 2018
- 5,272
- Pool Size
- 18375
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45
Hopefully @JoyfulNoise will stop by and comment. I know sulfates can have detrimental effects on pool surfaces and equipment, but not sure how quickly levels will rise through kieserite blasting.
- May 23, 2015
- 24,513
- Pool Size
- 16000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
Excess magnesium can mess up your CH test and sulfate is not good for the SWG.
The last time my tiles were blasted with MaxxStrip (which is an incredibly bad product name when searching on Google …), I had to hard drain a lot of water right afterwards because the guy left without fully vacuuming out all the blasting media. He claimed his “vacuum” wasn’t working right and that I just let the media dissolve into the pool water because “it’s all natural and not at all harmful” … I knew A LOT MORE than he did. Then I exchange drained the pool quite a bit after I got a magnesium hardness test and determined that he used WAAAAY too much media while blasting.
Long story short, I suggest heavily draining the pool afterwards if it’s safe or do a good exchange drain.
The last time my tiles were blasted with MaxxStrip (which is an incredibly bad product name when searching on Google …), I had to hard drain a lot of water right afterwards because the guy left without fully vacuuming out all the blasting media. He claimed his “vacuum” wasn’t working right and that I just let the media dissolve into the pool water because “it’s all natural and not at all harmful” … I knew A LOT MORE than he did. Then I exchange drained the pool quite a bit after I got a magnesium hardness test and determined that he used WAAAAY too much media while blasting.
Long story short, I suggest heavily draining the pool afterwards if it’s safe or do a good exchange drain.
- Jul 23, 2007
- 401
- Pool Size
- 17500
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Ok point me to a magnesium hardness test And their vacuum sucked it out to dump into the grass ?
I just asked this question to the company that did it and they were not aware of any of these issues.
I just asked this question to the company that did it and they were not aware of any of these issues.
- May 23, 2015
- 24,513
- Pool Size
- 16000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
Of course they don’t know … welcome to the pool service industry, chemistry knowledge is not necessary.
I use the K-1722 Hardness kit (Calcium and Total).
TH - CH = Magnesium hardness
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