Skid mark from bag of salt

[JJ_Tex]

This afternoon I added a bag of salt after backwashing to bring the salt back up. It was a single bag of salt, from Sure Soft at Lowes. I inspected it before I put it in and it was normal white salt with no oily residue like several have reported. I dumped it in the pool and ran the robot immediately like I usually do. I left to run some errands and came back to a skid mark on my plaster. Thoughts on what I can do (besides untangle the robot cord)?

 

[PoolStored]

Vitamin C in a sock, dive and scrub. Prolly a bit of iron.

 

[mknauss]

Get a sock and some vitamin C tablets. You know the rest.

 

[JJ_Tex]

Thanks, I'll do the sock and vitamin C... just more venting than anything. People shouldn't be scared to put salt in their pools. Have some freakin quality control on your products.

 

[Mdragger88]

That sucks - I’m dealing with some staining and I wondered about the salt I have used as my last several mortons professional bags were extremely dirty/rocky this year & last. I’ve switched brands now but I have put many pounds of it in.
The vitamin c is like magic though!

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

Another brand of salt to avoid.

Noted...

 

[pjt]

Bag says "Contains a Stain Fighter". Could that ironically be the source of the stain?

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

Bag says "Contains a Stain Fighter"

It's a typo.

It's supposed to say, "Contains a Stain Fighter"

 

[JamesW]

Bag says "Contains a Stain Fighter".

I guess it lost the fight.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Was it softener salt?

Most “stain fighters” in salt are sodium hexametaphosphate (SHMP) and it won’t cause iron stains.

Salt, by itself, can cause iron staining if there is already trace iron levels in the water. The solid salt dissolves slowly and creates a large volume of water with very high ionic strength. The high ionic strength solution leads to the precipitation of iron oxides that normally would not happen on its own. It’s akin to a chemical process known as “salting out” … the presence of a high concentration of ions in solutions affects the ability of water to maintain the solubility of other ionic species, in this case, iron.

The fix is to either pre-dissolve the salt first and add it like you would other concentrated chemicals (in front of a return) OR add the salt to the pool and very vigorously brush it around until it is dissolved. Using a robot is not going to be targeted enough and there were probably very concentrated piles of salt sitting on the plaster for too long.

 

[JJ_Tex]

Thanks. No iron in the water that I know of (city water) and it was marketed as pool salt. I was only gone for about an hour and came back to no undissolved salt plus a skidmark, but regardless, I ended up with a stain.
I think I'll try pre-dissolving the salt next time I have to add salt. Kinda a PITA, but that way I can really get a good look at the salt and make a decision as to if it is pool worthy or if it needs to be dumped on the neighbor's grass.

I also emailed the company to see if they had any ideas and also send them the lot number of the bag in case they care. I'm not expecting much more than a coupon for the $8 I spent on the bag, but I'll post back if they respond with any info.

 

[markayash]

This afternoon I added a bag of salt after backwashing to bring the salt back up. It was a single bag of salt, from Sure Soft at Lowes. I inspected it before I put it in and it was normal white salt with no oily residue like several have reported. I dumped it in the pool and ran the robot immediately like I usually do. I left to run some errands and came back to a skid mark on my plaster. Thoughts on what I can do (besides untangle the robot cord)?

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I missed your previous thread “ how can I make my robot faster? Can I increase the voltage from 20 to 60?”

 

[JJ_Tex]

I missed your previous thread “ how can I make my robot faster? Can I increase the voltage from 20 to 60?”

You may be on to something. I bet I could even use the Bluetooth controls to make it do a donut.

 

[JJ_Tex]

As a quick update, I used the vitamin C tablets to lift the stain. All I did was put a handful of tablets into a sock and hit them with a hammer to break them up. Then I dove underwater and patted the stain a few times causing the dissolving tablets to "poof" every time I patted it. It lifted the stain instantly.

Hope that helps someone else.

Also Suresoft did contact me, but just to ask for the Lot # on the bag which I provided. Radio silence since then.

 

[kellyfair]

I jump in with the brush and have my daughter pour the salt in. Doesn’t take long to dissolve especially if you keep it moving.

 

[PoolStored]

I jump in with the brush and have my daughter pour the salt in. Doesn’t take long to dissolve especially if you keep it moving.

JJ was giving an update. JJ put in salt and it left a stain. It was Vitamin C tablets that he put in a sock and crushed to remove the stain.

 

[markayash]

I jump in with the brush and have my daughter pour the salt in. Doesn’t take long to dissolve especially if you keep it moving.

Somebody posted they add salt and let the kids do canon balls

 

[kellyfair]

JJ was giving an update. JJ put in salt and it left a stain. It was Vitamin C tablets that he put in a sock and crushed to remove the stain.

Yes, I saw that.