Yellowish/Brown ring at waterline damaging liner

Jump to latest Follow Reply
K

kaseals

0
Jul 20, 2009
7
Hello all,
I'm new to the site and like all "newbies", I have a problem. I have a yellowish/brown that ring (feels a little rough) at the waterline around my pool but only on the side facing the sun. The real problem, however, is if I try to clean the ring, the decorative pattern also comes off. Even if I scrub gently, the pattern comes off. So far I've only tried to clean a small portion, less than an inch, but I'm afraid that the liner may be damaged. Also, I don't want an obvious discolored ring around the pool. It would simply look aweful. I have had the pool for about two years and have never had this problem. I've also tested the water and everything seems to be normal and balanced. Any ideas about what could be causing the ring, if the liner is damaged and how can I get rid of the ring? Thank you all in advance and any help will be greatly appreciated.
 
I haven't noticed any cracks but if they're there, that sucks.

Depending on how you look at, I'm pretty fortunate to live about a mile from a pool store. I have the water tested every Saturday. I didn't notice the ring until this afternoon. Since the liner is dark, it's actually pretty unnoticable but I can feel it and upon closer examination, I could see small patches of something. If I simply rub it with my finger, no problem but if I use the brush, it scratches.
 
I would say you're fortunate if you can buy chlorine and acid from there, but your testing should be done elsewhere, preferably at home with your own kit. almost everyone here has stories of how bad their pool store testing was. have you read through pool-school/ specifically the articles on chemistry?
 
No, I haven't read the pool school articles but I will now. It seems that everyone has had great success with this site so I'm going to "school". Thanks for all of your help. I'll post the results that I get tomorrow.

Are there any recommended home kits in the articles? If not, any recommendations? Again, thanks for all of your help. I really appreciate it:)

I really hope I don't have to but a new liner.......:(
 
Hello again,
I got my water tested again yesterday, the levels tested within range again. (Im going to buy an home testing kit this weekend). The results from the test are listed below. I also so included a picture to give a better idea of what Im talking about. The stains are a little hard to see but the damage to the lining is visible. I don't see any cracks, the design is simply coming off with light pressure. My main concern is major damage to the lining especially since the pool is only two years old. Thanks again and any help is greatly appreciated.

CH - 200
CYA - 40
PH - 7.4
Alkalinity - 110
Total Chlorine -1.0[attachment=0:2b6qs76f]103_1272.JPG[/attachment:2b6qs76f]
 

Attachments

  • 103_1272.JPG
    103_1272.JPG
    227.2 KB · Views: 139

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
I read the pool school article on the recommeneded chemical levels. With the exception of the ph, it appears that my levels are within range of the recommendations. The ph level is within the recommended level of the pool store that I used. I also read the recommened home kit article. I was going to buy the kit from Leslie's that is one of the recommendations. Is this not an item that can be purchased at the store? Any idea what could be causing the problem for my liner? Furthermore, I use the Ionizer system and have never had any problem: never any cloudiness, algea or scum. The water has alway been crystal clear, as it is now. The problem is just at the waterline with the stain and the damage. Thanks again for your help.
 
gotcha. Ionizers aren't recommended for several reasons. There is an article on alternative sanitizers that explains why buy I can't get it right now. Someone else will post it or I will tomorrow. Which one do you have and how much was it? You say your fc is 1 which is far from correct if you choose to follow the method of pool care outlined here. The link I posted above about chlorine and cya shows the correct levels. Also, your ph is fine even if the pool store said so ;) you will see a lot of pool store animosity here due to the way most of them screw people over.
It's very unlikely Leslie's has that kit in store. I would call first. If they do and you want to buy it, I recommend printing out the page from leslies website cause its cheaper online than in store, but they should match it if you bring it in. The one from www.tftestkits.net is a much better value though.
Whatever you decide to do, good luck.
 
The PH and TA are acceptable now, but were they always maintained at the proper level? I'd suspect prolonged low ph as causing that kind of damage. I have a little bit of area like your's, there were a couple of years where I battled low PH/TA and I didn't understand the importance, the pool store never explained it to me, and I was using test strips. The trichlor was always lowering the PH/TA and I couldn't keep it up, didn't understand why it was happening. I'll be lucky to get another year or two out of the liner.

The staining is probably from the Ionizer. I used to have one (Pool Frog "Mineral System"), and I have a brown/blackish ring around the waterline left over from my ionizer days.

I used to maintain the recommended .5-1 FC, I ended up with huge amounts of organic staining as a result, despite high mineral levels that caused my kids hair and the white hair on my dog to turn green.
You can see a picture of my pool, from where I started at when I joined TFP:
http://www.troublefreepool.com/post5558.html#p5558

Here is the article Reebok mentioned:

http://www.troublefreepool.com/alternative-sanitizers-and-chemical-free-pools-the-truth-t3025.html

Ditch the Ionizer. You don't need it, its not helping your pool, or your pocketbook.
 
Thanks guys for all of your help. I've learned more in the last couple days than I have since I have had the pool. I have always thought that I was maintaining the proper levels but then again I was depending on store testing for accuracy. Im going to begin doing my own testing as soon as possible. Thanks for the info on the Ionizer as well. I had always thought it was doing a good job. I'm definitely glad I joined this site. I see I really have a lot to learn. Thanks again!! I'm sure I'll have more question to follow.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply