Help - Is painter trying to kill me?

[cgott42]

The house that I bought about 5yrs ago came with a Sylvan Inner Ground pool. After using it the past 2-3 years we decided to paint it. (It seems that it hasn't been kept up in years and years). The prices were (for my budget) outrageous but we found a local handyman who used to work maintaining pools to do it.
It looks great.
However I noticed that the pool water tastes like the smell of the paint. Also I noticed tiny little specs of paint chips in the robotic pool cleaner.

Is this dangerous that I need to shut down the pool?
Can I empty out the water (35,000 gallons) and refill?
??

 

[TizMe]

What type of paint did the painter use ?

 

[cgott42]

says on box:
INSL-X Rubber Based Satin

 

[TizMe]

Someone who knows more about it should be along soon to offer their opinions and expertise.

 

[Durk]

Well, I was skeptical, so I checked. The manufacturer states that it is NOT for vinyl liner pools. See linky below:
http://stainmasterpaint.com/downloads/Insl-x PDS/RP-2700 New.pdf

I painted my pool (steel) with chlorinated rubber-based paint for 40 years with no problem until they stopped making primer for steel pools. I know it would not stick to plastic because I tried some left-over paint on an umbrella base. My guess is it is time for a dump, new liner, and new water. I hope someone else has better news for you.

 

[cgott42]

sorry, forgot to mention it is a cement pool

 

[Durk]

sorry, forgot to mention it is a cement pool

OOPS, my bad, I thought I saw something that said it was a liner pool. A freshly painted and filled cement or steel pool WILL smell for 2 or 3 days. I remember actually thinking it tasted like it, too. It would all be fine relatively quickly. Did you wait the suggested seven days before filling??

The chips may be just a little excess chewed off by the robocleaner or it might be a real problem. I tend to think it's the former. I'd give it a week and see if the cleaner and filter can handle what is coming off. Run the filter 24/7 and keep an eye on the pressure gauge. Sorry for my previous post...

 

[cgott42]

No problem.
It's been about a week, in the beginning I noticed quite a lot of paint chips (big pieces too) in the filter leave catcher bind.
Now, I don't see any large chips in the filter thing, just a decent amount of tiny speckles of paint chips in the filter bag of the robo cleaner.
Also, we did not wait a week, filled up the pool after about 24-36 hours.

Also, even if the chips go away, will the water ever be normal? i.e. is the paint mixed in with the water? Do I need to empty /refill?
Is this dangerous to swim in now?

thanks!

 

[Durk]

If I had two good sunny days on the drying paint, I would fill. If it was not sunny, I would wait the recommended time because the paint would not be dry and hard, meaning volatile chemicals were still in it. I hope your 24-36 hours was sunny but I am guessing the short drying time is the source of your problem. I am no expert, but, assuming you followed the instructions otherwise, the volatile components of the paint are just that, very volatile. They are also lighter than water and not very soluble so you expect them to come to the surface and evaporate. After a few days they should be gone. Since our fill water was 55°F, it was a week before we spent any time in the pool. By then, any smell/taste was gone. I also suspect that our non-porous steel dried a lot faster than your cement does.

I have no knowledge if your pool is safe to swim right now because I don't know why the smell/taste is still there. If in a few more days, there is no smell or taste, I would not be worried. These days, safety is in the eye of the beholder. As a kid, I used to play in the fog of the DDT truck when it went by. So if you are really worried, take it to a lab that does well water and get it tested. You would still want to wait a few more days to give the volatiles time to escape before you did that. Those tests are not cheap.

I cannot advise you on dumping a freshly painted cement pool because I have never done that. However, if I had filled after only 24 hours dry time and I still had smell after two weeks, I would bite the bullet, dump, give the pool a few days to air dry, and refill. But I have abundant, free water. Hopefully, someone else with better knowledge can offer you some options.

 

[cgott42]

thanks I appreciate the info.
The 24hr+ time that I waited was nice and dry. Yep it's just 2 weeks now.
Sounds like I need to dump/refill.
Question that I have now is that this week is "THE WEEK" i.e. the week when all of the kids are home from camp and the week before school starts. i.e. Everyone has invited their friends to come over and swim.
Is it safe to wait a week? How much does it cost to test the water & how long until they give results?

I feel like I'm barging in on a wedding while everyone is eating and I scream out that the "food is not safe!"
Of course if it isn't I have no choice, I definately don't want to hurt anyone.
urggh