2-phosphonobutane-1,2,4-tricarboxylic acid - stain and scale

[rcy]

Found a stain and scale product that contains this stuff - 2-phosphonobutane-1,2,4-tricarboxylic acid.

Is this a good thing?

I find with the current stain and scale I'm using (Sani Marc 3 Met 0) = 1) Doesn't seem as effective as other brands I've used, and 2) Seems to consume chlorine as effictively as a product meant to remove chlorine.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

You can read this paper if you like the science - http://downloads.hindawi.com/journals/bca/2005/546865.pdf

PBTC has improved chlorine oxidation resistance than HEDP or AMP. It’s also used to increase the solubility of calcium ions so that would also improve the solubility of other metal ions as well.

The thing to understand is that even if you remove the stain, the metal ions are still in solution and still potentially able to scale out again. So the only permanent solution is to dissolve the metal stains and then drain the water while replacing it with metal-free water.