Pool Companies scaling solution.

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jcrowe61

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May 22, 2011
7
I just opened my 4 year old pool and for the first time I'm having an issue with scaling. I have a mesh cover and the company that closed my pool thinks because of the extremely wet winter we had that the Stain and Scaling treatment they closed it with became diluted. When I opened my Ph was 8.4, when I closed the pool it was 7.4. Needless to say I'm upset! I've tried a stainless steel algea brush and it doesn't do anything, the only thing I've found that works is wet sanding but that would take all summer. The pool company wants to set up temporary pumps and load the pool up with muriatic acid for a week or 2 to clear it up but they want to charge mt $1000 to do it. What ever happened to standing behind your service?!?

Has anyone ever tried Jack's Magic with any success? Has anyone had succes removing scaling?
 
Your pH is a major contributor to your scaling.
pool-school/pool_water_chemistry
You need to add muratic acid to get the pH within range.

It would also help to know your TA and CH or TH. Can you post a full set of numbers?

You can do this yourself, there's no reason to pay anyone. Once I got everything balanced on mine, the scaling went away on its own.
 
You have certainly identified the culprit as high pH.

It's gonna be tough removing scale from your pool but I would suggest you lower pH down to 7.0 and, through VERY careful monitoring, keep it there for a few weeks and see if the scale loosens.

It may not work but it's an inexpensive attempt with no harm as long as you watch the pH carefully.
 
Follow duraleigh's recommendations. Also, you need to get a proper test kit so you can test your pool yourself. If you are still at .01 FC, you need to address that once you have your pH correct. That's way low, especially for a CYA of 95. No more trichlor pucks for you!
 
I'm looking into a test kit now, I did add shock after that reading and I use a Pentair Chlorine Dispenser that takes the pucks. It has an adjustment dial that goes from 0 to 6 and I usually have it set around 3 1/2 but maybe I should turn it higher.
 
Without your own test kit, I would withdraw my suggestion to lower your pH to 7.0. Pool store testing is simply too unreliable and intermittent to maintain your pH that low for that long.

Likewise, you need to start reading pool school and l;earn to manage your own water and stop trusting other people to do it. As you now know, that doesn't always work.
 
I second the "no more pucks" advice. That includes any other source of dichlor/trichlor. Your CYA is 95, and the recommended range is 30-50. The best choice would be to drain about a 1/3 of the water and refill to get the CYA in range. Liquid chlorine does not contain CYA and is your best choice for chlorinating the pool at this time.

A high quality test kit such as the TF 100 or the Taylor K2006 will help you take control of your pool.
 

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I'll be doing a partial drain tonight to lower the CYA. How much water should I remove? I was going to lower it a foot and see what that does to the CYA level. My PH is right around 7.2-7.3 right now and I'd like to keep it there to see if it helps with the scaling, typically I keep it at 7.5.
 
I'd drain 1/2 the pool, and refill-should put you around 40-50ppm CYA, and make everything much more manageable...
This should also dilute any calcium and other crud accumalated in pool, assuming fill water isn't to hard, and help get rid of scale.
 
You really, really, really ought to spend $68 for the TF-100 and then you can monitor all the chemicals as often as needed, and get results you can believe. Then the chemicals you get will be just what you need, no more, no less.
 
I just finished fixing my friends Massive scaling problem in his pool. In his case (in CT) it was a combination of factors and TIME
that created the environment for the scale to develop. I don't think you would get really bad scale from one winter over with PH rising.

PH will rise alone with the snow and melt water which will go through most covers and am not surprised at all with high PH upon opening. I actually left my plaster pool uncovered in CT.

Others may disagree but your scale most likely has been brewing for a couple of years with High PH, alkalinity & Calcium Hardness issues- and possibly a salt generator with too much salt?

I would get a good test kit and read up. Do the low acid treatment (run low then allow it to come back up... several time over and brush) and see if you can get it to begin to recede. The only thing EXTRA pumps would do is AIREATE the water which Raises the PH. There is no special pumps... you could buy a couple of nice sump pumps @ Sears or Harbor Freight and do the same thing. Acid is $6 a gallon and you may need over time 20 gallons over the season.

My friends case was SO bad like 40-grit that we had to drain and buff off as nothing would remove - not even 100% acid. And again this was an issue that was brewing over time.

Anyway I might find another friend to help.
Others?
 
I received my test kit and have been keeping the PH right around 7.1 or 7.2. I was in the pool yesterday and it is still pretty rough and the stains are still there. A rep from Jacks's Magic came to the house the other day and used their Copper and Scale remover on a portion of the step and it came up nicely. The plan is to put a heater bypass in and run the pool with the Jack's formula in there for a week and see what happens.

Jack's Copper and scale, Jack's "Magenta Stuff" and 1/2 gallon of Muriatic Acid for 1 week.

More to follow......
 
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