We have a natural finish and never had problems until we switched to a mesh cover 2 years ago. Now we have stains in the shallow end. We did the Vitamin C test with negative results. We were advised by a local pool supply company to use Sparkle; however, the directions say to backwash. We have a modular filter - not sand or mud, so no ability to backwash. The company that built our pool said that Sparkle would ruin our filter, yet several posts state that only vacuuming is necessary. What is the truth? Will Sparkle ruin my filter? If so, what else can we do to remove the stains short of draining the pool?
stains on natural finish
- Thread starter sikorski
- Start date
Welcome to TFP!
BioGuard Sparkle-Up is a cellulose based filter aid that is completely safe for use with cartridge filters. When they say to backwash you will need to remove and clean the cartridge, but the end result is the same.
No stain will ever be removed by using Sparkle-Up alone. Nor will vacuuming help with staining.
To deal with the stains you first need to figure out what kind of stains they are. The failure of the vitamin c test means they are not iron. The next most likely possibilities are organic stains and copper. Try resting a trichlor tablet on one of the stains for a few minutes. If it is an organic stain the trichlor should either remove it or at least greatly lighten it up. Copper stains are more problematic. Have you been adding copper to the water? A few algaecides contain copper, and most "mineral" systems use copper.
BioGuard Sparkle-Up is a cellulose based filter aid that is completely safe for use with cartridge filters. When they say to backwash you will need to remove and clean the cartridge, but the end result is the same.
No stain will ever be removed by using Sparkle-Up alone. Nor will vacuuming help with staining.
To deal with the stains you first need to figure out what kind of stains they are. The failure of the vitamin c test means they are not iron. The next most likely possibilities are organic stains and copper. Try resting a trichlor tablet on one of the stains for a few minutes. If it is an organic stain the trichlor should either remove it or at least greatly lighten it up. Copper stains are more problematic. Have you been adding copper to the water? A few algaecides contain copper, and most "mineral" systems use copper.
We have well water and we sometimes have to add water. However, there were no stains until we switched to the mesh cover. I will check the algaecide. What is a trichlor tablet and where do we find them? Thank you for your response.
Okay - that was stupid. A chlorine tablet. I will try that. The algaecide is Bioguard and does not list all ingrdients.
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