Pool Stains - Help!?!

[willfrench5]

I bought a house with a 30+ year old pool at the end of the season last year. It had some slight staining on the plaster, which I planned to deal with this year when the pool was opened again.

The staining has gotten much worse and is covering a lot of the sides and bottom of the pool. It is a light green/grey/brownish color. We has shocked the pool and the water is very clear. The pH was very high and we use well water, so I suspected metal staining after reading some threads on this forum. The pH is corrected to normal levels (7.8). We have tried scrubbing by hand with no luck. I tried some Vitamin C tablets today with very bad results - a big black streak and the original stain is still there under the black.

A couple of pics are attached showing stain and then stain after Vitamin C tabs. Any help anyone can offer would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

Bill

 

[TomBorg]

If Vitamin C made the stain turn black, then it is most likely copper stains.

That's an oddly shaped stain. Was the vitamin C in a tied-up sock? Or did you just pour it in? This is one of the reasons why it is best to determine the type of stain by testing in a small spot. Yes, Captain Hindsight to the rescue......

Be sure to read Metals in the Water and Metal Stains, if you haven't already.

Then search this site for threads on copper removal from plaster. (I've never dealt with metal stains myself, so I won't try to paraphrase any.) Or someone with more metals experience might chime in here.

 

[willfrench5]

Thanks for the feedback. The stain is odd shaped, but I think it is a direct result of us trying the Vitamin C on a small area. We dropped a few tablets down to see if they would do anything. They turned black, and then the stain was "pulled" toward the drain. Good news is that overnight, most of it went away, except for directly where we dropped the tabs.

I looked at the "Metals in the Water" section previously, and did not see anything referenced about treating copper staining. Did I miss something? IT seems like there is info on how to eliminate the copper in the water, but not necessarily how to take out the stain. Any advice?

Thanks again.

If Vitamin C made the stain turn black, then it is most likely copper stains.

That's an oddly shaped stain. Was the vitamin C in a tied-up sock? Or did you just pour it in? This is one of the reasons why it is best to determine the type of stain by testing in a small spot. Yes, Captain Hindsight to the rescue......

Be sure to read Metals in the Water and Metal Stains, if you haven't already.

Then search this site for threads on copper removal from plaster. (I've never dealt with metal stains myself, so I won't try to paraphrase any.) Or someone with more metals experience might chime in here.

 

[TomBorg]

Here's a search on forum posts about removing copper stains.

I read through a few, and this one seems to be very helpful.