Algae in my travertine

[JamesW]

I had the impression that Wet &forget increases alkalinity

What gave you that impression?

 

[poolnoobgrandma]

QUOTE="JamesW, post: 1915953, member: 18171"]
What gave you that impression?
[/QUOTE]
I did a lot of reading about Wet and Forget last year when I had this problem, and I know that I ended up using some washing soda before the product arrived because something I read said that Wet and Forget raises pH. It was in this thread: Wet and Forget product?

 

[JamesW]

I don't think that it works due to raising the pH.

 

[duraleigh]

Anybody ever think of trying chlorine?

 

[Jimmie48]

I saw a product at a lowes end cap the other day and it was for algae and mold. Reading the ingredients it was basically 5% bleach(chlorine) and some other ingredients so I am sure some diluted bleach would work well also....I will try it this weekend and report back myself...I can post pictures. IF it comes back maybe I will try the product mentioned above.

 

[Jimmie48]

So the bleach diluted with water worked perfectly. I sprayed it let it sit and it started turning brown right away then I washed it off. Shot it a 2nd time and scrubbed it a little bit and it looks great again. Will see how long it lasts. FYI I did about 1/4 bleach(std 6%) to water in a spray bottle. I have also heard Vinegar can work as well and if I see some pop up again I may try that also.

 

[JamesW]

Vinegar is acidic and not suitable for travertine.

 

[AnkurGT]

I had the impression that Wet &forget increases alkalinity, and that the algae doesn't like that. Could be completely off-base.

I see what you did there.

 

[suATX]

This Wiki post explains more about Benzalkonium Chloride

Benzalkonium chloride - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Seems fine to me...used as a preservative in eye drops etc...