Chlorine before Yellow Out

[GeNioS]

Hi all, Thanks for the forum.......really appreciate the ability to ask questions here. Have two issues but will start with this one. When I first bought the house (with the pool and spa) it has mustard algae and yellow out did the trick extremely well.

This year I didn't know I had water leaking into the spa and there was really dirty water when I opened it. I filled it up, got everything in order, but there were still dark stains there. I shocked the spa water and ran the filter for hours thinking that might do the trick...faded a little but still there.....

So next step I thought maybe I'd use yellow out, but the water is still super chlorinated from the shock....so a) do I even want to use yellow out b) if I do should I move water to and from the pool to dilute the chorline before doing the process, or can I just put the yellow out in the already chlorine heavy spa? c) am i clueless and shooting in the dark ...wait I'll answer c - yes.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Genios, welcome to TFP!

Our method of pool care would say you *NEVER* want to add Yellow-Out to your pool. That's basically ammonia. Which will of course chew thru your chlorine but can cause more headaches than it cures.

Do you know if the stains are organic (algae) or metals (copper, iron)? To test this place a chlorine puck on the stain for a few minutes and see if it lightens it. If not, take some cheap Vitamin C tablets and put them in a sock thin sock and bang'em up to crush them a bit- then hold that to an area of stain. If and how it changes the stain tells us its metals.

Can you do this?

Maddie

 

[borjis]

Ya throw it away / safely dispose of it.
I bought a bottle of that during a mustard slam...which in hindsight after being a member here for 6 months, should have known better.
Ended up throwing it away.

You definitely don't want that stuff in your pool water.

EDIT: I'm referring to Jack's Magic: The Yellow stuff

 

[Richard320]

If the stain faded some already, it's probably organic -- leaf tannin and so on. In which case, time is your friend. Like, a couple weeks' time with normal levels of chlorine..

But it could be metals -- rust, maybe, which changed into that black iron oxide like you find on drill bits and chisels. In which case, start with Vitamin C. If it lifts it, it's metals. The reason being is that trichlor is very acidic, and it, too, can lift metal stains. So if the stain lifts with a puck, was it the chlorine on the organic or the acid on the metal?Trying a Vitamin C first eliminates that question.

Just a plain, cheap, generic Vitamin C tablet. You can probably beg a few from someone you know if you don't already have some. Or go buy a bottle for a couple bucks. Rub it on the stain like chalk and wait ten minutes. Then brush the crust off. You'll know right away.

 

[GeNioS]

Thanks! I suspect the staining is organic. Rain water got through the cover and was sitting on the seat and the cover I was using did let some light through. So the dark water was probably algae of some sort. I'll try the vitamin C test today to make sure it isn't metal. I was going to ask about what I suspect is copper staining in the pool as well, so I'll try it there too.....

Algae in unbalanced water makes sense to me. But ti's crazy to me to think there are stains that are freaking impossible to get off of these surfaces when they are basically covered by water 24/7/365. Learning a lot......Thank you!

 

[GeNioS]

Okay I'm back. And now there is no where else to go but here. After a couole of weeks of waiting for the stain to go away (because I was sure it was organic), I put a vitamin c tablet in there and instantly it went away... And I mean instantly.

So I'm pretty sure it's an iron stain. So now I'm into the bioerase stuff? Also how does this happen? L

So in short, you guys are smart. Me, not so much. Thanks all.. Any quick advice, although I'm sure there is plenty of info on removing iron from the pool?

 

[Richard320]

Just use the search box for ascorbic acid treatment.