Cleaning and cracks

[PhoenixJBA]

I have a few questions about making repairs and cleaning:

Any recommendations on how I can clean these mineral deposits on the water line tile? They’re mostly a hazy film but there’s a few spots where it’s thicker. Can I use vinegar?

There are cracks in the grout. I think they were previously filled with silicone. Can we use any silicone to fill in the gaps?

The cracks in the cement decking: is this some should be concerned about? If so, is this something we can repair or patch ourselves?

I would be grateful for any input on any of these questions.

 

[ajw22]

I have a few questions about making repairs and cleaning:

Any recommendations on how I can clean these mineral deposits on the water line tile? They’re mostly a hazy film but there’s a few spots where it’s thicker. Can I use vinegar?

I think it will require bead blasting to clean it...

Waterline Scale Removal - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Scale on Tile

I have a lot of scale on my tile at the water line. A previous owner kept the water level high and now I have a ring of hard white scale (Phoenix water is really hard). I want to try and clean this off, my thought is to not use chemicals and ruin my water chemistry. I was thinking of using a...

www.troublefreepool.com

Waterline Scale Removal

After a recent drain and refill and dialing in my chemistry and CSI, I'm ready to have the waterline calcium scale removed. I now understand how to avoid calcium deposits so I'm ready for a nice clean start. As I start my search of local vendors, I thought I would seek input that may help me...

www.troublefreepool.com

There are cracks in the grout. I think they were previously filled with silicone. Can we use any silicone to fill in the gaps?

As you can tell the silicone did not last long in the sun. If the silicone was not on it I would say you should regrout the areas. However grout patches will not stick to areas that have silicone on it.

The long term fix is to dig out the old grout and regrout it.

The cracks in the cement decking: is this some should be concerned about? If so, is this something we can repair or patch ourselves?

Overall the cracks in the grout and the cement coping show that the cement is moving relative to the pool. A ring of cement should have been structurally attached to the top of the pool to anchor it and the pool and the concrete should be moving together as one structure. You will likely continue to get cracks.

Cracks that are perpendicular to the pool I would cut a straight channel in them with a concrete saw and grout the line and make it look like a seam between sections of concrete.

 

[Arizonarob]

From the pictures it looks like the time has come to remodel. How is the plaster in the pool? If the age of the pool is approaching 20 years, then it’s nearing the end of its life.

You can spend money on band-aid repairs to get you by, but honestly you’d be wasting it. If the pool is not leaking, then I would leave it till it’s time to redo. Judging by the severity of those cracks at the tile line and skimmer throat, the pool was not taken care of very well. I suspect somewhere during its life, the pool was left with a low water level.

Can you post up some more pictures of your pool and equipment pad for us?