New owner and need help.

[fandu]

Short Version: Bought abandoned house at auction. Green pool. Asked pool guy to drain and clean and he left debris to dry for 2 weeks. Now says I have black algae and I should consider re-plaster.

Long version: Bought a house with a pool at auction in the SF Bay area. I am still learning about pool ownership and since the house needed some work, I focused on that and hired a local pool guy to drain and clean. Little did I know that I should not have drained the pool (and the pool guy didnt tel me either). Now that the pool is drained, there is sludge at the bottom and it stinks. Planning to shovel it out tomorrow.
So far I tried pressure wash with TSP as well as a chlorine wash. Pictures below. What else should be the next step. Acid wash? Is this a lost cause? Any advice appreciated


Pool when I purchased the house.

Drained pool

After pressure wash with TSP

Close up picture after chlorine wash

 

[Bluesilv]

I see a pool resurfacing in your future. That looks pretty bad.

 

[fandu]

Can this be painted? I realize that paint won't last long, but would like to delay the expensive resurfacing (or anything else needed) to a later date?

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

Welcome!

I wouldn't waste time with painting. Coatings were never really a good option and products have gone downhill since Low-VOC regulations went into effect. Peeling paint will cause further issues and force a pool closure. For now, if the shell is free of large cracks and leaks and the equipment is in decent shape, finish cleaning, fill with water, balance, and enjoy the pool until you can get funds together for a resurface. Get a good test kit and follow TFP methods to get the pool up and running. Don't leave the pool empty for longer than necessary.

 

[Bluesilv]

Can this be painted? I realize that paint won't last long, but would like to delay the expensive resurfacing (or anything else needed) to a later date?

We just resurfaced our pool. Plaster was pealing off the walls had rust stains all over. You can refill and maintain if you can live with an eye sore in the backyard. We bought the place knowing we had to resurface and negotiate accordingly. Hey rates are crazy low. If you are in for the long haul resurface it. If it’s a temp flip kinda thing then leave it alone but when you go to sell just know they will want a $10-$15k price reduction for the pools condition. I would at the very least replaster it. It shouldn’t be crazy $$$. We bought our forever home so we went with Pebble Sheen. I guarantee you will hate looking at an ugly pool every day. Water can be perfect but that black stuff will be unbearable. Good luck with whatever way you go.

 

[kimkats]

if the shell is free of large cracks and leaks and the equipment is in decent shape, finish cleaning, fill with water, balance, and enjoy the pool until you can get funds together for a resurface. Get a good test kit and follow TFP methods to get the pool up and running. Don't leave the pool empty for longer than necessary.

@Rancho Cost-a-Lotta said it all!

Kim

 

[fandu]

Welcome!

I wouldn't waste time with painting. Coatings were never really a good option and products have gone downhill since Low-VOC regulations went into effect. Peeling paint will cause further issues and force a pool closure. For now, if the shell is free of large cracks and leaks and the equipment is in decent shape, finish cleaning, fill with water, balance, and enjoy the pool until you can get funds together for a resurface. Get a good test kit and follow TFP methods to get the pool up and running. Don't leave the pool empty for longer than necessary.

Thanks. So this is not black algae? No harm in using the pool after balancing?

 

[mknauss]

As long as you manage the water chemistry using Recommended Levels - Trouble Free Pool no issue in using the pool.

Read Black Algae - Trouble Free Pool

 

[JamesW]

Looks like a lot of copper stains.

It probably would have been worthwhile to clean the water and do a sulfamic acid treatment and then drain and refill to get rid of the copper.

An acid wash might make a significant difference, but maybe not. Acid washing will definitely make the surface very rough.

 

[ManiacalMama]

We just had our pool replastered last summer. For our 13k gallon pool the low bid was about $5500 for plain white plaster. I felt like that was a really reasonable price. Of course we went for upgrades and tile cleaning and some plumbing repairs so it was significantly more (about 2.5 times more). California plasterers are very competitive. I'd vote to replaster if you can swing it. If you can't right now, fill it and see if it holds water and slam the heck out of it for a while to kill any nasties. If it holds water, I'm sure it'll be perfectly swimmable, just not all that pretty.

I can't tell if that is black algae, it looks more like staining. Our black algae was hard crusts in clumps here and there.

 

[fandu]

This is what it looks like after acid wash. Getting quotes for replaster.

 

[Bluesilv]

This is what it looks like after acid wash. Getting quotes for replaster. View attachment 128930

Man what did they put in there motor oil? Unbelievable

 

[jimmythegreek]

That's never gonna clean up its thru the plaster. Serious neglect by somebody. Make sure you have a full chip out done that will bleed thru eventually on a basic white plaster job.