Pool liner bleached, wrinkled in one area

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W

Wendynat

0
Mar 4, 2008
29
We got a replacement pool a couple of years ago, and I continued to pour the bleach in front of the return like I had with the previous pool. I guess, however, the circulation area wasn't quite the same, and late last summer we noticed a patch on the liner floor that is bleached out and feels wrinkly/"different" from the rest of the liner.

Is there anything I can do to stretch the life of this liner as much as possible (aside from not putting in the bleach the same way, which I'm not anymore! I've gotten good at doing a toss that spreads it out across the surface now :) ). Should we try to patch over it, or put one of those pool fake mosaic mats over the area? Or just accept that it's gonna die at some point earlier than it should have?
 
Very interesting question..........I am not sure of the answer but my gut says just use care with all of your levels and keep them spot on and do everything in your power to keep from having to do a SLAM or allowing the water to become unbalanced. That alone will make a difference for all parts of the liner.

I worry the fake mats will alone cause more problems as they are known to help hide algae due to the circulation not being good under them so.........algae comes to say hi under them.

Kim:kim:
 
Thanks, Kim - I didn't even consider that re: the mats. I've also seen reviews about them not staying in place so it probably wouldn't be helpful even without the algae issue. My water is usually very well balanced through the season, haven't had to shock except at opening in most years. We just opened this week, and the water's good now - I'll be sure to keep it balanced over the season.

I hope that and my better broadcasting of the chlorine will at least stall any further damage. It seems like it might be too big of an area to put a patch over as well. ARGH! Wish I'd noticed earlier! I slowly poured it in the same spot in our previous pool for about 10 years with no ill effects, but a slightly different return setup in this pool apparently messed me up.
 
Bleach typically won't do that. Bleach can't really pool other than a low area. Even then, it shouldn't cause bleaching or wrinkling.

Wrinkling is usually from very low ph.

Bleaching is usually from solid chlorine, like calcium hypochlorite.

If you add bleach with the pump on, it should mix in quickly.

Always brush the pool after adding bleach to get good mixing.
 
JamesW said:
Bleach typically won't do that. Bleach can't really pool other than a low area. Even then, it shouldn't cause bleaching or wrinkling.

Wrinkling is usually from very low ph.

Bleaching is usually from solid chlorine, like calcium hypochlorite.

If you add bleach with the pump on, it should mix in quickly.

Always brush the pool after adding bleach to get good mixing.
Click to expand...

I use liquid chlorine from the pool store - 12.5% in the refillable containers. Never used any granular chlorine or tabs, etc. The ph did drop over the winter, but I would think the entire pool liner would show issues if it was that. I use dry acid and spread around pool if ph is high, just because I'm not comfortable dealing with muriatic acid, but it's very rare that I ever need to knock ph down. I usually end up having to bump ph up a bit here and there to keep it at 7.5 (maybe once every couple of months?). The only discoloration and texture difference is right where I was slow pouring the liquid chlorine the last two seasons, so that's what I assumed was the cause.

We keep our pump on 24/7 on low.
 
Here they are -
Wide shot, can see the lighter area of the liner is attached, along with a closer pic of the wrinkles. It's more noticeable by feel - definitely a different texture to the liner surface in this area. (Please ignore the dusty spots - I need to vacuum!)

The bleaching area looks more stark in real life, or maybe it's just my paranoia....
 

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That's odd. I don't think that it's from the bleach. But, I don't know what caused that.

Wrinkles like that are usually from low ph. Any chance that powder ph down sat in that spot?

Bleaching is usually from solid chlorine like calcium hypochlorite or maybe trichlor powder or dichlor.

Trichlor powder could explain the bleaching and wrinkles.
 

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My husband put in some powdered ph down a couple of times - it's possible he didn't spread it around. Haven't used any solid chlorine - I've been BBB from the beginning after seeing the ingredients list on the TA adjustment bottle was sodium bicarbonate when we got our first pool - and I stumbled on this site :). We did just start last couple of years with the refillable 12.5 jugs vs. store bleach, so my mind automatically went there. I'll just concentrate on keeping it all stable with the numbers and fingers crossed!
 
I suspect that the wrinkles are from ph down sitting on the liner. If bleach were added directly where the ph was low, then it might have bleached the liner.

Liners are highly susceptible to bleaching if the ph is very low.
 
pH Effects
The joint study investigated the effect on vinyl of
water pH between 2.0 and 10.0. A total of 224 white,
blue and black vinyl samples were exposed to the
ambient temperature and water at various pH levels
between 2.0 and 10.0 for an extended period of time.
During the test period, the total alkalinity in the test
water was maintained at 150 parts per million, calcium
hardness was at 100 ppm and the starting cyanuric acid
concentration was 100 ppm.
Tests were conducted with the free available
chlorine maintained at either 1.5 ppm or 20.0 ppm (The
low value was used because it reflects common sanitizer
usage levels; the high value was chosen because interme-
diate levels had limited effects on the vinyl. Throughout
all investigations, pH was observed as the more signifi-
cant variable.)
The effects upon the vinyl of water pH in the 2.0 to
10.0 range were determined with the free chlorine main-
tained at 1.5 ppm. The results were as follows:
• Exposed samples where pH was maintained in the
7.0 to 7.5 range exhibited no adverse effects on the
vinyl.
• The lower the water pH drops below 7.0, the
greater the incidence of wrinkling, loss of tensile
strength, elongation and fading. Low pH (the
acidic range) was found to have a more adverse
effect than high pH (the alkaline range).
• As the pH increases above 7.6, the vinyl loses
weight and expands.
• The lower the water pH drops below 7.0, the
greater the vinyl’s weight increase.
It is important to note that the vinyl material remained
functional throughout the tests.
 
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