Red stains on brand new Diamond Brite plaster

[kt888]

I manage (administratively) our neighborhood pool and we recently had the pool plaster replaced. It was finished 21 days ago and is still in the curing phase. Within days of filling the pool with water, brown stains started appearing coming from an overflow drain and from several fixtures in the pool. Over the past 21 days, the stains have gotten darker and we are now seeing rust colored splotches on the bottom of the pool throughout. The plaster company states that they have no idea where the stains are from and that it's not their fault. Our pool service has been brushing the pool and managing the chemicals per the plaster company's protocols. He has no idea what is causing the stains either. The plaster company is trying to say that the stains are the result of a plumbing problem and if that is so, what plumbing problem could that be? Honestly, I just want to find the cause so that we can resolve this issue and any suggestions from this experienced group would be appreciated. Help!

 

[kimkats]

Hi and welcome to TFP...............I am a bit confused as you use the words liner and plaster for the same pool. Lets dial that in first.

A liner is made of "plastic". It is like a fitted sheet and has a slick, smooth feeling. Plaster is made of "cement" and water and is blown on to the pool walls. It is rougher than the liner.

Share some pics of the stains so we can see what you are dealing with.

 

[kt888]

Thank you for your reply. I am the administrator at the pool so I don’t know anything about actual pool terminology. I use the term liner to refer to the material that we used to line the pool. Previously we had a fiberglass liner it was chipped out and replaced with Diamond Brite Quartz. I’ll take more pictures today but attached is the worst of our stains that appeared immediately after we started filling the pool. It appears to be coming from a drain even though I can’t imagine what material is coming from that drain. It is an overflow drain that slopes away from the pool and it’s made of PVC pipe. We’re seeing similar stains from other fixtures in the pool including the lights which makes me think it’s more than a plumbing issue. I’m wondering if it’s rest because they used the wrong screws but I have no idea what my cause this type of discoloration. If I knew what the potential sources might be it might help us figure out what the problem is. Thank you so much.

 

[kimkats]

That is a plaster pool. I did an edit to your title to make sure that is clear to anyone jumping in to help.

It sure looks like something was in the overflow pipe and came out into the pool. One thing I would do is make sure the pipe is not clogged or blocked in some way as well and flushing it from the pool side to get anything in it out.

The next thing to do is get some cheap, white vitamin C tablets. Rub the tablet on the stain and let us know what you see when you do that. If you have any of these stains on the bottom you can put the tablets inside a sock and let it sit on the stains for about 10 mins or so.

 

[BrandonPoolPro]

It just looks like organic staining. If you lower your pH to less than 7.0 it’ll come off over the course of three days, brushing everyday.
I recently had a pool that has a red oak tree above it. It bleed onto the deck as it rained during fill up. Boosted chlorine to a 10 and pH is 6.4. Came off in 3 days. Then I boosted the pH back to swimming standard 7.4.

 

[Texas Splash]

If you lower your pH to less than 7.0 it’ll come off over the course of three days, brushing everyday.

We're going to have to disagree with that proposed method. While I would agree that an elevated FC should help organic staining, if that's what it is, the OP's plaster is still under 30 days old and we wouldn't want his water that aggressive (negative CSI) at this time.