scale?

[TampaKathy]

I need opinions from people I can trust...very long story short...99% of my pool is like a light blue color (Wet Edge Cadet Blue)...1% is a dark blue where the plaster people attempted to fix a bad plaster job. The pool was originally plastered Nov 2021 and they attempted their fix Jan 2022. Plaster dude applied some Jack's magic scale treatment to the light blue section (it was a powder) and it fizzed...he says this means I have scale...that would mean I have scale on 99% of the pool. Sooooo does this mean A.) Plaster dude is right and I messed up my water chemistry badly. B.) The guy is full of BS. C.) Need more information. Thank you in advance (please be gentle, lol )

 

[Texas Splash]

Plaster dude applied some Jack's magic scale treatment to the light blue section (it was a powder) and it fizzed...he says this means I have scale.

Initially that would seem like a reasonable assumption. Unfortunately the Jack's MSDS shows their ingredients as proprietary, so apparently it's some secret squirrel stuff they don't want anyone to know. Acidic I am assuming. But looking back at your last year's worth of Poolmath logs I don't see any red flags that would point to scale. Your CSI was quite low actually, probably in-part due to a low CH level with all the FL rains I suspect.

I can understand why the repaired area would be a darker color as it can very difficult for a repair job to match exactly, but based on your numbers, scale doesn't make sense. Maybe I'm still half asleep, but I'm not seeing an obvious reason for scale.

 

[mknauss]

If Jacks # 2, that is sulfamic acid.

If put directly on plaster it will fizz, as it is eating away the plaster.

 

[ajw22]

Does your pool surface feel like sandpaper?

 

[TampaKathy]

I'm not positive if it was Jack's...that's what they called it but I didn't look closely at the bucket...I'll look at my cameras and see if I can zoom in. I didn't see an obvious reason for scale either but I'm not an expert. So Mark, do you lean towards this guy is full of crud? He wants to drain and acid wash the whole pool which he says will bring the "scale" parts closer to the dark blue part of the pool. I said I thought acid washing reduced the life of the plaster but of course they told me I was wrong.

 

[TampaKathy]

Allen, I wouldn't say that the pool ever felt smooth...it feels the same as always...a little like sandpaper...I just felt the section he tested and it doesn't feel any different than the rest of the pool.

 

[TampaKathy]

I can't read the bucket...knew I should have taken a picture.

 

[mknauss]

Do not acid wash.

 

[TampaKathy]

maybe lol...

 

[ajw22]

Allen, I wouldn't say that the pool ever felt smooth...it feels the same as always...a little like sandpaper...I just felt the section he tested and it doesn't feel any different than the rest of the pool.

I doubt it is any scale then. Scale will feel like sandpaper with the calcium having sharp edges.

This summer run your CSI at the lower end of between -0.4 to -0.6. That will slowly melt off any scale.