Briar here. I am deep in the process of an ascorbic acid stain removing process for my 20k IG, Indoor plaster pool. Tested the steps with ascorbic acid in sock and had some fading. I bought the house 7 years ago and the pool was in atrocious shape. A local pool co. did a pretty thorough renovation as there were multiple issues. The one thing not addressed was the staining/mottling throughout the surface and the entire surface has a tea stain coloration. Stains are tan/grayish. A couple are a bit darker. Also have a couple obvious rust stains which look like a paperclip and a nail. The most disturbing issue are the white etched circles which are the size of chlor tabs which I assume some idiot before my time had chucked into the pool and left them on the bottom. Ick! I decided to give the AA treatment a whirl before moving to a replaster. I have a bromine system which I absolutely love. I added Jacks Magic Filter Fiber Stuff to my filter via skimmer. Dropped the TC/FC to 0 and 0.5, then added 3 1/2 lbs of Nat Chem Stain Free Ex Srength. Let it sit overnight and then next day, I brushed pool, added a quart of Metal Free Nat Chemistry and hooked up Kreepy vac and ran for about 8 hours and then switched over to running pump overnight. Did not see much improvement in first 24 hours, The second day, I noticed the top steps in pool and spa were lightening and it was the first time I could see a bit of sparkle and fleck in the white surface. I had no idea the finish is a little jazzy. I ran vac most of the day, and then shut it down overnight. I got up to a cloudy pool which I was expecting. I added a bit of Pool Perfect/ Phosfree. I don’t use algaecide as I have only had one algae bloom in 7 years. Maybe I should, not sure. The last test results this evening are:
FC - 0
CC or TC - 0.5
pH - 6.8
TA - 100
CH - 200
CYA - 30
I’m a little worried about the ph being that low. Should I get some Borax? Will upping the ph inhibit the stain removal?
The pool is very cloudy and tinged milky blue. Not so worried about that, but I would like to see how the stains are faring.
I did a dumb thing, (I think) when I added another quart of Metal Free. Made the cloudiness worse.
My big question is this. I noticed when brushing today that the surface was extremely smooth. So easy as the brush seemed to glide over the surface. It has always been rough and coarse and very hard to brush. I am wondering if maybe I had a calcium buildup and the stain remover is eating that away. I read something about plaster dust control in one of Jack’s Magenta Stuff products. Is it possible that some of that milkiness in the water is calcium coming off the surface? I thought that might be one reason I did not get those amazing magic results when I added the AA. I have realistic expectations on how much these old stains can be improved. Already see a bit of brightening in the spa and on the steps. Sorry this is so long-winded. Anyone have any thoughts about the calcium thing?
FC - 0
CC or TC - 0.5
pH - 6.8
TA - 100
CH - 200
CYA - 30
I’m a little worried about the ph being that low. Should I get some Borax? Will upping the ph inhibit the stain removal?
The pool is very cloudy and tinged milky blue. Not so worried about that, but I would like to see how the stains are faring.
I did a dumb thing, (I think) when I added another quart of Metal Free. Made the cloudiness worse.
My big question is this. I noticed when brushing today that the surface was extremely smooth. So easy as the brush seemed to glide over the surface. It has always been rough and coarse and very hard to brush. I am wondering if maybe I had a calcium buildup and the stain remover is eating that away. I read something about plaster dust control in one of Jack’s Magenta Stuff products. Is it possible that some of that milkiness in the water is calcium coming off the surface? I thought that might be one reason I did not get those amazing magic results when I added the AA. I have realistic expectations on how much these old stains can be improved. Already see a bit of brightening in the spa and on the steps. Sorry this is so long-winded. Anyone have any thoughts about the calcium thing?