Stained walls for 3 months but crystal clear water

diyEvelyn

New member
Jul 5, 2023
4
South Mississippi
IMG_1016.jpegNew here so be nice 😜. I’ve had stained walls that go all the way around our pool since April. At the time we had a “pool guy” and as he was unsuccessful at solving this problem along with some other small issues, we decided to do diy pool care and let him go. We have had crystal clear water all this time so no “green pool”. It does not wipe away or brush away but when I’ve used a chlorine puck and scrubbed back and forth in one spot, the stain lightened up making me believe it’s organic. Also, around the skimmers have stained and if I use my fingernail to scratch at the stain it comes off but won’t come off with a pool brush. It seems I’m noticing more orange/rust random looking stains on the bottom of the pool too. I have not used the vitamin c test yet on those. I’ve began the slam process two and a half days ago, brushing before I started slam and have brushed and vacuumed it the last two nights. It doesn’t look like the stain is budging at all off the wall but again when I scrub scrub scrub with my finger in one spot it seems to lighten up. I know the slam curriculum and the passing of the three points. With that being said, The kids are dying to get in the pool as I haven’t let them since I started this process and am wondering how long should I continue this slam until I just give up and live with the stained walls and let the kids swim. I’ve already dumped a total of 14 gallons atleast of liquid chlorine into the pool to keep it up at the recommended slam level according the TFP calculator which is 24. I am attaching pictures as well.
P.S. I turned off the filter long enough to take clearer pictures.
36,000 gallon pool
Before starting slam
FC 7
CC 0
CH 250
TA 60
CYA 60IMG_1013.jpeg
 

Attachments

  • IMG_1014.jpeg
    IMG_1014.jpeg
    448 KB · Views: 6
  • IMG_1014.jpeg
    IMG_1014.jpeg
    296.4 KB · Views: 4
  • IMG_1018.jpeg
    IMG_1018.jpeg
    217.1 KB · Views: 4
  • IMG_1019.jpeg
    IMG_1019.jpeg
    219.7 KB · Views: 3
I have not used the vitamin c test yet on those.
That would be our first concern as well (iron). A higher FC at SLAM level will aggravate the iron potentially causing more staining. Let us know as soon as you get a chance to test the stained area with a Vitamin C tablet. Also consider placing some polyfill in the skimmer.

About the SLAM itself, do an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test. Let's find out if you truly have excessive organics in the water or if it's just iron staining.

Also see -------> Pool Care Basics

Welcome to TFP! :wave:
 
  • Like
Reactions: jesse-99
That would be our first concern as well (iron). A higher FC at SLAM level will aggravate the iron potentially causing more staining. Let us know as soon as you get a chance to test the stained area with a Vitamin C tablet. Also consider placing some polyfill in the skimmer.

About the SLAM itself, do an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test. Let's find out if you truly have excessive organics in the water or if it's just iron staining.

Also see -------> Pool Care Basics

Welcome to TFP! :wave:
Great point. I will do the OCLT tonight! Thanks!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Texas Splash
That would be our first concern as well (iron). A higher FC at SLAM level will aggravate the iron potentially causing more staining. Let us know as soon as you get a chance to test the stained area with a Vitamin C tablet. Also consider placing some polyfill in the skimmer.

About the SLAM itself, do an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test. Let's find out if you truly have excessive organics in the water or if it's just iron staining.

Also see -------> Pool Care Basics

Welcome to TFP! :wave:
Holy Moly! I could write my name on the wall of the pool with crushed up vitamin c in a sock!
The overnight OCLT test came back that it had only lost 1ppm of FC so I did the vitamin C test.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_1030.jpeg
    IMG_1030.jpeg
    294.2 KB · Views: 8
I could write my name on the wall of the pool with crushed up vitamin c in a sock!
Ha ha. Amazing right! At least now you know what you are up against. If you can deal with the off-color stains for now, you can do an AA treatment later in the year when the water temps cool down a bit.
 
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.