Keeping your pool sparkling requires equilibrium- the balancing of various elements. When your pool is not on a regulated maintenance schedule, this is when you begin to see issues like scale and stain. Don’t worry, Ask the Pool Guy has helpful tips to keep your pool free of these unsightly issues.
Scale:
Scale looks like white, calcified deposits. It is created by too much calcium and unbalanced water chemistry. Hight pH and the total alkalinity can cause the amount of carbonate ions to increase. This combination can create calcium carbonate which is known as ‘scale’.
Scale is unsightly on the pool walls and pool floor. Not only is it unattractive, it can be potentially dangerous if it builds up in the plumbing or equipment. It can restrict water circulation or filtration or cause equipment failure and the need to replace equipment much earlier than you should have.
If you start to observe scale in your pool, it is a good idea to test and adjust your pool’s water chemistry. Once you are confident your pool is balanced, add a metal sequestering agent designed for calcium to remove the scale. This is a substance that removes metal ions from a solution by forming a complex ion. This ion then binds to the meal and prevents it from depositing scales or stains. It will slowly break down in the pool and more will be needed regularly to maintain the correct water balance.
Stain:
Stain is the result of unwanted water contaminants that find their way into your pool. They are usually metals such as iron, copper, and manganese. These metals find their way into your pool through, salt added to a salt pool, liquid chlorine, water used to fill the pool, algaecides containing metals, black spots in fiberglass, leaves from algae, oxidation, or scale itself.
Metal stain usually appears after the pH is raised or after the addition of chlorine. Metal stain tends to appear in fiberglass pools more than any other pool. Organic stains sometimes appear similar to be metal stains but are really just residue left from algae or leaves that have been sitting in the pool for a long time.
Metal stain can actually color the water and give it a green, blue, or yellow hue. If your pool is cloudy at all, it most likely has nothing to do with metals in the water. If the coloring is form metals, try lowering the pH slightly and add a metal sequestering agent. That should remove the color.
Algae Green Pool.
Treated by shocking the pool with liquid chlorine.
High pH and Alkalinity Pool:
Treated by adding Muratic Acid to lower the Alkalinity and pH levels in the pool.
High iron Content and pH
Treated by adding muratic acid to lower the alkalinity and pH levels in the pool, followed by FerriTabs for iron removal.
Consult an Ask the Pool Guy technician if you think your pool is experiencing scale or stain!