Leslie Stain Remover (Ascorbic acid)

Alou49 · Postby **Alou49** » Sun 29 May, 2011 19:07

Beware the high priced "stain remover" from Leslie pool supply! It says it treats 20,000 gallons, but in reality it only treated the pools surface the chemical touched. I double checked the required ph and alkalinity levels, and the stain remover from Leslie Pool Supply only treated small sections of my pool, and was not effective on the walls. I have ordered three 2 pound units of Stain Free from Amazon, in hopes of curing my pool staining issue.

I added about a 1,000 vitamin C tablets from my local pharmacy, they do a great job too... but the results are also surface contact only.

Postby **chem geek** » Sun 29 May, 2011 23:22

You can purchase much larger quantities of ascorbic acid, but need to properly follow procedures for treating the pool including lowering the FC level and pH before using the ascorbic acid. See Metals in the Water and Metal Stains for more info including places to purchase ascorbic acid in bulk.

Alou49 · Postby **Alou49** » Mon 30 May, 2011 08:05

If the initial treatment of 3 lbs of Ascorbic acid does not take care of all of the stains, do I start the process over? Or just add more AA?

Thanks

Postby **chem geek** » Mon 30 May, 2011 08:31

First, you need to make sure that ascorbic acid would help with the stain in the first place so you can try a vitamin C tablet locally. If that works, then the broader treatment should work and if it doesn't the first time then yes you can try it again, possibly dosing higher. Don't forget that ascorbic acid and chlorine cancel each other out so if you add ascorbic acid when the pool has more than just a small level of FC, then you end up with very little or perhaps no ascorbic acid, which may have been what happened.

While iron stains are most readily removed by ascorbic acid, copper stains can be more difficult and of course stains that aren't metal, such as organic stains, won't be affected much by ascorbic acid (organic stains will fade from chlorine, including a Trichor puck rubbed on them for plaster pools -- do not ever rub Trichlor pucks on vinyl).

Alou49 · Postby **Alou49** » Mon 30 May, 2011 08:41

Does the fact that it is a salt water pool have an effect on the chemistry of this operation?

Postby **chem geek** » Mon 30 May, 2011 23:56

No, not for the ascorbic acid treatment, but for the metal sequestrants some work better in salty conditions than others. Jack's Magic has a range of different products -- the HEDP ones are best, but they have some they say work better in higher salt levels (e.g. The Magenta Stuff).

Help in NJ · Postby **Help in NJ** » Tue 26 Jul, 2011 12:17

I used Leslie Stain Remover (two containers to be exact) in my 30,000+ gallon pool. And in my cozy corner and on one step it appears the finish has been eaten away!!! Help!!! Is this normal, the cozy corner didn't really have any stains on it now it looks like it does!

Thanks

joni1 · Postby **joni1** » Tue 10 Nov, 2015 05:06

Where can I buy acsorbic acid in bulk?
Thanks

Postby **chem geek** » Wed 11 Nov, 2015 00:47

PC NetworX (msm-msm.com)

joni1 · Postby **joni1** » Wed 11 Nov, 2015 06:51

Thanks chem geek
My pool is 15,000gal so I ordered the 5lb bag. $30 is not too bad if it works :wink:

So I guess I add about a pound at first and see how things go.

Denniswiseman · Postby **Denniswiseman** » Thu 10 Dec, 2015 08:54

Will acsorbic acid work on concrete paviors

waterbob · Postby **waterbob** » Fri 11 Dec, 2015 11:43

You're probably best off using vinegar or muriatic acid as ascorbic acid can get real costly.

Is there a particular reason you want to try ascorbic?

If you have rust stains try oxalic acid instead.

Bob

Denniswiseman · Postby **Denniswiseman** » Sun 13 Dec, 2015 07:56

Hi Bob

Thanks for that
I Just have some rust and didn't think I could eliminate it
I have vinegar and muriatic acid and I can get oxalic acid, what is best and what dilution should I use
Also will it remove the colour from the pavior

Postby **Larry** » Mon 14 Dec, 2015 03:08

Hi Dennis

Good to have you back at the forum.

In my experience with rust I have found the muriatic acid to be too aggressive and it etches the surface too quickly to be an effective rust remover. It is a very effective scale remover though.

I have never tried vinegar (weak acetic acid).

I generally use and recommend oxalic acid because it seems to do the least "collateral damage" for the amount of rust it removes. Being an acid, it will lighten the color of old concrete but doesn't eat it away like muriatic acid does.

The way we use oxalic acid is:

for localised dark spots (from wire, nails, welding flux, ...) we mix enough water to the oxalic acid to make a thin paste and apply the paste liberally. When the paste starts to dry (usually at least 45 minutes) we scrub the stain with a hard plastic brush or abrasive pad and a little water. Rinse and repeat.
for large light rust stains we mix 5%-10% oxalic acid by weight to warm water and spray liberally on the stained area. We keep the surface wet for at least an hour, reapplying as it begins to dry. We scrub the surface intermittently and the final scrub with fresh water usually removes most of the stain. We spot-treat any remaining stubborn spots.

As with any chemical treatment, test a small spot to see what effect the acid has on the surface before applying to the whole area.

Larry

Denniswiseman · Postby **Denniswiseman** » Mon 14 Dec, 2015 04:50

Thanks Larry

It's good to see the forum back to it's old self

I will purchase some Oxalic acid and do as you suggest
I was beginning to think the rust stains were going to be there for ever

Dennis