Pool floor discolor/staining

[swmasson]

Hi there,

I have a strange discoloration/staining of the floor of the pool - Does anyone know what the cause may be and/or what I can do to restore it?!

Thanks

547C466C-6A7E-4BE5-957D-4472B4166669.jpeg (100.23 KiB) Viewed 1505 times

[Denniswiseman]

It could be iron
Do two tests
Leave a chlorine puck on it for a day if it disappears it's algae
Crush some vitamin C (ascorbic acid) on it for a day if it disappears it's iron

[swmasson]

Thanks for the suggestion, I had my neighbors pool guy come take a look and he suggested it was due metals and that I would have to drain the pool, wash the area with some metallic inhibitor or vitamin C - Then fill the pool again and treat the water - He said he would do it all for $700...

Does this make sense? Do you think this is something I could do myself?!

Thanks again

[Denniswiseman]

Did you do the tests?
If it's iron you can do the Ascorbic Acid Treatment
This will also require regular dosing of a metal sequestrant
Depending on where your iron is coming from the drain down wash and refill might be a waste of time if you are just refilling with iron in the water
Also water table plays an important part of the decision to drain

[swmasson]

This pool guy did the strip test yesterday, I usually bring a sample to Leslie pools and they do the tests normally for me...

My water comes from a well apparently, hence why it’s full of mini raps and metals, etc... the pool guy mentioned I should be treating the pool monthly with metal inhibitor of some sort?!

Thanks for your advice, does this reply change anything?

[swmasson]

I just tried the vitamin C tablet and it didn’t do much, I put the chlorine tablet on the staining, but it’s only been an hour, so will check it tomorrow and feedback...

Here are some underwater photos of the staining...

Thanks again

[Denniswiseman]

If you are using well water it would be iron, you need to do the Ascorbic Acid Treatment and treat with a Sequestrant regularly as the pool guy says

[swmasson]

Leslies pools did a test and it came back with 0 iron, the vitamin C and choline tablets didn’t make a difference...

The pool guy quoted $700 to drain, fix the staining and fill it back with treated water... however, I was thinking I could probably do this myself if necessary...

Do you think any chemical could clean up the stain without having to drain and acid wash the pool floor? If not, do you think I could do this with instructions or should I just pay someone to do it?

Thanks again for your help

[vacuumhunter]

The first step to getting rid of those eyesore spots is to diagnose the stain type. Swimming pool stains can be caused by:

1. Metals or Minerals in the pool water coming out of solution
2. Rust coming through the wall, floor, or around fittings
3. Organic material like leaves, dirt, oils, worms or algae

To keep organic pool stains out of your pool, do your best to keep the pool clean. This may involve trimming trees or bushes around the pool, investing in a better winter pool cover or an automatic pool cleaner.

To prevent metallic stains from returning, make sure to keep your water balanced using a good water chemical test kit, and keep metals and minerals locked in solution with a good Stain & Scale chemical, as mentioned [many times] above. These chemicals deplete over a few weeks, so maintenance doses of sequestering agents are needed for continuous protection from staining and scaling.

In hard water areas, waterline scale is very common. A deposit often whitish in color, it can mix with dirt and oil to take on a brownish or gray color. In Arizona and other areas, there are companies that specialize in bead-blasting tiles for scale removal, which can produce excellent results.

Calcium scale or efflorescence can also be scraped off with a putty knife or flat head screwdriver before being polished up with a Acid Magic. Acid can be poured on from the bottle, or if you have a clean spray bottle, fill it half full of water and add acid to fill the bottle. Now you can spray on just enough acid to do the job with less effect on your pool’s pH. Be sure to wear gloves and goggles, and rinse off the acid within a minute or two.

CuLator Metal EliminatorMetals in your water can come from well-water, from iron or copper pipes, or copper pool heat exchangers. Metals are not impossible to remove from pool water. If you have severe metallic pool stains in your pool, try CuLator Metal Eliminator. Drop the CuLator 4.0 Powerpak your pump basket and it actually absorbs metals such as Copper, Iron, Manganese, Cobalt, Silver, and Nickel.

[Teapot]

Leslies pools did a test and it came back with 0 iron, the vitamin C and choline tablets didn’t make a difference...

. however, I was thinking I could probably do this myself if necessary...

Do you think any chemical could clean up the stain without having to drain and acid wash the pool floor?

Thanks again for your help

Not surprised the Leslies test came back 0 for iron as the iron is on the pool and not in solution in the water.

You could do it yourself and make a better long term job of it!
Often the ascorbic acid doesnt do much unless the chlorine is at zero. I really recommend you try the ascorbic acid test again before anything else.

Metal sequestrant is only there to bind to the metal to stop it staining, this only works until the chlorine breaks down the sequestrant and then you will need to dose it again, of course you'll need a bit more chlorine as the sequestrant will be using it up and youll be going slowly broke!
Better to actually remove the iron/metal and this can be done using polyfibre either from a pool shop or a stuffing manufacturers. But youll need to get the metal back into solution first.