Removing Stains from Your Swimming Pool

Stains in your pristine pool are unsightly and embarrassing. These stains can create an unpleasant environment in an otherwise relaxing outdoor space. If you are experiencing issues with staining in your pool, some may come off with some brushing, while others require more elbow grease to get rid of.

At Swimming Pool Discounters, we’ve put together a guide on pool stains and the best way to rid your pool of them.

There are a variety of factors that can lead to pool staining. Typically, pool stains are caused by poor water balance and inadequate cleaning habits, but they can also be caused by the quality of the water and the pool’s construction.

Before you can remove the stains, you need to determine what is causing the staining, which will allow you to develop a proper treatment plan to prevent future stains. Common causes for staining include:

While you may understand where the stains can come from, you may be wondering how to tell which stain is which. The first step in this process is to determine if the pool stain is organic or metallic. To determine if the stain is organic, try brushing at the stain, shocking the water, or putting granular chlorine over the stain. If the stain responds to these methods, then it is likely an organic stain or algae. Organic stains will also typically appear to be greenish-brown in color.

If it doesn’t respond to these measures, it is likely a mineral or metal stain. You can use a stain ID kit to help you determine the exact type of stain you can have. These tests work by affecting the stain, and whichever test affects the stain will indicate the type of stain you have.

Unbalanced water can cause the metal and calcium in the water to fall out of the solution, leading to scale and stains on the surface of your pool. We recommend that you regularly test and balance your pool water and use stain and scale chemicals to manage the metals in the water. This will help prevent the stain from occurring.

For scaly buildup, scale mixed with dirt and oils will appear on the pool surface as a dull discoloration. You will typically see this as a white, tan, or gray deposit at the waterline of the pool. Scale can be removed using a pool stain remover that can help prevent issues caused by minerals and metals.

We also recommend that you use enzymes that break down oily organics in the water to prevent them from causing buildup. You can also use a pool tile and vinyl cleaner spray to remove the scale buildup. For concrete pools, you can use a pumice stone to scrub away the stains, but do not use this option for vinyl.

Stains that look like rust are lily caused by rusted metal. This will occur due to metal items that have fallen in the pool or a metal component of the pool is rusting. This can happen in concrete pools if the rebar tie wires are exposed due to them being too close to the surface. With vinyl pools, sometimes the steel walls’ wet soils can break down and begin staining the pool liner, which can be remedied with paint and wall foam.

To remove a metal stain, you will need a pool cleaner that includes ascorbic acid. These types of products are made of granular vitamin C for an all-natural metal stain remover. For tougher stains, you will need to use a pools tian remover that can handle the tougher metallic stains.

Keep in mind that you should bever use household chemicals in your pool. Only use chemicals that are specifically formulated for your pool.

The best way to prevent organic stains is to prevent contaminants such as leaves and other debris from getting into the pool. This can be done by doing lawn work such as raking up leaves, trimming trees and shrubs, etc.

You should also skim the pool daily to remove leaves and other debris.

For most organic stains, you can remove them by shocking the pool and giving it a brushing. For tougher stains, you can bleach your concrete pool by putting chlorine granules over the area. Got vinyl pools, use pre-dissolved chlorine over the stain. If these methods don’t work, try some of the metal or mineral removal steps mentioned earlier in the article.

Swimming Pool Discounters offers their clients a large selection of pool chemicals and accessories to keep your pool a pristine blue all summer long. Contact us today to learn more!