Removing Spots and Stains from Swimming Pools
With all that water in your swimming pool, you’d think it would be easy to keep it clean! Unfortunately, that’s not the way it works. Keeping a backyard swimming pool clean requires faithful maintenance and some spot removal know-how. Check out these tips on removing spots and stains from your pool.
Organic Stains
Before you can tackle any stain, you should find out where it comes from. Treating a stain made by organic material, such as algae or dirt, is different from treating a stain made by something metallic, like iron or copper. If you’re not sure, you need to test it. Apply a small amount of chlorine on the stain, and try scrubbing it a little. If the stain goes away easily, then it is organic. If the chlorine does not have an effect on the stain, it is something else.
To remove organic stains, you’ll need to increase the chlorine in the water. There is a product called pool shock that will allow you to super-chlorinate your pool water. Follow the directions on the pool shock package. Add the granules and then scrub the organic stains with a pool brush. Run your pump overnight, and then scrub the stains again the next day to completely remove those ugly spots.
Metal Stains
If the spots and stains in your pool are dark brown or another dark color, and they do not go away with chlorine, they are probably from metal. If your pool water comes from a well or untreated municipal water, it likely contains heavy metals such as copper, magnesium, manganese, or iron. When the pH of your pool water is off or even when you add chlorine to your water, the metals can produce stains. The trick to removing metal stains is ascorbic acid. There are metal stain remover products that will help you remove the stain.
Preventing Future Spots and Stains
It’s always a good idea to take a little preventative maintenance when it comes to your swimming pool. To avoid getting more spots and stains, you need to first make sure you know what kind of material is making the stain. The chlorine test is good for identifying organic stains. A water test strip will help you identify which kind of metal is causing your metallic stains.
If you know that the metals are coming from your water source, then put a filter on your hose to filter out the heavy metals.
Found rust? Check out your pool plumbing to make sure there are no copper pipes corroding.
If your test strip shows that you have a lot of copper in your water, then you need to keep an especially good eye on your pool pH level because a low pH level will lead to copper stains.
You can also find convenient products, such as metal eliminator packs, to help keep metals out of your swimming pool water.
Conclusion
To prevent organic stains, it’s a good idea to keep your pool clean from leaves, sticks, and other natural debris. Keep fruit-bearing plants and trees away from the pool. Try not to let organic material settle to the bottom. If you do spot a new organic stain, treat it right away while it’s still small. To keep algae from blooming, keep your pool water balanced at all times.
As your local, family-owned swimming pool company, Saturn Pools is proud to custom design and construct pools in the Phoenix area. If you would like to talk to our swimming pool expert, Nate Green, contact us to schedule a one-hour appointment. Please note that we are currently scheduling appointments in Phoenix, Glendale, Scottsdale, Peoria, Wickenburg, Wittmann, Waddell, Anthem, New River, Carefree, as well as Cave Creek ONLY.
