Treating Scale on your Pool Tile Line and Pool Surface
Scale on your pool tile and on your pool surface can
develop over time and become very noticeable. The factors that cause calcium
scaling mainly are caused by your areas fill water and your pool’s Calcium
Hardness level. High Alkalinity and High pH combined with a Calcium Hardness
level over 400 ppm will trigger calcium build up on the pool surface and tile
line.
The scale that forms on the pool tile line is called
Calcium Carbonate and when the weather is warm and there is a lot of
evaporation, the scaling on your pool tile will increase. When the Sun dries
the water on the tile water line it turns into Calcium Carbonate. If you live
in an area with very high Calcium Hardness there isn’t much you can do except
keep the pH below 7.4 and the Alkalinity below 100 ppm to prevent heavy
scaling. Over time scaling will form no matter what you do so keep that in mind
if you live in an area with very hard water.
Treating the calcium build up can be challenging. You
can clean off small areas with a Pumas Stone or what I prefer is 220 Wet &
Dry sand paper. You may also use a straight edge razor blade on the calcium
build up and scrape it off. Ultimately if the build up is severe the only way
to remove it is with a professional tile cleaner known as a Bead Blaster. They
use a high powered compression machine with glass beads or baking soda in it
and “shoot” the calcium right off the tile. It almost looks like they are spray
painting the calcium right off the tile. You can find a list of your local Bead
Blast companies if you just do a quick Google search.
If you have a Pebble Tec pool, the entire surface can
form calcium on it as well as the tile line. To remove calcium from the entire
pool it will need to be drained and then professionally Bead Blasted. They
would Bead Blast the tile line and the complete Pebble Tec surface.
If you have a standard plaster pool and notice that
your plaster has become rough to the touch, much like running your hand over
sand paper, then there is scale forming on your pool walls. The best way to
remove it that I have found is with the Beautec product from Easy Care. It is a
special enzyme that will get behind the calcium build up on the pool wall and
loosen it up. Then with vigorous brushing with a stainless steel brush, you
will take the calcium right off the walls.
I detail this treatment method in this video:
Beautec by Easy Care:http://youtu.be/4Fa93F-Obns
Pentair has a great online saturation index that will
allow you to see if your pool water is producing scaling on the surface. You
would just enter five water factors into their LSI online calculator to
determine if your pool is developing scale or not. If you have a Taylor 2006 or
2005 test kit inside you will find a Watergram Wheel which you can also use
toto calculate your pool’s LSI reading.
Pentair LSI Calculator:
The LSI index was created to determine if your pool
water is corrosive or scale producing.
If your pool has flagstone or rock formations
secondary type of calcium could form in the cracks or grout areas called Efflorescence
which is a form of lime scale. This
is much harder to remove and many Glass Beading companies will not guarantee
removal of Efflorescence. It is natural forming and the same process happens in
nature in the production of stalagmites. You may just need to live with these
large deposits on your flagstone and rock features.
On product that I am testing that seems to really help
in reducing calcium build up is called the Aqau-Rex. This product connects to
your pool’s equipment area and sends radio waves into the water to help break
down calcium build up. It is widely used in Europe and is now making inroads
into the US market. You can see my video on it here:
Aqua-Rex WK1P Water Conditioner: Reduces Scale,
Reduces Phosphates & TDS and More!
It Really Works!: https://youtu.be/HU4sPNPa124
Visit
my Website: http://www.swimmingpoollearning.com/
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