By Moorea Pool Care
Your swimming pool can give you years of enjoyment, but what happens when your pool starts to get stained? Many pool owners are unfamiliar with why they may need to acid wash their pools.
They may be unaware of the benefits of an acid wash or have just never considered this type of pool cleaning service before. An acid wash can breathe new life into your pool’s surface.
Why Acid Wash?
You see, over time pools can accumulate ugly stains from algae and hard water deposits, leaving them unsightly and hard to get clean using traditional pool cleaning methods. You may have tried scrubbing and scrubbing and not make a dent in them or only to see the stains reappear later.
Your pool’s surface is porous and if algae is left to grow on the surface too long it will penetrate into the porous surface and will not be able to be easily scrubbed away. This is why its not a good idea to ignore this situation and hope that it goes away on its own. Doing so can cause serious damage to your pool’s surface.
In Arizona the water is very hard and contains a great deal of calcium. This causes problems for appliances and pools because hard water deposits build up quickly on the surfaces.
You may notice the tile in your pool has white calcium deposits on it or appears not to be shiny and new looking any longer or if you have a pebble-tec swimming pool, your surface may look dull. This is due to the hard water deposits. In a plaster pool you can accumulate stains from magnesium and copper in the pool water. These mineral deposits can turn a plaster pool surface a bluish color. Algae can cause black or green stains that won’t go away. If not treated the algae can spread over the entire pool surface, making it impossible to clean by traditional pool cleaning methods. This is when you’ll need to call a pool service professional to acid wash your pool.
What is Acid Washing?
Acid washing a pool is not something that you want to try do on your own. This is definitely not a weekend DIY project, because the chemicals used to acid-wash a pool are highly caustic and could cause serious injury to the unskilled person, not to mention damage to the pool.
The acid wash cleaning removes a thin layer of the pools surface. It removes stubborn stains and calcium deposits. Your pool service professional will drain your pool and apply muriatic acid to the pool’s surface. The muriatic acid will eat away the stubborn stains and deposits.
An acid wash can make your pool look like new again and get rid of those serious stains. It can extend the life of your pool’s surface. In Arizona it’s best to have an acid wash done during the cooler months, since your pool will need to be drained. This way your swimming pool will be nice and swim ready come summertime. You’ll want to consult your pool service company as to how often you should acid wash your pool.
Moorea Pool Care 