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Rough plaster after 1st winter

14 years ago

Hi! Our pool was finished last spring and was closed and covered by the pool company last fall. According to the pool company the water was really clean and looked great at the opening this spring. However, my husband said that the plaster feels rough when cleaning and finds white stuff in the polaris pool cleaner. Is this something we should be concerned about?

Comments (8)

mas985
14 years ago
It sounds as though you did not get all the plaster dust out of the pool before closing. If it hasn't hardened, then there is still a chance you may be able to get it out. Just make sure you keep your PH down around 7.2 until it is all gone. Just keep brushing and vacuuming. You may need to backwash/clean the filter frequently until it is all gone.

Also, check the TA and CH levels and report back. You may need to adjust those as well. Both TA and PH is lowered with acid (muriatic is cheapest) but you can't lower PH too low or it may damage the plaster.

If the plaster dust has hardened then there are other options but is much more difficult to remove. An acid wash may be required but if it is only in a few spots then you can usually take care of that with a bit of fine grit wet sand paper.
remcd88
Original Author
14 years ago
I am new to this but what plaster dust would be in the pool after an entire summer of swimming? I thought that the dust would be out after the first month of the pool being finished.
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If it's calcium, it took a while to build up. That is why it is important to check the chems with a quality kit and to understand things such as CSI and LSI in addition to pH, alk, cya, CH and chlorine levels. Many "pool professionals" don't take the time to check. Many "pool professionals" don't know to check. The only one you can blame is the owner of the pool. Hiring out for a service, IMHO, should not happen until you know what your pool needs, not because you don't know. I want my customers to measure me accurately and fairly. If I have to lend them my test kit to help them with this or point them to reference sites, I do it. My customers often don't have the time for maintenance but that, to my way of thinking, is no excuse for not knowing. They host guests and have family swimming there. I treat every pool as if it was my family and friends swimming there. No one has beefed with me yet. Very few actually take this position in practice but every one will make this claim. As to whether you should change service professionals is not something I can help you with but I can suggest you show him www.poolcalculator.com so he can better set the targets your pool chems need to be at. Very few things about a pool happen quickly, from the time you decide to build one to the time you move from the home. Scott
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mas985
14 years ago
Sorry, I missread the post. I had read it as finished last fall and then closed right away.

In that case, it sounds like scaling due to chemical imbalance but the solution is basically the same. The PH, TA and CH must have gotten too high at some point. It would still help if you could post test results for PH, TA and CH.

If it is bad and all over and it won't brush off, an acid wash may be required. If it is only in a few locations, you may be able to sand/brush it off.
remcd88
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks for the info. I will ask my husband to write down the results and post them. He is very meticulous about balancing the pool so the only time it would have not been in balance would have been in the winter while it was covered. The pool people said the water was very clean when they opened the pool this spring and was, in fact, the cleanest they had seen so far this year.

I forgot to mention that we have a salt water generator.
jmas65
14 years ago
My pH got a little high a couple of times over winter and the kids noticed some rough spots when the water was warm enough for them to get in... Jack's purple stuff took care of it, though.
mas985
14 years ago
A SWG will raise the PH in a pool over time especially if the TA is high. So its easy for the PH to get too high which is probably what happened.

I would check first if it is easy to remove with a brush or try one of the commercial scale removers. Some of the tougher spots can be sanded with wet sand paper. As a last resort and only if it really bugs you, consider an acid wash.
remcd88
Original Author
14 years ago
Hello,
The current PH is 7.4, the TA is 90 ppm and the CH is a little high at 600. I will continue to monitor the test and continue to brush the pool.
Rack Etear
14 years ago
High pH will cause all minerals to precipitate out of the water. Salt calcium etc.

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