Acid Wash - cleaning
of the tiled surfaces
If the pH in your pool has been allowed to get
too high you will almost certainly experience a build-up of lime-scale. This is
largely calcium from the minerals dissolved in the pool water and the build-up
changes the way the tiles feel - instead of a glass-smooth finish the tiles feel
rough and abrasive. When calcification is severe it is almost impossible
to keep the pool clean, sanitised and looking good.
The reason for this is that the surface of the
lime scale is pitted with millions of tiny holes. These holes are so small that
they can be regarded as 'dead spots' in the pool water circulation and therefore
do not receive fresh supplies of chlorine. Algae spores can take up
residence in the holes and proliferate, giving a green tinge to the lime scale.
The next time the pool is super-chlorinated the algae will be killed and turn
brown but, locked away in the pores as they are, they will remain as an
unsightly brown stain.
The solution to the problem is to drain the pool
and remove the lime scale with acid. This is not a job that should be attempted by
the average pool-owner as it involves the use of corrosive chemicals which can
be hazardous to health.
Before and after photographs from a badly calcified pool in Maro, Nerja,
Spain. The owners had already paid 400 Euros to a local pool company, who
claimed to have cleaned it, before we got there.
Sand Filter damage
One other, perhaps unsuspected, effect of high pH is the deposit of calcium
on each grain of sand within the sand-filter.
This results in the grains of sand accreting together to form a
solid lump of rock, as in the photo above. The filter is ineffective and
the sand must be changed. Often it is very difficult to remove the rocks of
accreted sand without damaging the filter body. At Deep Blue Pools we
manage to save almost all of them, however, re-fill them with special sand and
give them another 5-7 years of life.
Key Benefits
- Removes build-up of calcium and other scale from the pool surfaces
- Enables the pool-owner to keep
the pool sanitised and looking good
- Restores the glass-smooth surface
to the tiles
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