Pool stains, plaster discoloration and mineral build-up can be eye-sores, making your pool look uninviting and dirty. Not only that, they are notorious for being difficult to remove and indicators that your water chemistry is off.
California Pool Co. used reverse osmosis pool water purification on this pool to improve pool stains and other mineral-related problems without draining the pool or doing an acid wash. We call it the “Clean Slate Pool” because a clean slate was a successful end point and a new beginning for this pool.
The homeowner saved 24,135 gallons of water and hundreds to thousands of dollars.
How Reverse Osmosis Can Improve Pool Stains, Mineral Build-Up and Calcium Scale
Reverse osmosis pool water purification is a process that allows the water molecules themselves to be cleaned, removing the elements and microcontaminants that they carry.
Essentially, it is a microscopic filter.
Your pool filter can only remove larger debris and contaminants. Reverse osmosis removes the things that are small enough to pass through your regular pool filter. It even purifies pool water to drinking standards!
This pool water filtration process is done with California Pool Co.’s Mobile Reverse Osmosis Unit. We set up a few hoses connecting the pool to the machine in our trailer and then let it run for about 10-20 hours depending on the size of the pool. That’s when the microscopic magic happens!
After purification occurs and scale needs to be removed, we modify the water chemistry to put the water in an absorptive state and add an anti-scalent product to help dissolve the deposits. The newly purified water will have plenty of “space” to pick up the elements that it previously discarded onto the plaster when it was oversaturated.
This means that the clean water will now reabsorb difficult-to-remove calcium scale, mineral build-up and pool stains. The water does the hard work for us!
So what does that mean for you?
- You save money & tens of thousands of gallons of water because you don’t have to drain your pool. Just like your regular pool filter, reverse osmosis purifies pool water while the pool is full.
- Your pool is protected from possible costly damage caused by removing the water.
- You can use your pool during the reverse osmosis process. Jump in, the water’s great!
- It’s non-toxic. No extra harmful chemicals; it’s completely safe.
- It’s quite effective at improving pool stains, plaster discoloration and calcium scale. This is because we aren’t fighting the elements in the water, we are using them to our advantage.
- Long-lasting cleanliness. Your pool water quality will be better than tap water. (Taste it and let us know what you think!)
Why Pool Stains, Mineral Build-up and Calcium Scale Occur
Pool stains, mineral build-up and calcium scale occur when the pool water is oversaturated with elements. Think of a water molecule as a hiker going on a backpacking trip. If the hiker’s bag is too heavy and they still have many miles left on their journey, they might lighten their load by leaving unnecessary items from their backpack on the side of the trail.
Water molecules, like the hiker, also have a limited burden that they can carry. Water temperature, pH, Alkalinity, Calcium Hardness, Cyanuric Acid, and Total Dissolved Solids all play a role in how much water can saturate (or carry) without having negative effects. Langelier’s Saturation Index is the scale used to measure calcium saturation of water and it takes into account the aforementioned measurements. Oversaturated water will deposit elements on the plaster and pool tiles when their burden gets too large. This creates plaster discoloration and tile scale.
We know what element, or combination of elements, the water is oversaturated with by the type of pool stain or build-up.
- Grey or blue stains are deposits of silver.
- Green stains are deposits of copper.
- Brown stains are deposits of iron.
- Tough, white residue often found at the water level on the pool tiles is calcium scale. This is especially common in pools in Southern California due to the hard water.
Water becomes oversaturated because of evaporation.
Think of your pool as a miniature Dead Sea. As water evaporates, the calcium and other minerals in the water are left behind. Then the pool is filled with hard water from the tap that includes calcium and other minerals. Pool chemicals also have byproducts that concentrate and cause oversaturation issues in the water as well. After years of this cycle being repeated and plenty of people using your pool, the microcontaminants and minerals in the water become more and more concentrated.
Water molecules eventually become so oversaturated with elements that pool plaster discoloration and tile scale will likely occur no matter the amount of chemicals you put in the pool or how much you brush it.
To fix or prevent these problems, your pool water needs a fresh start - a clean slate. The homeowner must start with clean water and balance the pool chemicals from scratch. There are a couple ways to do this.
An Acid Wash: A Less Effective Method for Treating Plaster Discoloration
Pool service companies typically recommend draining the pool and doing an acid wash to give your pool water a fresh start and improve pool stains, mineral build up and calcium hardness.
This means that the pool is drained dry and then your pool man scrubs the inside surface area of the pool with acid. Then the pool is filled with fresh water and balanced with pool chemicals.
There are a few problems with this method:
- Tens of thousands of gallons of water are lost in this process. This wastes California’s precious resources and costs you extra money.
- Your pool is out of commission for a bit. No relaxing or making memories in it.
- The process is toxic. Acidic fumes are released into the air during the acid wash. Additionally, the pool plaster absorbs much of the acid toxins and will slowly release that back into the water as the pool is used.
- It’s not incredibly effective. While it is better than doing nothing, homeowners often pay for an acid wash and are left underwhelmed with the results.
The Results: How Reverse Osmosis Improved Pool Stains in the “Clean Slate Pool”
Reverse osmosis is the most cost-effective and successful way to improve discoloration and build-up.
The “Clean Slate Pool” had a large grey stain in the shallow end and calcium scale on the tiles that only minimally improved with traditional pool stain removal methods.
The reverse osmosis pool water purification process ran for 17 hours on this 30,000 gallon pool. We saved the homeowner 24,135 gallons of water!
Over the next few weeks, the water absorbed most of the silver on the plaster and much of the calcium on the pool tiles, improving the pool stain and calcium scale. The calcium hardness and silver oversaturation levels decreased dramatically with better water quality. This prevents new pool stains and tile scale from occurring again soon.
The “Clean Slate Pool” looks almost brand new now! Both our staff and the homeowner are very pleased with the results. A job well done!
Curious about giving your pool a clean slate with Reverse Osmosis Pool Water Purification?
Click here for more info or call/text our founder, Matt at (760) 224 - 3278.