Scale On Tile

[jaideeguy]

I have a home built pool in Chiang Mai and after a year, i get a scale [for lack of a better word] build up on the tile. could it be the water [ground water that leaves a noticable white film on glass and auto] or the trichloroisocyanuric [90% chlorine granules] that i use for my chlorine??

the scale is a rel pain to remove......last year i drained the pool and got a gang together with scrapers, 5+ gallons of hydrochloric acid...nasty stuff and only managed to remove 80% of the scale and now it's back after a year and i will live with it rather than go thru the cleaning again.

any suggestions or others with similar experience???

thanks in advance...

[dynamictiger]

I have a home built pool in Chiang Mai and after a year, i get a scale [for lack of a better word] build up on the tile. could it be the water [ground water that leaves a noticable white film on glass and auto] or the trichloroisocyanuric [90% chlorine granules] that i use for my chlorine??

the scale is a rel pain to remove......last year i drained the pool and got a gang together with scrapers, 5+ gallons of hydrochloric acid...nasty stuff and only managed to remove 80% of the scale and now it's back after a year and i will live with it rather than go thru the cleaning again.

any suggestions or others with similar experience???

thanks in advance...

You are dewscribing a calcium scale. This is not from the TCCA you are using as this a sodium based chemical. It is most likely from the ground water.

Whilst you can drain the pool and clean it. I would think you are better to try using calgon T or chemical name Sodium Hexa-Meta-phosphate. Add this to the pool water and the calcium should be complexed to another form. I can't remember the dose rate, but would imagine the simplest way is to add a cup full a week until the calcium is lifting.

[Chang_paarp]

As said above you seem to have a calcium problem in the water. If the water you are using has a lot of calcium this can be an on going problem. Above about 4-500 parts per million is considered a problem for pools.

Is the water you are using in the pool from the same source you use in the house? Do you have trouble getting soap and laundry detergent to "suds". If so you have hard water, lots of calcium.

Unfortunately you cannot remove the calcium chemically. If you do find a way that is affordable, there is a vast pot of money awaiting you when you commercialise the process.

The trick is to prevent it from coming out of solution. Unfortunately the tiles at the water line will develop a scale on them as they are in the direct firing line of the battle. As a temporary fix I have seen people scrub the tiles with dilute acid, it is not a permanent solution. Have you considered the beauty of white tiles? The can show the scale, it is not as obvious though. To prevent the water from becoming scale forming you need to change the way you treat the water. The trichlor tablets are OK they are acidic, if you can keep the Ph of the water in the lower end of the recommended scale, this will also help a little. Another thing to prevent the water to become scale forming is to keep the water temperature down, not easy or even practical, but it does have an effect.

There are some treatments that help prevent the calcium coming out of the water, but in an ideal world I would suggest a different water source for the pool, maybe buy the fill water in rather than use the local ground water. I know this may not be practical, but it is the easiest way to reduce you problem. If you can get the source water tested before you use it you will have some idea what you are letting your self in for.

If you are going to drain the pool for scrubbing, dilute the acid, we used over 20l for a medium sized pool. Also be careful about the residue pooling in the deep end it can end up scarring the marble sheen finish.

[chownah]

If you do find a way that is affordable, there is a vast pot of money awaiting you when you commercialise the process.

You can remove the calcium by using a treatment called "water softening"....which is done by "water softerners"....just google for these terms....or even try "swimming pool water softening" for stuff more related to swimming pools.

Is someone going to give me alot of money now?

Chownah

[avpowerstn]

I have a home built pool in Chiang Mai and after a year, i get a scale [for lack of a better word] build up on the tile. could it be the water [ground water that leaves a noticable white film on glass and auto] or the trichloroisocyanuric [90% chlorine granules] that i use for my chlorine??

the scale is a rel pain to remove......last year i drained the pool and got a gang together with scrapers, 5+ gallons of hydrochloric acid...nasty stuff and only managed to remove 80% of the scale and now it's back after a year and i will live with it rather than go thru the cleaning again.

any suggestions or others with similar experience???

thanks in advance...

I have also built a new pool, to remove the scale I used

a sand blaster, BUT instead of sand I used GLASS BEADS.

the glass cost a little more than sand.Drain the pool so the water

level is just below the scale line. then spray it with the glass bead.

the glass won't hurt or change the tile's characteristics.

You should only have to do this procedure once, all the minerals

on your intial filling of the pool are clinging to the tile.If you drain and

fill your pool again you may have to repeat.

Jim

[backflip]

Pool supply shops sell a pumice stone, specifically to remove the scale at the water line. No chemicals, or necessity to drain the pool. I had a 45' x 16' pool, and I'd descale the water line a couple times a year with the stone, and it only took a couple hours each time.

[Jai Dee]

Pool supply shops sell a pumice stone, specifically to remove the scale at the water line. No chemicals, or necessity to drain the pool. I had a 45' x 16' pool, and I'd descale the water line a couple times a year with the stone, and it only took a couple hours each time.

Wouldn't that scratch the tiles?

If not, it sounds like a good solution... and you wouldn't have to drain the pool below the high tide line either.

[backflip]

The pumice is a type of volcanic rock - harder than the calcium scale, but much softer than a surface of a ceramic or porcelein tile. So, there's no problem if the tile is properly fired. I've also used it on water line stains in the toilets.