Express Pool Care swimming pool professionals address pool calcium build up
Chances are if you live in a house that has “hard water” you know it. It makes your skin feel dry and can cause scale build up on your faucets, showers and in your washing machine. Hard water can also impact your swimming pool, the swimming pool service contractors from Express Pool Care explain. Many parts of the US have hard water, which can leave calcium deposits on pool surfaces.
What causes scale build up?
Scale, the white line, you sometimes see along the waterline and on the pool tiles is caused by evaporation. When the water evaporates, calcium crystals form along the surface of the pool plaster and leave unsightly deposits. Calcium scale and hardness occurs when the pool water’s calcium hardness is higher than 400 parts per million (ppm); water hardness is triggered by high alkalinity, high water temperatures and high pH.
Can calcium scale build up be prevented?
Your swimming pool service professional will test your water on each service visit he pays and will notice when the water hardness is getting higher than it should be. When that occurs he will address it in any of these ways:
- He will use a sequestering agent to keep the calcium locked up to prevent it turning into deposits along the waterline.
- Your pool contractor will avoid using calcium hypochlorite shock as that will add calcium.
- The pool pH and alkalinity will be kept on the lower end of the scale — especially if you live in an area with hard water — 7.2-7.4 pH and 80 ppm Alkalinity.
- He will use a clarifier that will seek out particles and clump them together so they can be removed by the filter.
How will your pool service pro remove the calcium scale?
Once the issues with the water have been addressed and the chemicals balanced, your pool service contractor can remove the scale with muriatic acid, or dry acid dissolved in water. He will lower the water levels to assure the muriatic acid doesn’t get into the pool water and will sponge away the scale build up. He may have to use a putty knife or wire brush to remove the scale. Working with a swimming pool service professional on a regular basis will likely assure that your pool water will stay in balance and that you won’t be faced with calcium build up on your pool tiles.