If a vinyl liner s calcium level is too low this soft water situation could lead to foaming and other water problems and can harm the vinyl.
Will calcium hardness cause stains on vinyl pool.
An edited version of this article originally appeared in the summer 2007 issue of the edge a publication of the northeast spa pool association.
If you have a vinyl or fiberglass pool you won t be able to use a pumice stone.
If you re dealing with too much calcium in a pool you can try adding a sequestering agent which is a chemical treatment that fights the effects of high metal and calcium content in swimming pool water as an added bonus it also fights stains.
After defining the cause of pool scale and ways to prevent scale problems in pools we will cover how to remove scale from vinyl fiberglass and concrete pools.
Calcium can appear in the form of a thin calcium film that covers dirt or metal stains on the pool interior.
A calcium scaling specific additive may remove the deposits but these products can take months to dissolve calcium silicate.
If your pool has a vinyl or fiberglass liner the calcium hardness level should be between 175 parts per million ppm and 225 ppm.
Calcium hardness is also very important to the chemical balancing of your vinyl liner swimming pool.
These stains are notoriously difficult to scrub free.
Problems with pool water hardness.
In many parts of the country tap water with hardness levels of 400 800 ppm is not uncommon.
Low calcium as is often the case will cause long term serious damage especially to plaster vinyl liners grout in between tiles metal rails and even concrete decking around the.
Calcium for a liner pool can be a bit lower than a plaster pool in the range of 150 250 ppm.
How to lower hardness in a pool.
Calcium on the low and high end of the scales will eventually cause problems and when they do be ready for some serious problems.
If you have a concrete or plaster pool keep the level between 200 ppm and 275 ppm.
3 brown cloudy stains are often caused by calcium carbonate capturing either dirt metals or copper as it forms its crystalline lattice structure.