If you have lots of rust stains from nails and washers in your plaster in-ground pool because of the hurricane blowing them off of the roof into the pool can they be cleaned?

Answer 1

If you can drain your pool take muriatic or hydrachloric acid mix 4 to 1 with water and give your pool an acid wash.Rinse the surface add acid keeping the surface wet add acid then scrub with a stiff brush, Repeat as needed for each stain The first response is correct, however I want to add a few details. You need to be very careful when draining a concrete pool if you have a high water table. Regardless you need to check and make sure you have a hydrostatic relief valve and that it is working properly. If you fail to do this and you have a high water table the pool will float out of the ground like a boat, because you have the opposite of a boat in the ground, however when you drain the pool it is now like a boat. Back in WWII they actually made ships out of concrete. Pretty cool. But that is another story. Once you have drained the pool check the hydrostatic relief valve as soon as possible. If you do not have one, or it is not working get it working right away! If you don't have a hydrostat and you know you have a water table problem get a hole in the main drain sump right away to relieve the pressure under the pool. Once you have resolved this issue make sure you have the proper equipment to acid wash the pool. Plastic buckets, nylon bristle brush with a wood backing, wood pole for the brush, rubber boots, rubber gloves and eye protection. Do not fool yourself Muriatic Acid is very hazardous! Handle it with great care. When you have finished acid washing you will need to neutralize the water with soda ash before you pump it out. Be careful if you are using well water to wash the pool down. If this water has any metals in it and you add the soda ash it could cause the water to stain the finish of the pool, if that is the case that will require a lot more effort and would be a whole separate question. Once you are done and you are ready to refill the pool before the water gets to deep check and make sure the hydrostatic relief valve is working properly or if you punched a hole in the bottom of the sump patch it. Good luck this is a nasty job. You may want to consider hiring a local pool company to do this ugly job. Guru of Pools at Discount Pool Warehouse.com