How To Remove Salt Stains From Pool – Tips For A Spotless Pool

Due to the significant increase in low-quality salt products being used to clean pools, salt staining is becoming a common problem for pool owners. Salt stains can appear in several colors and forms. Bear in mind that it’s not the salt that discolors your pool but rather the metals and minerals found in low-quality salt. Nonetheless, there are several tips on how to remove salt stains from the pool.

How To Remove Salt Stains From Pool

Rather than using low-quality salt to stain your pool, use mined salt in a pool with a salt-chlorine generator. Using salt that’s at least 95% pure makes it less likely that your pool will be stained or equipment damaged.

Removing Salt Stains

As a pool builder built over 5 thousand pools, Regal Pools says that there’s no cookie-cutter approach to dealing with salt stains—especially when dealing with different types of pool surfaces and materials. What works well for one stain may not be ideal for another stain. As such, you’ll want to start the stain removal process by testing the stain and then taking appropriate action based on the results of the test.

Salt stains are usually the result of iron, which depending on the severity, gives yellow through green to brown stains, or Manganese, which gives dark brown to black stains. Finding the cause of the stains helps to take measures that will help to prevent the stain from reappearing after it has been removed. This is a typical scenario when using a cleaner such as citric acid. Cleaning salt stains with citric acid will work well initially, but once chlorine slowly breaks down the citric acid/iron complex, the stain will likely reappear after about three weeks.

The Test

Place a handful of salt stain remover in a skimmer rock attached to a pool broom. Then, apply some pressure to the sock using the broom. You’ll then wipe the sock in a straight line, back and forth through the stain. The result will depend on how thick the scale is.

• Iron stains, for example, will come off instantly, leaving a visible clean stripe.
• A manganese stain will come off in about two minutes.
• A silver or copper stain will come off within five minutes.

Stain Removal

Once you’ve determined the type of stain, you can go ahead with the stain removal process. Before attempting any stain removal, make sure the pool’s chlorine level is not more than 3.0 PPM as chlorine will neutralize stain removers, making them less effective.

During summer, consider not adding chlorine for two days or turning off the salt chlorinator two days before attempting to remove the stain. Set the filter valve on recirculate and add the required amount of cleaner to the skimmer box. However, don’t use excess remover as you won’t be able to get an accurate chlorine reading until all the remover has been neutralized.

Treating Stains

• Remove chlorine and make sure the pH is between 7.2 and 7.6.
• Sprinkle the recommended amount of stain remover around the pool.
• The filter is as usual, and the stain should disappear in 12 hours.

If you’re dealing with stubborn stains, repeat the process and run the filter for twelve to twenty-four hours. Clean the cartridges thoroughly or backwash (for sand filters). Then repeat the process every three days until the stain clears. For a saltwater pool, you may have to repeat the process every six months or so. Follow these steps to learn how to remove salt stains from your pool.