Minerals That Can Build Up In Your Pool And How To Remove Them

If you have a pool, you may think you are doing all you can to maintain it. This often includes the addition of chlorine to keep the pool clean and sanitized, but that typically does not cover other pool maintenance tasks. If you frequently use your own tap water to fill your pool (as most people do), you may find that you have a build-up of some hard, crusty and painfully sharp minerals on the walls of your pool. Here is the short list of minerals that tend to do this, and how to remove them without damaging your pool or making it unsafe to swim.

Calcium

Calcium is a mineral found in nature. Even the human body is comprised of blood calcium and bone calcium levels. However, in your water supply, calcium has a way of collecting and settling in certain areas of the pool. If left untouched, it builds into scales where people can literally cut their arms, hands and feet. A special pool treatment can be added to the water to dissolve the calcium into a soft grit, which is then removed by your pool's suction device or a professional pool cleaner.

Rust (Iron Oxide)

Rust from the pipes in your home transfer to your pool via the hose you use to fill your pool. It is difficult to avoid transferring the rust this way, unless you replace all the metal pipes in your home and use a hose with a plastic end rather than a metal end. Since you are not likely to do that, your next best bet is to find a way to deliver softened/filtered water to your pool. There are some pool kits that can help. If that is out of your budget, your pool cleaning specialist may be able to recommend a pool additive you can put in the pool once a month, or any time you add more water from your hose to the pool.

Lime

This is not the fun kind of lime or the fruit. No, this is a type of gritty mineral that is picked up off of river beds and lakes and carried inland with the fresh water supply. Over time, lime builds up and crusts up just like calcium, except instead of sharp-edged scales, lime forms piles of hard, rough grit. It is akin to adding another layer of concrete to your pool, but a poorly poured layer of concrete at that. Most pool chemicals contain an additive for addressing lime accumulation, so this should not be a problem.

For more information, contact companies like Aqua King.