A Tale of Swimming Pool Woes!

[strawberrystar]

Hello fellow Marchigiani

My pool was installed last June - 10x5 metre with a Roman end and a sand coloured liner. I love it! We rent the house out for holidays so it has now had two seasons use. It is maintained throughout the season twice weekly by my house keeper, and was shut down for the Winter. Recently when I went over I noticed that my lovely new pool has now gone a horrible shade of yellow above the waterline on three sides! It sort of fades as it gets nearer to the coping stones. After much deliberation and trying effervesant vitamin C tablets, to rule out metal staining, the consensus is that it results from suntan lotions and oils etc. I went to Siarplast in Grottazolina and they sold me a bordo detergente (2 in fact) both the same make. I got in the pool spraying and scrubbing but to no avail. I have been in contact with the guy who installed the pool and he seemed to think it was suntan lotion....but that was the end of his help!

Now back home in the UK I have been scouring the market for products to shift this horrible staining. I have found a product called Tile and Liner Cleaner by Ficlor. I am thinking about having it shipped over but am wondering if anyone else has come up against a similar disaster and found a product locally to fix it?? Or has anyone seen Ficlor in the shops in Le Marche and tried it? I am returning to Italy at the end of next week so would like to try any suggestions then!

Please help my tale have a happy ending!

Thanks
Strawberry*

[juliancoll]

If you cant get rid of the stain - which I assume is around the water line - there is an adhesive strip that you can apply. You have to drain the pool a few inches below the tide line and clean it as best you can. After the area is completely dry, you simply peel and stick the new adhesive 'border' over the faded area of your pool liner and allow it to cure for 24 hours. Use a window 'squidgy' to smooth it out and get rid of air bubbles. It's called "Borderline" and there are quite a few different colours, shades and designs available. Works very well.

[strawberrystar]

Thanks for your comment Juliancoll....I would really like to have a go at getting rid of the stain before I resort to this. It doesn't seem right that this has happened after only two seasons. Has anyone else had this experience?

Thanks

[Charles Phillips]

If, as you say, ths staining is only on three sides of the pool I can't imagine it is a sun-tan oil problem. You also say it is worse nearer the waterline, and less bad under the coping stones, so my first thoughts are that it is a problem of the liner being affected by light. I agree with you that (if the colour is really noticeably different from the liner colour) you should argue it with the pool suppliers. The suggestion of a 'stick on' border is probably the best solution - (they can enhance the look of the pool) - but get the original pool builder to pay for it!

[strawberrystar]

Hi

It was suggested that this staining not being even all the way around the pool was likely to be as a result of the water being pumped around the pool in a certain way. I think that the worst area - the steps is likely to be so because this is probably the area where the kids are playing while being covered in factor 50! Has no one else had this problem?! Come on fellow Marchigiani!

Thanks

[villa sibillini]

We get a residue of suntan oil - worst affected at the steps, where children sit. Luckily ours is a resin pool and a sponge with cleaning product (even washing up liquid) soon removes the offending staining. Not sure about the liner though - resin is obviously much tougher than plastic.

[Annamaria]

We have a liner in our pool in Umbria and Gianni (our precious pool man)'s wife cleans it every week with ordinary washing up liquid and a kitchen sponge. The staining, which had begun in Year 1, is now under control (Year 4) and has been so since we started this cleaning system.

[strawberrystar]

This is interesting. I don't suppose you have any pictures of the staining so I could compare. I have spoken to a pool guy over here, and from the pictures he felt it was unlikely to be suntan lotion caused. He suggested that a chemical reaction had taken place within the liner.... but didn't know what caused it. The product I used previously had hydrochloric acid in it and apparently if it was an oil problem this would have removed it. So I am confused again now!

[Charles Phillips]

Any chance you could upload a snap of your staining, strawberrystar? It would be interesting to see it. I don't agree that a product with acid in it would get rid of sun-tan oil - a washing up liquid is much more adapted to tackle oil deposits, (the acid products get rid of a hard water stain).

[Marc]

One thing about using washing-up liquid; go easy with it, otherwise you'll end up with a pool-full of bubbles. The specialist cleaning products have some kind of anti-foaming ingredient.