Clearly shows before and after acid wash due to staining and algae growth

Acid washing swimming pools cross a fine line because a lot of swimming pool owners believe that it should happen every time you drain your swimming pool due to high calcium and other hardness minerals in your swimming pool. This is definitely not the case and acid washes should only occur when absolutely necessary! In this blog post, we are going to talk about when you would need to do it, why you should do it and some other options that you could do to prevent damaging the liner of the swimming pool.

Without the proper regular maintenance, your swimming pool water will begin to look cloudy and develop algae if the chlorine levels are too low. When this happens and depending on the temperature outside a pool can turn clear to green quickly especially during the warm summer months. If you don’t add chlorine or remove the algae quickly, it can stain the porous plaster of the pool. Depending on the type of algae; yellow, black or green it can burrow deep inside the plaster or pebble tec and continue to bloom. When this happens an acid wash would be appropriate and should completely eliminate the algae. With that being said, it is extremely important to evaluate the condition of the liner before this happens. On the other hand, some pools have discolored surfaces and stains that can develop over time. These pools along with algae-filled pools can benefit from being drained, acid washed and re-filled.

in the Southwest United States, we also deal with extremely high calcium hardness coming out of our tap water. It is recommended to drain and refill your swimming pool (or recycle using mobile filtration) every two years. Calcium will stain the tile, the liner, and filtration equipment. The calcium staining on the liner can show up as little nodules which an acid wash could remove!

How Often Should A Pool Be Acid Washed?

Acid washing will remove a very thin layer of the pool’s surface, which is why this type of service shouldn’t be performed unless it’s absolutely necessary. If you perform an acid wash too many times, a replaster will need to occur. If you have old plaster, flaking or etching has occurred we won’t recommend an acid wash. Acid washing can be extremely dangerous to do on your own and hiring a professional should be something you consider so we can evaluate the liner and make recommendations based on that because sometimes stains can be eliminated using chlorine instead of acid! At Clark County Pool & Lawn this is a service we provide and will typically run you 450.00 – 550.00 depending on the size of your swimming pool! We also only perform this type of service in the fall or spring when temperatures are moderate because too hot or too cold of temperatures poses risk to the liner.