How to clean your pool tile perfectly, in just a few hours.
So you have finally had enough of that ugly white scale. You have begged and pleaded with your pool service, and they can't provide any significant results. Pretty common.
What are your options? You dedicate your entire weekend to finally solve this problem. You drive to your local Lindas Pool Supply, and ask, "how can I get that white stuff off of my pool tile?". They are standing behind that desk to sell you something.
They have two products to sell. Chemical cleaners, and pumice stones. You will most likely hear something like this, "you can try this awesome cleaner that works pretty good, or ,if that doesn't work, you can try this pumice stone". That is it! Those are the only two options. Both of those options WILL damage your tile. That damage can't be fixed.
But, you took the salesperson'e advice and bought one of these products, or maybe both.
You are excited to finally get rid of that ugly white mess, and like you were told, you started with the chemical, because your build up isn't that bad.
You spend hours in your pool, and you are seeing some results, notice I didn't say, "good results". You are so proud of your accomplishment, all of those hours you spent scrubbing were worth it. You go inside and get a nice cold drink, then you find your significant other, to show off your "great results".
By the time you return to the pool, your tile has had a chance to dry, and the first thing that comes out of your inner dialogue is, "WTF"! Then, your significant other says, "what happened, looks like you missed a few spots"? You realize, that cleaner was a waste of money, but more importantly, you could have been fishing today!
Chemical cleaners, are usually(I say usually, in case there is one that is not, and I just don't know about it) acid solutions. Read the poison control info, if it says, "do not induce vomiting", it is an acid solution. Acid will etch the glaze on your tile, and the etched portions will appear whit and crusty. Just like the white and crusty look you were trying to get rid of. Only now, that white and crusty look is PERMANENT! The photo above is from a pool with minimal Calcium Build up. So if the build up is significant, the damage will be worse.
If your Calcium build up is just too thick for the "cleaner" to work, as instructed, you will go to the pumice stone. The salesperson probably said, "these stones are safe, we sell them all the time".
PUMICE STONES ARE NOT SAFE! If you are like me and need to see things for yourself, find a clean tile in your pool, trust me, you will want to find a tile that is in an inconspicuous place. Start rubbing that stone on the tile. Chances are your inner dialogue is going to repeat itself, "WTF, they said this was safe!"
This is a photo of some pool tile, in one of the most expensive homes in San Diego County. At some point, someone decided to use a pumice stone. This pool has a couple hundred feet of tile that looks like this. That damage is PERMANENT.
This is my very longwinded way of saying, if you would like to get rid of that Calcium build up, call a company that specializes in removing it. We can remove years of build up without causing damage to your tile. You will not waste your money and time, trying methods that will not work.
One last thing, stop asking your pool service to clean your tile, they can't, and if you force them to try, it will most likely cause permanent damage, unless, they also happen to have a big truck filled with expensive equipment that is specifically designed to clean pool tile. Just sayin.
If you would like to get an estimate to have your pool tile cleaned, we would be happy to provide you with one.
