Whether it’s from disuse or from taking a break during winter, nothing comes more than a shock than seeing your beautiful pool surface all stained up with different colors. While some pool stains are easy to remove, others require a little more elbow grease and some specialized products.
When is The Best Time For Stain Treatments
All said and done, the best time for stain treatments is actually before they actually become a problem. Next to that, the best time to treat stains is as soon as you discover them, this way, these stains don’t have time to solidify their hold on your pool surfaces.
How to Remove Pool Stains Without Draining Your Pool
Unless your pool has been neglected for over a decade, there’s no real need to drain a pool to remove stains on the surfaces. Advances in pool stain chemicals have made it so that stains can be lifted from pool surfaces and back into the water where they can be effectively removed by your filtration system.
For spots and tiny rust stains, we recommend using a pumice stone (read on how to remove stains with a pumice stone here) but for multiple stains, we have a number of stain removal removers that we'll go over further down.
How do Stains Form in the First Place?
There are different kinds of stains in our pools and the most common ones are caused by algae or organic matter. These stains can feel like they pop up overnight. Rust and mineral stains on the other hand take time to develop through the build-up of trace minerals, metals, and other inorganic contaminants from your pool equipment and the local water supplies.
This brings us to another point, different stains require different treatments, and not all treatments are created equal. This is why it’s important that you identify the type of stain that you have before proceeding with any treatment methods.
For more help identifying pool stains, you can refer to this handy guide here where we go through the different types of pool stains.
Best Pool Stain Removing Solutions
There are many ways to remove pool stains but the most effective way is still using chemical treatments. While there are other ways like using a pumice stone or a pressure washer, these methods are not as effective and can even damage your pool surfaces if not done correctly. Plus, draining a pool just for stain removal must be done with the help of a pool professional to avoid any long-term damage caused by hydrostatic pressure, especially after a long rainy season.
For organic stains caused by algae, the best pool stain remover is chlorine-based shock treatment. For rust stains, you can use a product that contains metal sequestrants or enzymes. For mineral stains, you can use a mild acid wash which will lower the pH level of your pool water and loosen up the deposits so they can be more easily removed by your filtration system.
You can also try a pool stain eraser which is essentially a pumice stone on steroids and will quickly remove most organic and inorganic stains from your pool surfaces. For more information about diffrent types of pool stains and on how to remove them, click here.
Our Best All-in-one Pool Stain Removers
When it comes to all-in-one stain removal, nothing beats the power of the Water TechniX All-in-one stain remover, our Australia-made and formulated stain remover. Another popular option is the Zodiac All in One Stain remover which has been one of the most popular brands in Australia for decades.
Specialized Stain Removers
Sometimes, when a specific type of stain gets too out of control, it may be time to get a stain remover that targets specific types of stains. Here are some of our favorites.
For Iron Stains (rust and other metal deposits) we highly recommend the Iron Stain Remover from Lo-Chlor. It's specially formulated to lift rust stains off so that they stay in solution with your pool water.
Whether there's too much salt in your pool or from time, the easiest way to get rid of salt stain it to apply some salt stain remover. This product from Lo-chlor melts away the excess salt on your pool walls and returns them to solution so that it can be used by your salt and mineral chlorinators.
The best way to remove pool stains is by using specialized chemicals designed for specific types of stains. For organic stains, chlorine-based shock treatment is effective, while for rust stains, a product with metal sequestrants or enzymes will do the trick. Mineral stains can be removed with a mild acid wash (check out our no-drain acid wash hack here), and most other types of stains can be lifted with a pool stain eraser. Whichever method you choose, be sure to act quickly and treat the stains as soon as they are discovered for best results.
Did you know that most staining occur over winter? Check out our winter saving tips and tricks here to prevent stains and save money at the same time!
Do you have any questions about this topic or the featured products? No worries, we're here to help! Drop us a question down below and we'll get back to you ASAP.
Happy swimming :)