Rust Colored Spots On Floor Of Pool (Pics)

[grakk]

These seem to be popping up all over, but I cannot brush them away by hand or with a steel brush. If I take a pocket knife and scrape some there is no stain under it (which makes me think its not rust)

Any ideas? Aside from the linked ones below (don't want to link 20+ pics in this post) you can see more here:

Photobucket

Stains:

Half scraped stain:

You can see some discoloration here kind of "in" the plaster in the bottom-centerish

[PoolGuyNJ]

Something made of steel got cut near the pool recently? They do look like rust. Drop a vitamin C tab on one. If it's gone in a minute, it's rust. Since it isn't deep, something like metal shavings go sprayed in the pool.

Scott

[waterbear]

Another possiblility...have you had any earthworms in the pool recently? Or leaves? Tannin stains can look just like rust stains BUT vitamin c won't touch them. Chlorine, however, will (eventually).

I have a few stains that look EXACTLY like yours and they are from earthworms that sat on the bottom for a few weeks because I was too busy to get them out!

(OK, I was too lazy!)

They are fading with time and chlorine.

As Scott said, test a stain with a vitamin c tab. If it's gone in a minute or less then you can get rid of the stains with ascorbic acid because they ARE rust. If not they are tannin and you can either bleach them or acid wash them. I would bleach them.

Easiest way is to get some granular trichlor (MUST be trichlor), which is sold as an black algae treatment, and pour some right on the stains and let it sit undisturbed (and with the pump off for a day or two). Trichlor is slow dissolving and will cause a high free chlorine level in the vicinity of the stain which should bleach it out. Don't do this if your CYA is already on the high side.

[Pool Clown]

Some 120 w/d sandpaper ought to whip those out. A tab may bleach out the color in the plaster if you aren't careful. Oh and get the metal piece out of there. All those stains could be from only one or two pieces of metal. When they get blown, knocked, or otherwise moved, it settles back down and starts to make another stain.

[grakk]

Some 120 w/d sandpaper ought to whip those out. A tab may bleach out the color in the plaster if you aren't careful. Oh and get the metal piece out of there. All those stains could be from only one or two pieces of metal. When they get blown, knocked, or otherwise moved, it settles back down and starts to make another stain.

When I get home today I'll try those suggestions - I don't think there is any metal pieces present in the pool (that I can see) I do know when I bought the house my metal level in the water was really high but I've brought that under control.

[Wizzard of spas]

Time to get some Magic Jack pool rust remover. It cost a ton of money hopwever thesre rust stains will be gone in 24 hours, thing is it requires a constant follow up. You are stuck with this otherwise.

[waterbear]

Time to get some Magic Jack pool rust remover. It cost a ton of money hopwever thesre rust stains will be gone in 24 hours, thing is it requires a constant follow up. You are stuck with this otherwise.

I believe you mean Jack's Magic (either the blue stuff or the pink stuff). Magic Jack is a VOIP telephone device. As you said, the Jack's Magic products are expensive which is why both PoolGuyNJ and myself suggeted identifying what the stain is first. Once you know what you are dealing with you then know how to treat ti.

[Pool Clown]

That is rust... You can tell from the first pic down near the bottom. that cluster of stains all have the same shape to them.

[RossT]

Usually with that much rust and that big of rust, you'd find some metal that was causing it. What is the average size of the stains? It's hard to tell from the pictures. If it was a leaf, you should have seen the leaf on the bottom or in the filter. Do you have any leaves that are falling in your pool?