When you clean out the filter, are finding bits of the interior finish. Has this been happening for a while?
Take a close look at your finish. Does the finish have any areas that appear thinner than other areas?
It is important to understand the materials you are dealing with. Concrete driveways and sidewalks are Portland cement and larger rock aggregate for strength. Many pool finishes are made of white Portland cement and smaller aggregate such as quartz, pebble or marble for strength and good looks.
Cement doesn't just disintegrate on its own; it needs outside help. Over time Portland cement in your pool finish will become stronger, but it can be traumatized by low pH in pool water, low alkalinity, low calcium hardness or all of the above. This is called poor water chemistry, which eventually causes a degradation of the cement, or the glue, holding your pool's interior finish together.
In many cases, pool owners with erosion chlorine feeders overload them with tablets. In the Sun Belt, tri-chlor tablets or sticks, triple in solubility at temperatures between 77 and 90 degrees, which means they break down faster. In a pool with 90-degree water temperature and stocked with three or even five tablets, this product could dissolve in less than a week, even though the pool may not require that much chlorine.
It is important to remember that these feeders are not sized for individual pools. Usually, the overloading of a tri-chlor product shows up in elevated levels of cyanuric acid. Adding fresh water and running your pump and filter should correct the level.
Under harsh bathing loads and afternoon rains and when the water temperature stays at 90 or above, run the pump and filter 12 hours a day. You can offset the increased cost of electricity during the winter when you can cut back the pump and filter to six to eight hours (never four hours) when the above situations are not as prevalent.
What type of brush are you using to clean your pool? Only nylon bristle brushes should be used. Never use only stainless steel metal bristles or a combination of nylon and stainless steel that could damage the polished aggregate interior finish. The combination of stainless steel and nylon bristles is for quartz or pebble interior finishes.
Let's look at where this material may be coming from. Sometimes during construction, some of the material may be left in the main drain, which over time and with water velocity may break down and appear in your filter. Could some interior finish materials have gotten into your skimmer line during construction and now be broken up? Even if this did not come from the construction of your pool, minimal loss of material is normal over time on any exposed aggregate finish. This fact should be contained in your warranty sheet.
Resurfacing your pool with Aquatic Technologies is the solution for preserving your pool forever,
says Dennis, the owner of a pool technology company, in Jensen Beach, Fla., a consulting agent for the pool-plastering and pool resurfacing industry. The preservation of any pool requires a quality finish that will not break down from chemicals like Portland cement does and brushing, good filtration, maintaining proper water chemistry, periodic use of a good testable sequestering agent to help prevent stains and scale.
For more information about pool resurfacing, contact us at Aquatic Technologies. We care about our customers and how their pool looks and we have over 30 years experience of satisfied pool customers.