How to perform your own pool tile cleaning, and when to call in a professional

Pool tile cleaning before and after on glass tile

As the weather gets warmer and you start getting ready to enjoy your swimming pool again, you may notice a white line has formed around the tile and stone in your pool near where the normal waterline like is at. This is the dreaded calcium line that forms on pool tile and pool stone, kind of like a ring in your bathtub. You might thing this line is easy to get rid of, but you might be in for a big surprise.

Calcium lines on pool tile and pool stone start to form where the area gets wet then dry, and when the area dries, a little bit of calcium and other minerals are left behind and stick to your pool tile or pool stone. Over time, this line will continue to build up and form a hard calcium layer that can be extremely difficult to remove.

There are a few options you can try yourself before calling in a professional tile cleaning service like 911 Pool Care.

• The best method to dealing with calcium and other minerals on pool tile is preventative maintenance by making sure your pool water is properly balanced, and than you stay up on the maintenance of cleaning your pool tile regularly. Once the calcium sets in and starts hardening, you may be in for on uphill battle.

• You can scrape the tile with a razor blade (be careful with this) to remove the stubborn pieces of calcium off of the tile. This is not so easy with the grout unfortunately.

• You can use tile cleaning solutions, but we have found that those many times do not produce very positive results.

• You can also use a 50 / 50 mix of muriatic acid and water (you need to be very carful when using any acids and take the necessary precautions). This can have positive results on the tile, but the acid can also start to eat away at your grout and other stones causing a bigger headache down the road.

If the above steps have not produced the results you are looking for, or you simply want your tile cleaned without having to hassle with it, give 911 Pool Care a call and we can take care of your pool tile cleaning needs for you. We use a new vapor blasting solution that uses both compressed air and water vapor to propel micro glass beads onto your pool tile, gently removing calcium and other stuck on debris to gently yet effectively clean your pool tile, pool grout and pool stone and make it look new again. An adde3d benefit from the process we use, is that it is near dustless so that once we are complete, we simply wash down the patio, vacuum out the glass media out of the pool and you are ready to enjoy your beautiful pool once again.