Acid Wash Pool - When and Why To Consider This Service?

A pool acid wash is an important service to utilize in order to take good, long-term care of your pool. Simply stated, acid washing your pool is applying a solution of acid to strip away a small layer of plaster.

The newly exposed plaster will be less likely to have algae “stick” to it if brushed and maintained correctly each week. Most pools have enough plaster depth that you could easily do a few acid washes and not strip away too much of the plaster. The most likely reason for getting this done is because there are very noticeable stains (mineral and dirt stains are the most common) in the plaster, and/or if you’ve had problems battling algae blooms on a regular basis. Another possible reason to perform this is if you would just like a whiter, brighter looking pool (of course, if you have colored plaster or a painted pool it won’t necessarily be whiter).

A typical cost for acid washing your pool is $350-$500, depending on pool size,condition of plaster, stains,etc. If your pool is full of algae and you can’t see the bottom, the total cost may be more since there is more initial work required to remove debris, etc before the acid wash can begin.

One question customers ask is why they can’t just add shock and algaecide to the green pool and clear it up. Here’s the difference - if you can see the bottom, then that process will be effective provided you clean the filters after you’ve run the pump at least 24-48 hrs to kill all the algae and then vacuumed it up. If you can’t see the bottom of the pool, it will take at least 2 or even 3 times vacuuming the pool after the initial chemical application, and after you’ve vacuumed the entire pool each time you’ll need a pool filter cleaning. You will have to repeat this process until the pool is clear and algae-free and have clean filters.

Unless you know what you’re doing, the cost to pay someone to make 3 or 4 trips out to do all this will be at least as much as an acid wash. Perhaps you’re not sure if you need an acid wash or not. Or maybe you just moved into a house that has a green pool and you’re not sure where to start.

Give Alpha and Omega Pool Services a call - we’ll give you a free estimate and answer any questions you have and get you pointed in the right direction.