Stains and Discoloration in a Vinyl Liner Pool

stains and discolorations in a vinyl liner pool

Above ground and inground pools both use vinyl liners and are susceptible to staining from minerals, organic materials and chemical damage. Vinyl pool liner stains are not only unsightly, but cause damage to your pool overtime.

Identifying and cleaning stains out of your vinyl-lined pool quickly is key to avoiding liner damage. This post will help you identify what is causing your vinyl liner pool stains, and how to remove the stains for good.

How to Identify Vinyl Pool Liner Stains

One advantage of vinyl pool liners is that the slick surface often reduces mineral staining. It’s not uncommon to see the pool stains more pronounced on plastic and metal items in the pool, such as on your ladders, steps, and pool lights.

Vinyl liners can also stain in localized areas or spread throughout the pool surfaces. It can be just one small spot, only at the waterline, or on the pool steps. Size, color, location, and any behavior of the pool stain can identify the source or cause of the stains.

Testing your pool water for metals and mineral content can also identify pool stains. So test your water for iron, manganese, or copper.

Mineral Pool Stains

in the swim ph reducer

Mineral pool stains can be every color of the rainbow, but a few are more common. Blue-green stains develop from too much copper in the water. Iron pool staining can be brown, red, or yellow-orange in color. Calcium or sodium salts can leave a sort of white deposit on your pool liner.

For stains on a horizontal surface, you can test the surface for mineral staining by using a small amount of acid on the stain. Place a vitamin C tablet (ascorbic acid) on the stain for a short time. You can also use a pH decreaser (sodium bisulfate) placed into a sock. If the stain lightens considerably, you have a mineral stain on your hands.

Metal Pool Stains

Iron, copper, and manganese can come out of the solution if your pool water has high levels of metals. Heavy doses of copper algaecide can lead to blue-green staining of pool liners. Maintaining proper pH in your pool is important to mineral stain prevention.

High or low pH can lead to metals coming out of solution to stain your pool. A common problem is copper heat exchangers in gas pool heaters corroding from low pH or from chlorinators backing up when the pump is shut off.

Organic Pool Stains

Organic stains come from dead algae or other small animals, or from the tannins contained in leaves and plant debris, such as leaves, twigs, acorns, and berries. It could also come from worms, bacteria, and algae, as well as pollen and pollution.

Organic stains can present in a range of colors, from yellow to brown to black. These stains normally occur after a long winter, after a big thunderstorm, or from a sudden change in water chemistry.

Your open pool absorbs all sorts of organic matter every day. Cleaning, sanitation, and filtration keep it under control usually. Organic liner stains are often easily removable.

Organic chemicals respond to chlorine, applied directly on the surface. Sometimes just shocking the pool will lighten or remove organic pool staining. Place a chlorine tablet on a stained area for just one minute. If the stain lightens, then you have an organic pool stain.

Chemical Damage

jacks magic stain id kit

Fading to the vinyl liner occurs over time from the sun, or from elevated chlorine or low pH levels. Broadcasting granular chemicals into a vinyl liner pool is generally a no-no; instead, pre-dissolve them into a bucket of water first. Chemical or UV damage is not considered a stain on the pool surface and is generally not treatable.

Unsure which type of vinyl pool stain you have? The Jack’s Magic Stain ID kit helps you determine what the next best steps would be to remove your particular type of pool stain.

For many vinyl liner stains, the prescription from Dr. Jack will be Vinyl Liner Blue Stuff, a powerful sequestrant that prevents and removes stains on vinyl pools. For metal stains, either Stain Solution #1, the Iron, Cobalt & Spot Etching Stuff, or #2, the Copper & Scale Stuff may be indicated, depending on the metals discovered.

How to Remove Vinyl Pool Liner Stains

Stains on the vinyl can come from any of the sources above. You may know exactly what the stain is based on evidence gathered at the site. Is it metals or organics? Does it brush off or rub off?

The first thing to do is clean the pool. A clean pool and a clean filter are proper preparation for stain removal and a good place to start. Skim, vacuum, and brush.

The second thing to do is balance your pool water chemistry. In some cases, merely adjusting the pH, alkalinity and calcium hardness levels can lighten or remove some types of pool stains. Use a fresh pool test kit or test strips, and adjust your pH to 7.5, alkalinity to 100 and calcium hardness to 200.

The third step after balancing the water is to shock the pool, using either non-chlorine shock or chlorine shock (pre-dissolved in a bucket before adding).

If this didn’t remove the stain, no worries, it is part of the stain removal process. Vinyl liners can’t be drained or acid washed, and draining or pressure washing typically don’t help. Vinyl pool stains need to be removed more gently.

Mineral Pool Stains

Generally speaking, mineral pool stains respond best to a treatment with acids. Plaster pools may be acid washed or a stain-master used for localized rust stains, but you can’t acid wash a vinyl liner pool, can you?

stain free for vinyl liner pool stains

Vinyl pool stains can be removed with acidic stain removal products like Stain Free, or A+ Stain Remover, or Jack’s Magic Blue Stuff for vinyl liners. If the stain is on your vinyl pool steps, try Jack’s Magic Step Stuff. Ascorbic acid (yep! vitamin C) is a great product for removing mineral stains on vinyl pools, and it also works well on vinyl pool step stains.

To keep metal and mineral stains from returning, add a sequestering agent twice per year, to keep minerals sequestered, or locked in solution. Or you can use a CuLator PowerPak, the only product that actually removes minerals from your pool by absorbing them in an easy-to-use pouch that you drop into your skimmer basket.

Organic Pool Stains

Generally speaking, organic pool stains respond best to a treatment with oxidizers. For plastered pools, you can just dump powdered shock right onto the bio-stain and watch it instantly disappear, but you can’t do that with a vinyl liner pool.

Organic pool stains can deposit themselves only around the main drain, on the steps or corners of the pool. Balance the chemistry and add super pool shock, according to directions. If that doesn’t remove the organic stains, try one of the products listed above. They are safe for vinyl liners, and they work for both mineral and organic pool stains.

Stains Behind Liner

Some stains are actually behind the liner, in between the wall or floor and the liner. They start as a bacterial colony, or can be algae or mineral crystals. If they are dark enough and large enough, they may show through the somewhat opaque pool liner and appear as a stain. Short of pulling up the liner and treating the floor, and foaming the walls, what can you do when the stain is behind or underneath the liner?

Start with the methods above: good water balance and give a heavy chlorine shock. This may only work temporarily. If the stains are near the waterline or high on the wall, you can lower the pool water and get at the wall with a scraper, then place a barrier between the wall and the liner.

Stains on Steps and Ladders

For steps and ladder stains, which can sometimes turn an off-orange, or light brown color, usually from leaf tannins, Jack’s Magic makes an easy-to-use product called the Step Stuff.

Stain Free or Stain Free Extra Strength can also work miracles with vinyl pool steps that have gradually or suddenly changed their colors, often turning a dirty brown, gray, or orange color.

Stains on the Waterline

Stains at the water line can develop over time on a vinyl pool. They are a mixture of dirt, minerals, oils, pollen, etc., that sticks to the edge of the pool, and are usually easily removable. Use a pool tile and vinyl cleanser. Don’t use any sort of kitchen or automotive cleaners on the pool.

Lower the water and use a kitchen sponge with a textured side. Spray on a small amount of tile/vinyl cleaner, or use the all-natural Orb3 Enzyme Cleaner and clean in rotating motions. Stains at the waterline have a greasy film and require a little elbow grease to remove, but don’t scrub too hard, or you may actually begin to rub off the printed pattern.

Adding a pool enzyme product can keep waterline stains from returning. Use Natural Chemistry’s Pool Magic or Pool Perfect and stop scrubbing the pool or steps every month.

How to Prevent Vinyl Pool Liner Stains

Preventing pool liner stains requires vigilance! Watching the pool like a hawk for foreign objects, keeping it clean, and keeping it balanced are the main ways to keep stains off your pool liner, with special attention to how you add pool chemicals.

Keep it clean. Almost anything on your liner or steps long enough will make a stain. Leaves and twigs leach colors, but are easy to remove with high chlorine and a little brushing. Worms or dead animals are a more difficult stain to remove and may require a stain remover chemical.

culator powerpak

Add chemicals. Many vinyl staining problems occur immediately after large-scale water balance adjustments or shocking of the pool. To avoid this, add chemicals separately at least four hours apart, and always add large doses in small increments over 24 hours.

To control pool stains from metals and minerals, use Jack’s Magic Purple Stuff or MetalFree. For severe mineral and metal issues, a CuLator PowerPak will reduce levels.

These stain-prevention pool chemicals control pool staining by making it difficult for minerals in the water to precipitate out of solution, where it can stain your vinyl liner, steps, or ladders.


156 thoughts on “Stains and Discoloration in a Vinyl Liner Pool

  1. Hello. I have an in ground pool. The pool cover has a reddish brown stain. This stain is on the top of the cover.
    With water and a soft Bristle brush I can scrub it and it will start to fade over but always comes back. Any ideas? I can use my fingernail and scrape this off sometimes, not always.

    • Hi Carl, sounds like it could be a form of bacteria, like a pink algae. could be from water standing on the cover. You could try bleach? Rinse well after treatment, to avoid any damage to the cover.

  2. Hi Greg, 1st year pool owners of an above-ground pool, and we have been fighting these mustard-yellow stains for the last month, thinking they are algae. Until it dawned on me that we have a black walnut tree, and squirrels had been peeling the green skins and dropped it in the water below. So, I’m pretty sure the stains are iodine stains. (and I have checked chlorine levels — no algae). We’re taking the pool down for the winter and I would like to try to remove those stains. I read that for vinyl floors, the process is:

    “To treat an iodine stain, you will need sodium thiosulfate granules, cleaning gloves, cool water and a sponge. Mix the water and sodium thiosulfate together to create a cleaning solution. Dip the sponge into the mixture and rub it into the iodine spot. Rinse the area with clean water, making sure all the solution is cleaned up. Repeat as necessary.” from flooristics.com

    Is that safe for the liner of my pool? (It’s an Intex Prism frame pool with a triple layer build). Do you have a better solution in your bag of tricks? (I mean, how many pool owners put their pools close to a walnut tree?…)

    • Hello, sodium thiosulfate is also used to remove chlorine, we sell the granular product as “Chlorine Neutralizer“. Now I’ve never known it to be used as a stain remover, but if you trust the source, it may not harm the vinyl, but I would still do a test area, letting it dry fully, to see if the vinyl seems to have suffered at all (I doubt it). Have you tried shocking the pool? (probably) Often chlorine granules will lift such organic stains, try sprinkling some directly on an area, let it sit for 15-secs, then brush off.

      • Will try. Water is down to the last 6″ of depth. I might add some liquid chlorine, scrub and see if it works, before letting go of the last bits. If not, neutralize before I completely drain and then try the solution suggested above. (Yes, I had shocked the pool quite a few times before, thinking it was algae. I even did this long-term shock over several days to ensure there really i no combined chlorine developing in time. Definitely not organic.) I’ll post a reply if it works — maybe it will help others.

  3. Gregory M Smith

    Davy,

    We have a pool liner that has chlorine build up all around the water line. What should we do?
    Thanks

    • Hi Greg, a chlorine build-up, or do you mean Calcium build up? Either way, some deposit on the waterline… You want to be gentle with the liner and don’t want to use any household products that could be bad for water chemistry, appearance or toxic, I would try our Tile & Vinyl cleaner first, and a stiff scrub brush, or scrubbing pad. You can also use a mild acid, like white vinegar, or a diluted solution made from muriatic acid or dry acid (pH decreaser).

  4. Bob Kunz

    I have an in-ground pool with a vinyl liner. While on vacation I asked a family member to shock the pool with powdered shock and brush it off. Well it looks like that may have not been totally done and in two area there are white line “stains” where the water level is. It looks like it might have removed some of the design and “ate” away at the liner. Is there anything that can be done here and if not is there any further concern or is it just something where I have to deal with looking at this white line? Thanks!

    • Hi Bob, perhaps the wind blew the shock up against the edge of the pool and it mixed with some surface foam or whatever and stuck on the side walls, where it damaged the liner. Nothing can be done, just have to get used to it, or look the other way. Probably no further concern. Shock should always be pre-dissolved in a bucket before adding to a vinyl liner pool, to prevent bleaching of the liner, usually a concern for the floor, but in this case the water line. 🙁

  5. Suzy Fearing

    I have inground pool in which new vinyl liner was installed at start of summer last year. I’ve just noticed a 2’ to 3’ area, almost perfect square on bottom corner of deep end that appears lighter than rest of patterned liner. With filter turned off and water still it appears to look like that square section is a different dye lot than rest of liner. It’s not on the walls or immediate edge where floor and wall meet, maybe an inch in from wall/ floor, almost like a big patch. Not sure how we didn’t notice before now if it has been there since it was installed a year ago. It is in the end that receives the most sun but would it fade in just a year and only on bottom in almost a perfect square shape? We use an in-line chlorinator and maintain chlorine and ph. I will be contacting pool company that installed but looking for any advice/opinion. It’s not blatantly noticeable to most but now I can’t not see it! Thanks!

    • HI Suzy, not sure what that could be. If you are able to dive down with goggles or a mask, you can get a close up view. If it is a patch, you should be able to feel some edges. If the edges are heat welded, like seams, it could be a patch done at the factory, but if you feel edges, then it may be a patch done during installation of the liner. If no edges are found… then I’m not sure – could something have been laying there during winter perhaps? Or some chemical like shock chlorine, that managed to lay in a perfect square shape? Not common that’s for sure…

  6. I never had a stain problem until a few weeks ago after installing a Nature2 sanitizer ….The water is crystal clear and all water tests are OK..I just removed the Nature2 today to see if this was a problem..any thoughts on this? Would the Nature2 cartridge have any metals in it that would react as you stated ?
    Thank You,
    Howard ….PS great Blog !!

    • Hi Howard, Nature2 does have silver/copper core that releases small amounts of metal ions into the water. However I have never known Nature2 units to stain a pool, and I believe they have a “No-Stain Guarantee”. Stains can come from many things, but I would not think from Nature 2 (or Frog) units, especially in a vinyl pool. You could contact Zodiac / Nature2 if you want more information on the product and how it works, and any potential for staining.

  7. Judy Billard

    I have a question – I have an inground vinyl liner pool. The liner is 5 years old and WAS in good shape. I was having some algae issues this year around the sides so after testing my water, my pool store told me the chemicals were fine, except of course my pool never has any chlorine measure even if I have a floater with tabs and shocked it. Problem for all 29 years I have had the pool. So the pool store told me to put Phosphate Remover in. I did and I haven’t had any algae since but within a couple days ugly pervasive brown stains have appeared all over the bottom of the pool. I have brushed numerous times and the stains don’t come up. Why would the phosphate remover cause these stains and how can I get rid of them? It seems like the stains spread more every day and it has been 2 weeks since I put the stuff in.

    • Hi Judy, I have not heard of phosphate remover causing brown stains, or any stains. I would think it to be something else. Brown stains may be associated with iron, perhaps the store can test for metals, and if so, using a sequestering agent can help, and hopefully reabsorb the metals back into solution. It may also be a stain from under the liner perhaps, sometimes dark stains on the pool floor can show thru the liner, as light stains. Start with making sure that pH, alkalinity and calcium hardness levels are on target and try to run up a high chlorine level. If you still cannot get a chlorine level in the pool, I would suggest a triple-shock with chlorine, using 3 lbs per 10,000 gals of pool water, added all at once, with a pH level of around 7.2.

  8. Karen Dacey

    Hi, I have a question. I have a in ground pool 11000 gallons 24×12 pool it has brown stains all over the Vinyl liner. I was told to use iron out And wait 1 hr Then use pool magnum 8 oz.snf it days to keep that in 24- 48 hrs not to shock for 4 days. I did this but the stains faded a little but are still there! My chlorine is high bc it’s been in the 90’s and my ph is high some we shocked it the night before. I’m not sure how to get these stains off or did we not do something right it’s says to keep the pool pump running? Can some one please help us. Thank you.

    • Karen, Iron Stains can be difficult to remove, but it is encouraging that they have lightened. I would keep at it, and continue to use maintenance doses of Pool Magnet, because these chemicals degrade in sunlight and chlorine. Brush the pool 2-3x per week also. Maintain perfect pH/alkalinity/calcium hardness levels. Avoid shocking unless as needed to kill algae or remove chloramines. You may want to try CuLator, a chemical pouch that absorbs metals, to remove them completely from the water. It is also worth an effort to identify the source of the iron – could be natural, in well water, or could be a rusty bolt in the pool, or rusty pool float bolt, ladder bolt, or other tools or equipment that are not stainless steel…

  9. Hey Dave! We have an inground pool with dark gray liner. Out of nowhere we have a bunch of gray/brown colored lines in shallow end like someone drew two very messy circles. The pool company says they have never seen anything like it. It happens to be in the exact spot where we put water in the pool from the hose on the waterline as well. Any ideas?

    • Also never seen that kind of stain, but let’s assume it is from minerals/metals. Use a sequestering agent like our Stain Away or Metal Free, or Jacks’ Magic Blue Stuff for Vinyl Pools, and try to absorb it back into solution. Or you may want to first try Ascorbic Acid to loosen/remove the stains, and THEN use the agent to lock the minerals/metals back into solution.

  10. I have a oval above ground pool the bottom of the pool liner has faded bleached out Through the years but this year when I opened it the bottom has a green staining throughout. It was not that bad at opening maybe 1/4 but now it is 1/2 or more covered in a green tint. I have tried to scrub but it will not come off. Any help besides buying a new liner would be appreciated.
    Thanks Robin

    • Robin, sometimes the algae is actually growing under the liner, in the sand or earth beneath. A heavy shocking can sometimes help for a time. I have heard of people injecting bleach with a very large syringe, directly into the soil/sand under the liner, and then patching the liner, after injection, doing it in several spots if needed. Patching is neat and quick with Anderson’s Leak Sealer product.

  11. Dawn Kapsiak

    So I have stains In my pool liner they are big and a brownish color !!! They disappear then reappear darker ! Tested my water leveles and told they were fine ! Please help

    • Hi Dawn, those could be iron perhaps. Or it could be an algae growing under the liner, if it does not brush off. You can try to treat with a sequestering agent (Stain & Scale) to control metals, or if it is algae under the liner, you can try using a large syringe to inject chlorine under the liner, and then patch the tiny hole with Anderson Leak Sealer.

  12. How do I get a vitamin C tab crushed up (or absorbic acid) on a specific spot on the floor of the pool? (to help lighten/clean a copper stain) I read above in a comment about using a tube but no idea what that means. If I pour it directly above 9 chances out of 10 it is not going to settle where I want it to.

    • Hi Amy, to use a tube, get a long cylinder of some sort, could be PVC pipe, or part of a pool pole, or some other tube, 1-2″ wide is best. Just hold the pole or tube directly on the stain, in a vertical position, then pour the powder into the tube/pipe and it will settle slowly right on the spot covered by the tube/pipe.

  13. Robyn Keener

    I have an above ground pool with a vinyl liner. Last year when we uncovered the pool it had brownish/orangish stains in random places above the water line. It almost looks like a burnt areas. We had water tested for metals but nothing showed positive. We’ve tried several cleaners and nothing helps. It doesn’t have a film to it. We shock our pool once a week. We just opened the pool last week and unfortunately the stains are still there.

    • Hi Robyn, above the water line? Strange, cannot imagine what that could be, sun damage, perhaps? Is it on the sunny side of the pool, if that is a thing for your pools’ orientation?

  14. Hi Davey,
    I have a liner in an in ground pool. After opening the pool last week, my pool guy saw two large brown stains in the shallow end that looks like there is sand or sediment at the bottom. One of the stains looks like someone used a brush to push some of the “sediment” aside. It looks like something that could be swept but it it definitely a stain. My pool guy says he’s never seen anything like it.

  15. Christian

    Hi Davy, I have a new above ground vinyl which measures 12ft by 28ft. It has a salt water chlorinator and I’ve added 25kg salt to the skimmer box every two weeks since it was built (3 months ago). 2 weeks ago I also flushed the filter and added the DE powder. Now noticing a whit stain on the bottom of the pool roughly in the area where the outlet feeds water back into pool. I’ve tried cleaning the white stains with a towel and scraping it off with my finger, though neither has made a difference. Chlorine and pH levels are within range. I don’t have a way to test calcium levels though can’t think how calcium would have entered the pool. Assuming this is from over salting. The pool isn’t that big and I’ve been pouring the whole bag in one go. Thoughts on how best to remove the stain. Any way to post pics? Thanks!

    • Hi Christian, it may be that the vinyl is ‘bleached’ or faded in color from the chlorine? In that case, it wouldn’t be considered a stain of course, but a permanent lighter color. 😉

      I suppose it could also be a whitish scale, but if so, rubbing on it, or using a light acid light vinegar or lemon juice should dissolve it readily. If not, then not scale.

      As to adding salt every week, that’s not the usual method, but adding booster amounts every six months, is needed to replace salt lost in backwashing and drag-off/splash-out water – which is not much, perhaps just a few kilos, usually. Use salt test strips to be sure of your salt level, within 200 ppm. Too much or too little salt can cause problems

  16. Tammy Neuwirth

    I have a vinyl liner pool that is 21′ x 54″ and buried 18″. I have a deck being built around it and a sprinkler system installed. As a result I have had a lot of dirt and saw dust in the pool. Up to this point I have vacuumed frequently, kept chemicals in good range, and had no problems. This morning I vacuumed a big mess from yesterday’s work and there are stains where the mud/saw dust was on the bottom of the pool. This is a new pool (2 months) and I am so upset. Please tell me how I can remove these stains. Thanks so much for your help.

    • Hi Tammy, probably the stain is not permanent, but may take some help to disappear. Brush a few times daily, and keep water balanced. Try sprinkling powdered shock over a test area, to see if chlorine pool shock will lift the stain, as it does often with such ‘organic’ stains. If that does not work, try ascorbic acid – a mild acid that works well on vinyl. We sell it under Stain Free and A+ Stain Remover.

  17. Tim Statza

    We just installed a new blue patterned liner and I added shock which piled into one corner of the deep end that I did not see. Anyhow the next day it had faded the liner in that corner. Is there any underwater permanent marker or something that I can use to touch up that corner so it is not so noticeable? Thanks

    • Hi Tim, that is unfortunate, sorry to hear… I wish there was something that would do what you suggest – maybe there is, I could just be unaware – or perhaps a magic marker may work? No harm in trying… if the pool was drained you may have more options to stain or dye the vinyl to a darker color, but then you would have to re-set the liner with a vacuum.

  18. Vanessa Hardy

    I shocked my pool and in the middle of it it is brown I poured shock in that spot and it didn’t make a difference

    • Hi Vanessa, I would try ascorbic acid/citric acid, aka Vitamin C. You can test with 8 or 10 Vitamin C tabs, crushed up into a powder, and sprinkled carefully over a small area, (poured thru a pipe works well). If that works, get some Stain Free or our A+ Stain Remover, for a larger treatment.

  19. I have a vinyl liner pool which has sporadic dark stains on the bottom of the pool.
    We have tried to test it with ascorbic acid and a chlorine puck. Nothing happens.
    We have also use pool stain treatment by United chemical. No luck.
    Someone said to try citric acid but I have not so far.
    If it is black algae what is your recommendation?

    • Hi, citric acid is basically the same as ascorbic acid, or about the same strength. You could try pH decreaser (dry acid), in an old, thin sock, used as a stain sock. In some cases, growth of algae underneath the liner, on the floor or walls, can show through the liner slightly. In such cases, I have heard that a strong shocking of the pool, to 30 ppm + chlorine level, can help knock it back, temporarily I suppose. In some cases, it can only be stopped by pulling the liner up to deal with it directly with chemicals or material replacement. That may not be your issue here, only possibly… good luck!

  20. Rick Futterman

    Help, I’ve had a vinyl liner liner in my semi inground pool for 10 years. I use an ionizer so there’s definitely copper and silver that’s used to sanitize the water. Over the last year I’ve noticed the pool liner has lost its blue bright color and has become dull and darker. It has a rough feel as well. It’s not dirt because I can’t clean it off with my foot or a brush. I also noticed that the sides of the pool have a gritty feel to them which I tried to wipe away with my hand But it just returns. The funny part it is not on all walls only in some places. To sound like a problem with metals in the water and what do you suggest

    • Hi Rick, vinyl liners don’t stain as easily from metals as a plaster pool, but they can stain, esp. with the use of a power ionizer device. Now it’s not likely a problem for the vinyl, but if the appearance or the feel bothers you, there are some things I would try. First I would consider the filter, perhaps it is not trapping the smaller debris anymore, you may need new cartridges or sand. Second, I would test water balance with a good test kit, like those made by Taylor, to be sure that the water is balanced, using the Pentair LSI calculator. High alk, high pH and high calcium can cause a problem for water with high metals. So pay close attention to these 3 measurements. Then, start using a good sequestering agent like our Stain Away, Natural Chemistry’s Metal Free, Jack Magic’s Blue Stuff for Vinyl Liners, or such chemicals that keep metals in solution, which will be hard or even undesirable with an ionizer treated pool, but a few heavy doses may be enough to lift these deposits. Not sure why it’s only in certain areas…?

  21. phyllis fender

    I have a above ground pool 15 ft x 4 ft deep I use pristine blue chemicals the whole liner is stained walls and all up to water line dark brown and almost black in some places did the white sock test with dry acid and right away came clean minerial stain we did the ph decrease 5 lbs it lighted bottom a little it is about 5,000 gals or a little more the tech said if I put more the ph water bal will be way off can you help the water is very clear just need to get rid of stain so water will be blue again please help

    • Hi, sounds like copper or iron staining. When you remove a metal stain, you don’t get rid of the metals, they are still in the water. To capture the metals you can use a product called Culator, pouches that absorb metals, or you can use a sequestering agent, which keeps metals and minerals locked in solution, so they stay dissolved and don’t come out of solution to stain. So, you can continue to use pH decreaser or EZ Stain Remover, but you should also use a sequestering agent like Stain Away, Metal Free or Jacks Blue Stuff (all found on the Stain Chemicals page), or the metal will just redeposit and restain. For removing the stain, yes you can’t just keep adding more and more pH decreaser, it will harm the liner, but you can bring pH back up again with increaser, then hit it again with decreaser.

  22. Help! We have a vinyl liner pool that has a “ring” around it above the water line. I’m sure that it has been caused by unbalanced water for the last couple of seasons (pool service companies that don’t do what they say). All the products I’m finding treat stains inside the pool. Vitamin C tabs help fade this stain, so I know I’m on the right track but the stain is above the water line. What do I do now?? Thanks for you help!
    Tom

    • Hi Tom, you could use some of the Ascorbic Acid in a solution and spray it on the vinyl, while wet. Put it into a clean, washed spray bottle with water, then spray on, scrub and rinse. You can also try a chlorine cleanser like Soft Scrub, or another mild acid like vinegar. Just avoid any strong acids, or soapy solutions. TSP could also be used, with a little elbow grease…

  23. Dusty Daigle

    I have an in ground vinyl liner pool. I did not install it as it came with the house when we bought it. We have been in the house 8 years and this is the first year I am having trouble with metal staining. I have used stain free two times each time with amazing results. The last time I used it I also used a chemical that is suppose to pull the metallic particles out of the water to be filtered and then back washed. I noticed today that the liner and white steps are building up the stain again only a week after applying stain free. What in the world could be different in my pool after 8 years that is causing the problem? Nothing has changed. I do have a metal ladder but I have always had it. Help!!

    • Hi Dusty, I can feel your pain – Stain Free is not cheap stuff! Have you been using a sequestering agent like Stain Away? Stain Free will lift metallic stains, but won’t remove them from the water. Metals can be sequestered or locked up in solution, when one uses regular doses of Stain Away, Jack’s Magic Blue for Vinyl Pools, Metal Free, or any of the many such sequestering agents. I don’t know of a product that traps metals in the filter effectively, but culator can trap metals in it’s own pouch. If you are not already, begin using Stain Away regularly to keep a continuous residual of sequestering agent in the water, as it depletes from chlorine and sun UV rays. I guess you’ll need another dose of Stain Free too! 🙁 good luck Dusty!

  24. Elaine Walters

    We just bought a house with a vinyl inground pool. The fiberglass steps were an ugly brown. I place vitamin c tablet on the steps and where the tablet was turned white again. Placed more on the steps and the filter jets washed some of the tablets into the pool. Come to find out the pool liner is a very pretty blue were the tablets landed. Which means the ugly brown is covering the whole pool liner also. Please help. How can I get my pool looking the pretty blue it should be.

    • Hi Elaine, just get a bottle or two of the Stain Free or our copy-cat product A-Plus Stain Remover, to sprinkle over the whole pool, or buy about a million Vit C tablets! Ascorbic Acid is a great stain removal for metallic stains, especially in vinyl pools.

  25. Hi,

    We have a glass fibre pool which were covered with liner two years ago.
    Approx two months ago I saw that all white areas (steps, jet nozzels, skimmer) are bluish. I assume the blue areas of the liner are covered as well but I cannot see that. In the waste basket in the pump I can see debris of something blue as well. Not granulated, it sticks to the basket. If I take a sponge or brush, with effort it will come off. What can this be? How do I get rid of it? Harmful? I am thinking it could be copper? Read somewhere that it could be a indication of that. My blondish hair turns greenish every summer so I suppose the levels are a bit elevated. The only other blue I can think of is the liner cleaner we used, it was a blue gel. But I do not think that it is the problem, the quantities does not match. – Emma

    • Hi Emma, it could be copper from copper pipes, or high levels of copper in the water supply, or from heavy use of copper algaecides. If it is copper, it is not harmful, and there are worse stains to have I suppose… You could try Culator, a product that will absorb metals, and also begin a regular dosage of a sequestering agent like Stain Away or Metal Free, to keep metals and minerals in solution.

  26. I have an inground pool where the liner is nine years old .this year when I open the pool there was a stain around the entire pool where the walls meet the floor of the pool and where the sides decline and meet each other in the deep end.There is no stain where the wall liner overlaps the floor when the manufacturer attaches them. The color of the stain is a pale green . I had the water tested and it came back that all chemicals were perfect I did have to add alkalinity plus .. it is not a metal Stain and it is possible it could be organic but I think the stain is coming from underneath the liner and bleeding through because where the walls meet the bottom there is a void and I do get water in the winter when the water table rises.Is this a real possibility? If so what can I do?

    • Hi Dennis, it is a possibility, especially for sand and vermiculite floor bottoms, that algae can grow under the liner, and in some cases, show thru the liner as a darkening in certain areas. The pattern of stains, following the lines of the walls and floor, adds further evidence perhaps. If you haven’t tried already, I would super-shock the pool – a triple shock with pre-dissolved granular chlorine, 3 lbs per 10000 gallons, with a suitably low pH to increase potency. With any luck, this will fade the marks, albeit perhaps only temporarily, but perhaps until the end of the season! Repeat treatments can help control it. Another thought would be to actually inject bleach under the liner with a power-syringe, but that is not something that is usually done, just a wild idea I just had, and it won’t be good for the liner. When you next replace the liner, plan on two things 1. replacing any soiled floor material, and 2. constructing swales, drains, and french drains or regrading to move storm water away from the pool, or installing an underground sump pump to dewater continuously the terrain under the pool and deck. Or installing automatic hydrostat valves to allow ground pressure water to flow into the pool, and not stay trapped under the liner.

      • Thank you for your response . I should have mentioned that when I open the pool this year the alkalinity level was 40 . I had it alkalinity increaser and the level increased to 100 and the stain became lighter. I also should’ve mentioned that I live in an area where there is a heavy red clay 2 feet down . When the pool was built they had to dig down into the red clay . When the pool is closed for the winter the rain causes the water under the cover to go out through the skimmer overflow and gets caught between the wall and the red clay . The pressure is so great that it lifts the liner causing the pool to be drained and the liner reset . I tried to pump the water off during the winter but some probably gets down in addition to ground water. I plan on digging down to break through the red clay and put a drainage pipe where the skimmer is. Is it possible the stain is caused by the red clay and not algae ? I also held a half a lemon on the staying for about five minutes and the stain seem to lighten. I believe there is a product that contains citric acid which can be added to the pool . Is that a possibility . Thank you for your time. Dennis

        • Davy Merino

          Hi Dennis, an automatic cover pump could be used, to keep up with the rain water more effectively. Clay soils can stain a liner, yes – if left on there for some time. If the lemon seems to work (citric acid), you might try our A Plus stain remover, our generic version of Stain Free, both ascorbic acid based.

  27. Dominique

    Hi there, early in the summer I noticed my pool liner has turned into a greenish color everywhere (can’t be cleaned just by brushing it). So I did a Vitamin C treatment (Stain Free) and the nice original blue color came back. I didn’t do any other metal eliminator treatment or anything else at the time.

    Unfortunately, over the last weeks the greenish color has reappeared. Yesterday, I had my water tested for metal and to my surprise there were no trace at all of metal (copper or iron). So I’m wondering if that is really from mineral origin or if it is metal, might 100% of it have been stuck/sequestered on the vinyl liner?

    Additional info : I use a salt generator and it was probably set a bit too high during my vacation time this summer. And my PH went up to 8.0 also.

    So, should I just use the Vitamin C treatment again now or in the fall and just drain everything and start over with new fresh water? Should I have used a metal eliminator after my ascorbic acid treatment?

    Thank you!

    • Hi Dominique, yes what you last say makes sense to me, treat again with A+ Stain Remover or Stain Free, and then afterwards, add the recommended dosage of a sequestering agent like Stain Away, Metal Free, or Jack’s Magic Blue Stuff for vinyl pools. Be sure to add the necessary maintenance dose per label, as these chemicals degrade and are not a one time treatment. Then see how that does long term? Start now, then you should know by end of season.

  28. John Philbin

    Hi. I have an ingound pool with a fairly new liner that was installed about 4 years ago. Last September, our pool was closed for the winter. A heavy vinyl cover was used. After it was closed, we had a lot of rain and a lot of water accumulated on the cover. About 4 weeks after it was closed, I pumped the ton of water off the winter cover and added water to the pool. It looked like the cover was sitting low so I pulled back part of the cover and to my horror, I found that part of the liner in both the deep and shallow ends had floated. I called the pool store that had originally installed the new liner and had also closed the pool for the winter. They were supposed to come out and check it but they wanted me to pull the cover off by myself. I’m 65 so that was not going to happen. I looked under the winter cover again and found that it had gone back down. We were going out of town to visit my daughter and did not have time to deal with the pool so I decided to wait until the spring to deal with it. The pool store people never did come out. We opened the pool in early June and were shocked by what we found. Most of the bottom of the pool was covered with something like algae and was a dark brown/black with a reddish tint. The funny thing is that there was not anything on the walls or on the bottom of the deep end. I was able to clean up the pool since it pretty much would sweep up with the pool vacuum. The problem that I have not been able to resolve is that the stuff left large stains all over the bottom of the pool except the deep end. I believe the stains are organic since I put a 3 inch chlorine tablet on parts of the stain for about 10 minutes and it would get rid of the stain but only to the extent that the surface of the tablet touched the vinyl liner. I have shocked the pool with 4 bags of your Super Pool shock but it did not do a thing. The pool is 18 X 37 and I think it holds about 25,000 gallons but I am not sure because it is a Grecian style pool with stairs and the deep end is sloped on all sides so it is nearly impossible to figure it out. Do you have any suggestions on what to do? The liner is only 4 years old and the pool is used much anymore and I do not want to buy another liner. Thank you.

    • Hi John, brownish/red stains are commonly iron, but could be something different. I would treat with a sequestering agent (Stain & Scale chemical), and then treat the pool with a Stain Remover like A+ Stain Remover, or StainFree, both vitamin C based. Follow the treatment guidelines, sounds like it should be removable.

      • John Philbin

        It has been awhile since I first contacted you about my stain problem. Since then I have tried everything I could think of including algaecide, super chlorination, and Jack’s Magic Blue Stuff. None of these worked so I tried your A+ Stain Remover. I put 5 pounds of it in my pool last Thursday and ran the filter for 30 hours. Chlorine level was at zero. The next day there was no change. The day after that there still was not any change. The next day though I awoke to find the pool water completely cloudy and could not even see the bottom in the shallow end. I ran the filter for two more days for about 16 hours a day. I also changed the DE in the filter (I had pulled the filter apart before I started this and completely cleaned it.) I am now at day 6 and the water is still cloudy but I can see the bottom and the stains are still there. My question is when can I throw chlorine into the pool? It is still at zero and the Ph dropped from 2.5 to 1.9. As far as getting rid of the stains, I give up.

        • Hi John, I would raise the pH first, is it really that low – 1.9? Raise the chlorine level and the pH and the cloudiness should disappear. Hopefully the stains will be lighter at least!

  29. I have a 16 foot true L inground pool. Every week I have the pool company test the water. The PH has been on the high side but just over the range at 7.9. My calcium hardness as been all over the place. Sometimes as low as 300 but lately on the higher end of the scale and today at 415. My pool has a vinyl liner and I am noticing it is showing a lot of white spots or discoloration. We have been in an accessive heat wave and the pool company is telling me to shock two to three times a week. My question is 3 fold. First. Is my pool liner getting calcium deposits (they are on the bottom not the sides or water line)? Or am I over chlorinating and bleaching my liner? Or my liner is in good shape but over 10 years old could the sun and age just be taking its toll ??

    • Hi James, if you are using Cal Hypo shock, that would account for the rise in calcium hardness levels. White spots and discoloration is likely a bleaching of the liner, and also perhaps showing its age somewhat. Calcium doesnt normally deposit on vinyl, its usually too slick to stick. Shocking 2-3 times per week is excessive, unless you have a very small or poor performing filter, or the filter doesnt run long enough each day. Lowering the pH level to 7.2-ish will also make the chlorine more potent, and allow you to use less.

  30. I’m about at the end of my rope with my vinyl-liner pool stains. My pool is 11 years old and for the first six years it was perfect. Starting around the seventh year, I started getting dull/lifeless water and orange staining on the liner and stairs. Our area is notorious for having high iron levels, but I rarely put any town water in to the pool. I have a crazy idea in my head that our yearly fireworks may have dropped some stuff in the pool and lead me down this miserable path. We’ve since stopped shooting fireworks off in the backyard.

    I can make the pool look like new if I treat it with citric acid or ascorbic acid, but as soon as the chlorine levels come back up to 2-3, the stains return.

    I’ve tried adding several bottles of Jack’s Magic Purple. It doesn’t seem to do anything for my issue.

    My current readings are:

    FC: 3
    Salt: 3200 (though the SWG is off and I’m using bleach to maintain FC)
    pH: 7.5
    TA: 110
    CYA: 75-80

    What else can I try? Thank you for any info you can provide. I’m a few days away from turning the pool in to a skatepark. 🙂

    • Hi BP, ok it’s not so bad, and you can recover, here’s some things to do
      1. keep pH level lower, 7.2-7.4, where it is harder for metals to precipitate
      2. use chlorine tablets and not bleach, unless you are also using a chlorine pump, pouring in 1/3 gal, or whatever, knocks metals out of solution, where they can stain. keep chlorine from getting too high, too fast. Avoid shocking the pool for a few weeks if possible.
      3. Try Jack’s pink, or any other Stain & Scale chemical, and faithfully add the maintenance dosage weekly, or whatever is recommended, because they only last a week or two and then gone.
      4. use a prefilter when adding make-up water to the pool, Pleatco makes a nice one.
      5. if possible, drain half the pool and refill, to lower cyanuric level, and reduce salt load and metal load (assuming the salt system is not going to be fixed)
      6. Retreat with stain remover one more time…
      7. good luck, bud! 🙂

  31. Hi.
    I have a brown stain on the vinyl liner of my pool. Had the pool store test water slight elevation of copper. Used Stain Lift by Poollife with some lessening of stain noticed but it is not gone. The steps are whiter though.
    Should I just do weekly maintenance and see if that clears up problem and try something else?

    • Diane, sometimes it takes several repeat applications. Since it did lighten the stain, I would give it at least one more treatment, or follow the maintenance guidelines on the label. If it is a small stain area, you can make a stain sock, and scrub the area a bit (pour the stain lift (or pH decreaser) into an old, thin orphan sock and tie it off, cut off the end, push it around with your pool brush).

  32. Hi, we’ve had a problem with our pool for since last summer. We have a 24′ above ground pool. We’ve purchased all kinds of chemicals and about ready to replace the liner. However, I thought I’d give it one more try. There is a white discoloration all around the perimeter of our pool. It will not come off and is rough to touch. (maybe calcium) Algae sticks to it and just makes it look dirty. Last fall when we removed our steps, I could literally scrape the white stuff off and again it was rough like sand. If you have any suggestions it would be appreciated.

    • Hi Mark, yeah probably calcium, mixed with other gunk. You can scrape it off with a stiff brush or a dull butter knife or putty knife. On tiled pools they could bead blast it, or acid wash it, but on vinyl there aren’t as many options. A Stain Eraser for vinyl pools may be some help – or, since you are near the end with this pool liner, you could try some mild acids like vinegar or lemon juice and a stiff brush or light pressure washing (not too close!)

  33. Sue Muehling

    I have an in ground 20X40 liner pool, 20X40 and at one end and around the corners of the pool it is dirty above the water line. I have tried acidic cleaner and comet – any other ideas?

    • Hi Sue, an acidic cleaner would be good for scale deposits mixed with dirt… and the comet cleanser would be good for organic stains from dirt and grime… what’s left is possibly sun damage or chlorine damage – which is not usually removable, and can both produce a faded brownish orange color. Also could be metal staining, and be all sorts of colors. If you suspect metals in the water like iron, copper, then a chemical like jacks Blue Stuff could be used, to try and reabsorb the metals into solution – but i don’t want to get your hopes up… another thought might be the Vinyl Stain Eraser.

  34. Tracey Batson

    Hello! I have an inground pool with a vinyl liner that is 13 years old. We recently had equipment issues that limited flow and resulted in algae growth that had to be harshly treated with chemicals. Pool is all clear now but we have brown stains on the bottom that weave to the deep end drain…chemical stains? Any hope? Thanks!

    • Hi Tracey, could be chemical stains, but more often a brown color is associated with mineral fallout, or a mix of precipitated minerals, metals, dirt and algae, when a pool with a high pH level is shocked heavily, or other water conditions that produce a perfect storm. I would start with excellent, spot-on water balance – ph, alk, cal, cya and chlorine levels, while brushing the floor twice daily. Then you can experiment with 4 types of stain removers, in a small spot, by holding a pipe, PVC or plastic hose over the area, and pouring a small amount of chemical thru the pipe to rest on a small area. Another way to deliver stain remover chemicals to a localized spot or area is to make a stain sock, pour 1 lb of stain remover into an old thin sock or hosiery, tie it off, and let it sit for a minute on the stain, push it around with the brush. The three chemicals you can try are 1) Chlorine pool shock (generally not recommended on vinyl, but in such extreme cases, but generally only works on organic stains (not metallic) 2) EZ Stain remover and 3) A+ Stain Remover and 4) pH decreaser (all are granular acids). If you do suspect metals, using a sequestering agent like Metal Free, Stain Away or Jacks Magic Blue Stuff, to bind up metals and minerals in solution.

  35. Laurie A Lally

    Hi Davy, thanks for your reply. Unfortunately, the store doesn’t know what else to do to eliminate the stains. I guess my question to you is should I stop using the Eclipse 3 and do a sequestering treatment? 3 quarters of the liner has this black stain and it looks gross. If I stop using the eclipse I can just go back to keeping the levels in the pool the way I use to…by adding bags of needed chemicals. I’m not even sure I can just stop using the eclipse 3 or if I would have to do a complete or partial water change. So frustrated. Any advice you could give would be much appreciated.

    • Hi, I would probably do that, stop using the Eclipse 3 and start with a sequestering agent, there are many = we have Stain Away, MetalFree, Jacks Magic, Seaklear – anything labeled Stain & Scale control (not remover, but control or prevention). In some cases, proper administration of a good sequestering agent can remove or redissolve light surface staining, putting the mineral back in solution, and chemically holding it there. And yes, just go back to using chlorine, should be no need to drain. Fingers crossed! Hope it works…

  36. Laurie A Lally

    I have an above ground pool and our local pool place recommended I try a product called Eclipse 3. After about 2 weeks of using the product, I suddenly had black spots appear on the liner. The pool supply place told me to double dose shock the pool in case it was black algae. I’ve scrubbed the spots till my arms were falling off but they remain. They then had me use a stain remover. Did that twice with no luck. All the levels are normal but with the Eclipse 3 I get a 0 reading for the free chlorine. They said that was normal when using that product and that I should just keep 2 tabs/pucks in pool at all times. Do you have any idea what the stains may be and how I can remove them? Thanks for your help.

    • Hi laurie, it doesn’t sound like algae, which will always scrub off, but stains, I’m picturing small spots, like black algae, since the store mentioned that, but those spots are rarely larger than a dime in diameter. Elipse 3 is an alternative pool treatment, essentially a complex copper algaecide, which is a great bactericide, but could possibly cause some staining – copper staining, which can range in color from teal blue to black. Shocking the pool can ‘drop-out’ the copper, as can other dramatic water chemistry changes, often mixing with other water particles. Not saying definitively that you have copper stains, but it is a possibility. In that case however, what I would try is a sequestering agent, to bind up the metals and minerals, but then that kind of defeats the purpose of the Eclipse3 treatment – would be a good question for your store.

  37. I have a new above the ground pool and need to add chemicals to it. I do not want to stain the liner or discolor the liner what is the best way to add shock and chlorine to the pool?

    • Hi Jo, for shock chlorine, the powder type, pour it into a clean bucket, filled with 4 gallons of water, and stir with a stick or rod to dissolve. Stir for about one minute, then pour the solution into the pool, near the pool return. Be careful not to pour out undissolved granules in the bottom of the bucket, but add more water and dissolve those too. If some granules do fall int he pool, get the pool brush and push them around for a 5 or 10 minutes, until they do dissolve. For tablets, many people use a chlorine floater, but when the tablets get very small, some slivers may fall out and can stain the liner or damage the liner. A chlorine feeder, installed on the pool return line, like the Hayward CL100 or CL110 models, avoids this problem, and also allows you more control in the dissolution rate than a floater…

  38. We just uncovered our pool and it looked great, until the next morning. Now on the bottom of the pool in a swirling design it looks like a green/ brown ( kinda looks like algae but does not come off even with scrubbing ) mess all over the bottom of the liner, It’s not on the sides or the ladder either.
    We did not have this when we opened the pool only after we hooked up the filter and put the chlorine in.
    Wondering if the chlorine could of done this ?
    Or we did pressure washer our deck that is attached to the pool . The pool was still covered at the time but maybe that could be the problem.
    How can I find out what the stain is and what to use to get rid of it ?

    • Hi Ann, could be metals, copper or iron. If you shocked the pool after uncovering it, with unbalanced water, it could have caused metals to drop-out of solution. Using a sequestering agent like Jacks blue stuff for vinyl pools, or our own Super Stain Away, could be the solution, to try and absorb the metals back into solution. Afterwards, if there is still staining on the floor, try an ascorbic acid stain remover like Stain Free or our own A+ Stain Remover, broadcast over the pool (may need two bottles for complete coverage).

  39. Hope you can help-we have an inground FOX pool. 36000gallons. The liner is approximately 4 years old. For the last 2 years we have been battling worms that accumulate over the winter and sit in 1spot in the deep end. Each year we clean it up but have no luck in removing the stain? We have tried to put edging for the winter along the grass to prevent any worms from getting washed in after heavy rains. We have added weighted boxes to the liners edge for the winter as well to keep the cover tighter..nothing seems to prevent the worms from getting in. We have perfect pool water accept for this stain. Yesterday we saw a stain in the shallow end from what we believe is pollen and ll the yellow strands that fall from our neighbors oak tree. All of which has only been there for 2 days? Any suggestions to remove these stains would be greatly appreciated.

    • Hi Andrea, yes worm stains, a common problem. Organic stains such as these can be bleached with chlorine granules, but in a vinyl pool you also risk bleaching the liner. Nonetheless it may be worth an experiment to pour 1 or 2 lbs. of chlorine shock over the area, then brush the area thoroughly after a minute or less. Another less risky route is to sprinkle Ascorbic Acid granules, like Stain Free or our A+ Stain Remover product over the area. If that doesn’t work well enough, you could try a stronger acid in our EZ Stain Remover, or make a stain sock by pouring pH Decreaser into an orphan sock and pushing it around the area to scrub, with your hand or with the pool brush on a pole.

  40. Terri Guimond

    Our liner is 3 years old for our 16×40 inground pool. We have never had a problem with the liner discoloring in the past but last year and now upon opening the liner that had no water on it has turned brown. When we raise the water lever its seems to clear but as soon as the levels go down and especially where the sun hits it the liner is brown. The area where the sun We use stain away and this has helped but it keeps coming back. I feel we battled this all summer long. Is the sun and the chlorine reacting on the liner material. This is so discouraging because it is a new liner and a beautiful print but the brown color makes it so ugly. We have purchase cleaner and a brush from in the swim and it took the color of the liner in a few places. HELP!!!

    • Hi Terri, sounds like either a metal deposit, reacting with the sun (iron probably), or it could be something beneath the liner, a mold or fungus growing. Keep using Stain Away, especially if you have metals in your water, as maintenance doses are needed to keep protection. You may try a mild acid like our A+ Stain Remover, sprinkled over the area, that could help. You can test with a handful of crushed Vitamin C tablets, placed on the stain (from underwater). Good luck!

  41. Carolina B

    Hi, we have stumped most people with our issue. We have a new saltwater pool with a vinyl liner. We have crystal clear water and a bright yellow ring (2-3 inches high) around the pool above the water line. We have scrubbed it and it has not even budged. We have it on superchlorinate and have shocked the pool as well. With no luck, hasn’t faded and when you touch it it’s not slimy or rough. I’ve tried putting asorbic acid on a section to see if it would help but nope stain will not budge. Again it’s a brand new pool so we are not sure what the problem is.

    • Hi Carolina, I’m not sure what a bright yellow stain could be – especially ABOVE the water line. Wondering if there is something behind the liner, on the top of the wall that is bleeding thru? Not sure what that would be (yellow tape?). Metals and minerals don’t normally cause a yellow stain, but it could be a mixture of metals, minerals and … something else – perhaps pollen? Maybe not. You have tried a mild acid (ascorbic acid) and that didn’t work, although you could try a other acids like vinegar or even diluted muriatic acid. If acids don’t work, try a low suds cleanser like TSP, scrubbing lightly with a textured sponge. Good luck!

  42. Kim Boles Zarko

    Hello
    We just took off our new winter cover, it left bad reddish stains on the white trim around the outside of the pool that holds the liner, I tried bleach, but nothing is taking the stains off. I think it is plastic? Any recommendations or why the cover left those stains on the trim around pool?

    • Hi Kim, so here’s a stain not inside the pool – but on the outside of the pool, around the ‘top rail’ outer edge? Does it look like rust? The cover cable is typically a steel cable, wrapped in a vinyl sheath – they don’t normally rust but perhaps that is the cause. The pool cover does a bit of rubbing on the edge of the pool too, especially during windy periods, and the weight of rain and snow, causing it to rub on the pool top rail, but I’ve never heard of a cover leaving a stain, especially a reddish color. Since chlorine didn’t work, I would try a mild acid product like CLR or Vinegar or (crazy idea but…) perhaps Easy-Off (for ovens) – testing first in small areas to be sure it won’t harm the coating or paint.

  43. Lisa Faluotico

    I have an above ground pool, vinyl liner. We just took off the winer cover and along the water line there is a yellow stain. I hit it with my hose and it didn’t wash away. There is some leaf debris and worms at the bottom of the pool also from the winter. I did put winterizing chemicals into the pool before I closed it. How can I remove the yellow stains?

    • Hi Lisa, if you lower the water level just below the yellow stain, You can use our Tile & Vinyl cleaner to scrub the area. For the worm and leaf stains, Shock the pool heavily, and it will lighten them. After a few weeks of sun, brushing and chlorine, they should be almost invisible. If not, sprinkle chlorine pool shock over the area, and let it sit for a minute, then brush it off with a pool brush (not something you normally do for vinyl liners, putting shock directly on the vinyl, but in such cases of heavy organic debris staining, it can be the fastest solution).

  44. I have a in ground pool and we i uncovered it today there were some black stains in certain areas. Is there anyway to get rid of that. i read there is nothing to do but replace the liner eventually ?

    • Davy Merino

      Hi Theresa, first thing i would try would be to lower the pH to around 7.2 and then sprinkle some granular shock chlorine over the area (which normally we advise against, but in this case…) Just enough to cover the area, a cup or two. Let it sit for a minute then brush the area for several minutes to disperse the granular. If this ‘bleaching’ helps, you can retreat after a few hours. If it doesn’t help, you could try an acidic based stain remover, starting with ascorbic acid, found in StainFree, or our own A+ Stain Remover. If That doesn’t work, last resort would be our strongest stain remover EZ Stain Remover. If you suspect the stain is not organic, but could be iron or other heavy metals in the water, you could use a strong sequestering agent like Jacks magic blue stuff for vinyl liners (long name), in an effort to re-dissolve the metals back into solution, and lighten the stain in the process. If nothing else, you should be able to get the stain to be much less visible, if not remove it altogether – good luck!

  45. Paul Wojdylak

    Brand new vinyl liner last season right before I closed for the season (in ground) I brought 1 truck of water in and the guy who did the work recommended I fill the rest with garden hose (well water) now when I opened it up last week , water is cloudy and my white fiberglass steps are orange. I’m pissed. What do I do?

    • Davy Merino

      Hi Paul, typically when we see the orange pool step problem, it is an issue with Iron in the water. Jack’s Magic Step Stuff is a product specifically made for this kind of common problem. You could instead treat with a good sequestering agent, like Super Stain Away, which can sometimes reverse the staining, as it absorbs minerals back into solution. Ascorbic acid like Stain Free and A+ Stain Remover, can also be effective in some cases for step staining of this type. In any case, you will want to start on a program of adding a weekly or bi-monthly addition of sequestering agent, like Stain Away, Metal Free or Jacks’ Magic Blue Stuff for Vinyl Liners, to prevent future staining. For the cloudy water, that’s normal on start-up, rebalance the water chemistry (ph, alkalinity, calcium and cyanuric), and shock the pool with 3-4 lbs of pool shock (pre-dissolved in a [clean] bucket of water first). Also can use a pre-filter on your hose, to extract minerals and metals from fill water, or fill with water from a home filter/softening system.

  46. J Paszternak

    I have an love ground pool and starting at the water line I have a dark almost black ring around it. How do I get that clean. It is 15×15

    • Davy Merino

      Hi – you could use a Tile & Vinyl cleaner product made for pools, so that it is safe for the low-suds to get into the water. Use a textured kitchen sponge and scrub it on – rinse it off. If that doesn’t work, try a chlorinated cleanser like Comet, in small quantities and rinse quickly after scrubbing with a textured sponge.

  47. Sally Ringo

    Hi, I have a vinyl liner in my above ground pool. Had a very bad algae attack last year and used many products (also cleaned the cartridge filter three times a day for a week.) I now have several large burn spots on the bottom. I think the pool is leaking. I don’t know much about liner patches. Can I apply under water? Do they help with leaks? I live in Florida. Thank you. Sally

    • Davy Merino

      Hi Sally, If the pool is leaking, it could be from the liner, and possibly from the burnt patches, or it could be from anywhere the liner was purposely cut and gasketed – steps, skimmer, light, returns, etc. Or pools can leak by the equipment, if you notice any. Assuming it is the liner, a patch can be permanent, even large patches. For small patches or holes, I like to use EZ Patch 28, or Anderson Leak Sealer, which squeeze out like toothpaste, and you just mold it with your fingertips, around the hole, underwater. The more traditional ‘vinyl patch kit’, will include a can of vinyl glue and some patch material. Cut the patch to a size that’s 20% larger than the hole, with rounded edges. Then apply glue to the patch, fold in half gently. Then quickly jump under water with a mask, diving down with the patch, heavy with glue, open it up underwater and stick it over the hole quickly, squeezing out air bubbles. Come up for air, and dive down again with a cloth to smooth out, and pickup any edge glue (some may float to surface). Be sure, in both methods, that the surface is clean before patching. Use a rough towel or textured sponge to clean the area of any films or dirt.

  48. […] For those of you pool students with a stained plaster finish, today’s lecture will be very meaningful. Vinyl pool students, read chapter 7, Stains in a Vinyl Liner Pool. […]

  49. john weston

    I have an above ground pool and after the Thomas Fire I went to vacuum my pool to remove the dirt and ash from the fire it left dirt looking stains in SEVERAL spots on the bottom.I have tried brushing and with A LOT of work will come out. Is there a easier way?

    • Davy Merino

      Hi John, vinyl is a porous material and can soak up certain types of stains, but don’t lose hope, as many stains can be removed in a vinyl pool. For your particular case of fire ash and such, I would try using A+ Stain Remover, ascorbic acid. Follow instructions, including pre-use water chemistry, treatment and filtering. In most cases, no scrubbing is needed. If the water is cold now, it can be more effective to wait for water temps of 75 and above.

  50. Cindy smith

    I have my liner tearing along the water line. There is a brown ring at the waterline on the sides of the pool that get direct sunlight.
    I’m going to have to get a new liner. But would like to know what his cause this so it doesn’t happen again.

    • Davy Merino

      Hi Cindy, direct sunlight does bleach vinyl over many years, and can pull out some plasticisers, making vinyl more brittle. A shade sail or awning could be strategically placed to block sun along a wall or end of a pool, I suppose. Pool Chemistry is another biggie, high chlorine and low pH, alkalinity and calcium levels can make a liner very brittle. Both sun and chemicals can cause the liner to tear horizontally, or snap as I like to say. Another cause of snap rips are when a liner is a bit too small, and is stretched a bit too much near the top, or if the sand bottom contours change, causing a liner to slip. The brown ring at the waterline could be pollution, or from winter water levels, or airborne dust and oils. Using enzymes regularly, and at closing is a good way to combat it. You can also clean the pool water line a few times per summer, using Tile & Vinyl Cleaner, to gently scrub off any grunge. I ‘suppose’ you could also condition it with a spa cover conditioner, which IS a vinyl conditioner. I’ve never heard of, nor have I ever tried to ‘condition’ a vinyl liner tile line, like a dashboard (or vinyl spa cover), but I suppose you could, it should add flexibility and UV resistance, but I wouldn’t do it too often – just to keep strange chemicals out of the pool.

  51. I have an above ground pool. Some of the rubber playground mulch (recycled tire pieces) from my kids’ play area got over by and under the edge of the pool. It has left brownish stains on the liner. Some stains also seem to have bled through to the inside of the liner. I had issues with high pH all summer long. The water is very hard in my region. Any thoughts on how to get these rubber stains off the liner?

    • Davy Merino

      Hi Mike, could be difficult, sounds as if the stain bled through from underneath. You could cover it with a vinyl patch of the same color or pattern, if you have saved scraps. Glue it on with vinyl patch glue or EZ Patch 28 sealant, to hide the stain. However, you could try some things first, get a $5 bottle of vitamin tablets, grind up a handful in the coffee grinder, or crush them, to a rough powder. Hold a 1.5″ or 1″ PVC pipe (or plastic pipe) over the stain, and pour the stuff in and let it settle. Hold the pipe still for about 1 minute, then remove and brush the area by getting in the pool with a sturdy scrub brush, and scrubbing it underwater (with mask or goggles). Inspect it while under there – if it worked mostly, repeat. If it did nothing, try again with about 3 tablespoons of pH decreaser, or pH down (sodium bisulfate), repeating the entire process. You could also make a stain sock, adding either a vitamin C product like A+ Stain remover, or EZ Stain remover, or ph decreaser...

  52. I had my concrete cleaned and sealed around pool. The sealer got on the top of vinyl liner. How can I clean this. It is rough and tacky.

    • Davy Merino

      Hi Fisher, start with a degreaser, like Simple Green, spray it on and rub gently with a textured sponge. If that does not respond, you could ‘verge’ into acids or solvents. Most sealers will respond to xylene or acetone solvents, but you can imagine what these do to liner patterns, can just melt them off. If degreasers don’t work, Try scrubbing with baking soda and a stiff brush, or you could try a mild acid like vinegar, or …you could try dabbing on a solvent, being careful not to spill it, or rub too hard. If nothing works, I suppose you may have to try to live with it…?

  53. Vince Flatla

    I have developed a re-0ccurring yellowish stain pattern in the same area all summer long.
    I’ve used super algicide, high chloride shocks, with no effect.
    I’ve used metal removers of many different brands, no effect.
    The only thing that removes the stain is the A+ Stain Remover. But the stain returns in three days.
    I’ve used the drop in packet for the filter basket, no effect.
    It’s a inground vinyl 22 x 44.

    • Davy Merino

      Hi Vince, OK, so the ascorbic acid (A+) removes it but only temporarily. Stains like behave that are often on the underside of the liner, on the floor, or something on the wall. These are of course nearly impossible to remove, without pulling up the liner. Another yellowish stain that possibly could behave like this is a chlorine burn, if a tablet sits on the vinyl, in which case the vinyl is usually discolored, more or less permanently. I’d probably suggest continuing to treat with A+, perhaps several treatments could fix it.

  54. Michelle Basile

    Hello! I need your help please. The pH levels have been very low, so I added 5 lbs at a time over several days (as per the pool store instruction). The levels have finally come up. There was a very bad storm that moved thru last week. I thought there was dirt on the bottom of the pool but I have brown stains on the bottom of my new liner! They look like theyre spreading.

    Any advice you can give me would be greatly appreciated.

    Thank you!

    • Davy Merino

      Hi, not sure what the brown stain could be, but could be a mixture of scale and dirt, or some metallic stain like Iron. I would start by doulble checking pH, alkalinity and calcium hardness levels, and then use our EZ Stain Remover product according to directions, or our A+ stain remover – both will target specific stains, hard to say which one will work best, try EZ first, with fingers crossed, and if it doesn’t work well, try the A+. Just pour in following directions, and brush the pool well.

  55. Hello, we are just getting around to opening our pool this season. It was full of leaves and algae. We drained the pool and scrubbed the sides. All of the brownish color and algae came off very easily, but there’s a white scale that’s still on the entire liner. It comes off if you gently scratch at it with your fingernail, but the pool is 18×30, so that would take forever. What would you recommend that is a gentle cleaner for the liner. Again, the pool is empty right now.
    Thank you:)

    • Davy Merino

      Hi Sunny, if it is a scale, I would try using some vinegar, diluted 50/50 with water. In a spray bottle. Simple Green is another chemical, for another purpose than scale, for grease. Since you’ve cleaned the pool already, try spraying or wiping on a mild acid like diluted vinegar or lemon juice to see how that does on the scale

  56. I have used your super stain remover and it took care of the stain on the bottom of the pool. We have brownish/yellow on the walls we also had a problem with phosphate problem covering the entire pool used phos free and took care of that problem the walls and the skimmer basket in side is brown do I have a metal problem and what can be done for the walls.

    Robert

    • Davy Merino

      Hi Robert, Stain Away and Super Stain Away and other sequestering agents keep minerals and metals in solution, by molecular bonds. these bonds become weak with chlorine and sun exposure, and higher water temperatures, etc. Maintenance doses every 2 weeks works well for most folks to replace what has degraded. Be sure water is very well balanced, (Ph, Alkalinity, Calcium) and add more Sequestering agent to see if it will re-dissolve the existing stains, back into solution, if you are lucky. Walls can be harder to treat with our stain removers like EZ Stain and A+, because they are on a vertical surface… so first be sure water is very well balanced, and brush the walls several times per day. If they don’t come clean, you can treat with a stain remover by pouring down the walls, and using your brush… but not very effective. You could add several pounds into a tube sock and create a stain bag, to rub on the worst areas, that sometimes works well.

  57. Christopher Hogan

    I have a 24 ft above ground pool vinyl liner and keep getting metal stains…I have lowered cl to 0 multiple times…ha e used stain away and a+ stain and seaklear and vit C and oxalic acid and used the pool store chelator and metal free..pretty much done it all! I can get the stains lifted but will NOT chelate for long even adding chelator every 2 weeks as suggested. I am about to give up…water is perfect on all levels otherwise…I even used a culator and it didnt do much…thinking of plain citric acid to lift and no clue what to chelate now…tried it all

    • Hi Chris, sequestering agents (chelators) have a short life in the pool, they degrade with sun and chlorine in 1-2 weeks. Shocking can destroy the bonds created, and precipitate metals. Have you tried slightly larger doses, or adding weekly maintenance doses? Just more of the same thing? We have many chelators, (Stain Away, Super Stain Away, Metal Free, Metal Clear, Metal Sequester, and Jack’s The Blue Stuff). You could also start using a pre-filter on the hose that adds water to the pool, possibly replacing a portion of the water, if metal content gets really high.

  58. Pam Shipley

    Hi! Every time I get my PH and acid levels up, my chlorine drops- I shock it and I get dark staining in various areas. I used some ascorbic acid and it looks great again but I get pink algae. Then I shock to get rid of it and I am back to square one with low numbers, HELP!

    • Hi, chlorine works best at low pH levels of 7.2-7.4, when it gets higher, chlorine gets sluggish. How’s your cyanuric acid level (stabilizer)? Too low and the sun burns it off too quickly, and too high and again chlorine is sluggish and slow to react. The staining from shocking may be lots of metals (iron/copper/silver) in the water. Using a sequestering agent like Stain Away can help prevent that from happening. Pink Algae is a form of bacteria that can hide from chlorine very well, and remain dormant until levels are low. It may be hiding in your filter or in some soft materials like fabrics and foams used in the pool (nets, bags, brushes, swim suits, filter media).

  59. Jill Garrigan

    I have a new vinyl liner one year old. I just noticed a one ing by one inch small spot that has lost color. Is there anything I can do to “recolor” this spot?

    • Davy Merino

      Interesting question – if you saved any of the cutouts from the liner install, you could cut a patch of the same size, and glue it down. It may be possible to darken the vinyl, with some dye, but you’d have to drain the pool to do so, and I’m not sure what type of dye you would use, but there is likely something available online, some vinyl dye or colorant.

  60. Cary Sigler

    I have been battling green algae for several weeks. I have used several algaecides and a back and forth of chemicals to get the water balanced. finally got everything working in concert but the bottom of the above ground pool liner is discolored in a yellowish green hue. Where should I start?

    • Davy Merino

      Hi, start with perfect water balance, pH 7.4-7.6, Alk 80-120, Cal 200+ – and then I’d probably try to use regular cal hypo, 65% strength, shock the pool with 2 lbs per 10K gals, then brush with a good pool brush, very vigorously. Run the filter, and vacuum to waste if possible, the shock dust or residue. Keep running the filter long hours for now, it will help. If the shock does not remove the stain, I’d go with an acid, either ascorbic acid in StainFree or our A+ Stain Remover, or our EZ Stain Remover products

  61. Karen Kaiser

    I have stains on liner of a 16×32 Pool.Dark brown or black in color. They go away after shock absorbic acid stain remover and metal remover have been used. Help

    • Davy Merino

      Hi Karen, those are probably metal stains, possibly from overuse of copper algaecide, or from well water, or old metal pipes. Keep using metal remover, weekly, to keep minerals and metals in solution, and be careful when shocking the pool (use low doses with a low pH), to keep the metals from dropping out of solution, from a heavy shock treatment.

  62. Carol Nichols

    I’m confused. I’m trying to find something that will work on our unground pool with a vinyl liner. Last year there was a chemical reaction … iron … that stained our whole pool orange. This year it is still there just less orange and not the whole pool. I’ve done the test with Magic Jack’s and it is definitely iron. The confusion is which Magic Jack’s product should I use? Thanks for your help.

  63. Brent johnson

    I have an above ground pool with a vinyl liner. Last season we noticed a brownish colored stain near the bottom drains of the pool. When we shocked the pool the stains would completely disappear.
    This season the discoloration is much larger and does not disappear when we shock the pool. We’ve taken water samples to the pool store. First diagnosis was black algae. We treated it with algaecide. No change. The another water sample in and this time showed signs of copper in the pool. So we treated it with a metal out chemical. No change. We’ve heard now that it’s possible the stain is caused by a mold underneath the liner that is showing thru a lightened blue liner. Have you heard of this. Is there a fix in the short term without having to remove the liner completely and treat the ground under the liner??

    • Davy Merino

      Hi Brent, I have heard of mold under the liner. One treatment is to inject bleach through tiny holes in the liner, and then patch the hole with Flexible Sealer or EZ Patch 28. If you had a nifty rig to dispense the bleach, like a long hospital IV type deal, you could perhaps do this without draining the pool (?) Sometimes, (like last year perhaps) sprinkling shock and/or bleach over the area can bleach the area, from the poolside. You could also try Ascorbic Acid, or A+ Stain remover, to see how that does when sprinkled over the area or used in a stain sock. Stain socks can also be made with pH decreaser or EZ Stain Remover, both mild acids.

  64. Theresa Sevrence

    I have stains throughout the bottom of my pool. I have an above ground 21′ round pool with vinyl liner. I tried the vitamin C tablet and didn’t have any lightening. I tried lowering the pH level, then adding a Stain Lift chemical, but that didn’t lighten it. I tried scrubbing with a brush, a sponge – nothing. I tried a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, and that helped a little bit, but also had trouble with it dissolving in the water. The pool water is crystal clear and the I keep the pool very clean. I have no idea where these stains are coming from and how to get rid of them. Help!

    • Hi Theresa, you didn’t mention if you used a stain & scale chemical (sequestering agent), which is used to lock-up minerals and metals in solution. MetalFree, Stain Away, or Jack’s Vinyl Liner Blue Stuff, would be good choices. In some cases, they can dissolve existing stains from metals and minerals (scale), and regular treatment every few weeks can keep them in solution. Another treatment, completely separate from what I just mentioned, is to shock the pool quite heavily, with 2-3 lbs of shock, per 10000 gallons, which will not remove mineral/metal stains, but is very effective on organic stains from debris/dirt or algae remains.

  65. I have had a 15′ aboveground pool for 25 years. This one I have had for 3 years. I always broadcast a pound of shock every week or week and 1/2. I always keep the pump running. I have never had a problem until a week ago. 3/4 of my liner is white. I had been using xtra blue chlorinating granules. People were in the pool several hours after shocking and the next day. That night I was in the pool and was shocked that the liner had turned white. I have turned in a claim to the company. Any other suggestions?

    • Hi Cindy, when adding granular chlorine (shock) in a vinyl pool, pre-dissolving is always indicated, to prevent bleaching of vinyl liners. It’s probable that your old liner was just more resistant to the chlorine, whereas the new one has lost it’s pigment rather easily. Check the label on your pool shock, probably says to pre-dissolve, in the fine print…

  66. Amanda Davis

    I have an in ground pool with a vinyl liner. When we first opened it, it was a pond! Over the last week and a half, we’ve added about 60 gallons of shock, but on the first round, I had added 4 gallons of algaecide. I’ve learned that was probably a bad thing to do. Now, I have a copper/orange stain all around the pool. From reading the internet, the algaecide probably had copper in it and has caused this staining. I threw away the bottles, so I really don’t know if they had copper, but they probably did based on the discoloration of the pool. So, once I finally get the water clear, how do I remove that staining that is around the permiter of the pool and on the sides of the steps. The steps are fiberglass. One more thing. I need this looking good in 5 days! Can you help?

    • Hi Amanda. First thing to do is to keep it filtering as much as possible and test the water every day, so you have the best possible water balance. Then add a stain & scale chemical like Super Stain Away, a sequestering agent, to try and reabsorb the metal into solution. If that doesn’t work well enough, use an acidic stain remover, like A+ stain remover, or use EZ stain remover, either sprinkling over stains, or for more localized stains, put 1 lb of the granular in an old sock and slowly move it around the wall stain, dragging it with your pool brush. jacks magic also makes the Step Stuff, made specifically for vinyl liner steps. Good luck – 5 days is not much time!

  67. yes, good day, I opened my pool 2 weeks ago an took a sample to the local pool supply store an everything was ok calcium was just a little low an added 5 lb. cal. increaser, so this week I was doing my weekly maintaining vacuuming an shocking, I noticed a stain in the deep end an tried to scrub but didn’t come up, A few days before I added a bottle of the 90 day algaecide in which half one day an half next day, what do I need to do an what caused this the 90 day algaecide

    • Hi Will, Seaklear 90 day is a copper based, but at 3% one of the lowest. Copper staining could occur from overuse of copper algaecides in a plaster pool, without using a stain & scale chemical, but i doubt that one treatment could create a localized stain like you have, especially if you have a liner. First thing is to double check all water balance measures, and you could make a stain sock with A+ stain remover, or use EZ stain remover, by placing 1 lb of the granular in an old sock and slowly moving it around the stain with your pool brush. Finally a use for those orphan socks!

  68. Davy
    I have a pool with a vinyl liner and fiberglass steps. I opened it last week and it contained a good bit of green algae. I’m currently shocking it to remove the algae but now the pool has brown staining on the steps, skimmer, and liner.
    I’ve had the pool for about 25 years and never had this staining. I’ve tried scrubbing it but it will not come off. What products should I buy to remove it? Thanks

    • First thing is to balance the chemistry, with proper levels of alkalinity, calcium and cyanuric acid. Then adjust the pH down to the low end of the range, 7.2-ish. Keep the chlorine level above 2 ppm consistently, and run the pump overtime, 18 hrs+ per day. Take your time with this, and give the water a week to adjust, and absorb sunlight, and filter. Speaking of the filter, make sure its in top condition, cleaning or replacing the filter media if needed, now may be a good time. Once things have stabilized for a week or so, then begin the stain removal process. First thing to try would be a stain & scale treatment, like Super Stain Away, just follow label instructions. It’s a sequestering agent for metals and minerals, to keep them locked up in solution. If that doesn’t do much, after a week or so, double check all water balance measures, go with some mild use of an acidic stain remover like A+ stain remover, or use EZ stain remover, either sprinkling over stains, or for more localized stains, put 1 lb of the granular in an old sock and slowly move it around the stain with your pool brush. Finally a use for those orphan socks! Good water balance, chlorine levels and filtration is also important!

  69. Hi. Just opened inground, vinyl liner pool. Chemicals are balanced and water is clear. But have a dark stain around the perimeter of the main drain in the deep end. Not sure of the exact color but it’s dark and looks horrible. Any recommendations on how to determine the cause and then recommendations to get it clean? Thanks,

    • Hi, usually that’s from worms, or other debris laying there all winter. You can use chlorine – powdered pool shock put into a tube sock or nylon sock, tied off and then pushed down with your pool brush, held over the stain, and pushed around slowly. If that doesn’t work, you can do the same thing with pH decreaser (sodium bisulfate). Stain Free can also be used (ascorbic acid).

  70. I have an inground salt water pool with a vinyl liner. There are unremovable light brownish/greenish stains around the perimeter on the bottom. When I place my solar cover on the pool, the stains disappear as if they never existed. When I take my cover off to use the pool, and after a few hours of sun exposure, the stains reappear. Help.

    • I have never heard that one before! They reappear with sun exposure? Photoactive substances, is that the right word? Interesting, but i don’t know what that would be!

  71. Patricia Sowards

    Hi, I have an Endless Pool with a vinyl liner. Almost the entire bottom has a greenish yellow stain that is gritty to the touch. It does not scrub off. I think it is dead algae stain. Anyway I am draining the pool. Not sure if I should drain all the water out since I have heard of popup. Then I was going to add a lot of chlorine to see if that would bleach the stain. I just read your tablet idea. Wish I had read that before:/ The Endless pool support person recommended Wipe Out. Please tell me what you recommend.

    • Hi, if it is gritty and won’t brush off, that leads me to believe that it may be calcium nodules or crystalline deposits of minerals, mixed with dirt, algae, etc. High calcium hardness levels combined with high pH, can cause minerals to scale and deposit on surfaces. If that seems plausible, I would try a sequestering agent like Stain Away or Scale Free, to dissolve and absorb the minerals back into solultion (be sure to balance chemistry – ph, alk, calcium, chlorine first). If that doesn’t work, I’d next try StainFree, and ascorbic acid, in an attempt to dissolve the stuff, brush it up, and vacuum it away.

  72. Hi Davy,
    When we opened our pool about a week ago, we found that our beautiful vinyl pool liner has some significant staining from leaves and acorns that settled over the winter. I was able to rub a chlorine tablet on the step area and a few of the heavy stains came off, but I can’t reach the liner in the deeper areas. Any suggestions?

    • Hi, organic stains such as these respond well to chlorine in most cases, as you’ve discovered. With plaster pools, you just sprinkle some shock over the area, let it sit for a few minutes, and voila (mostly) gone. Vinyl pools, well you aren’t supposed to sprinkle cal hypo shock, and have any non-dissolved granules in contact with the liner but… you could do a test with shock, pouring a cup or so over the area, let it sit for a minute, then brush the area well. You need the regular pool shock (Cal Hypo), not the quick dissolve stuff, or the non-chlorine stuff normally used in vinyl pools. Also be sure that your pH is balanced, or in the 7.2-7.4 range, which can also help remove the stain. Another chemical that works well on organic stains is Stain Free, made with Ascorbic Acid, if you don’t want to use pool shock. Third option is to buy a swim mask or goggles, and practice your breath holding! 🙂

  73. Robert Grande

    Hi Davy. I have a 18 X 36 in ground vinyl liner pool with 4 feet of stairs. Their is this yellow stain on one side of the deep end of the pool. Their is some light yellow strain on the stairs. I was told to rub an lemon to see if the stain came up. I did this with very little change. I test the pool all the time and the levels are ok. What should my next steps be and what chemicals do I need.

    Thank You
    Robert Grande

    • Hi Robert, yellow stains on vinyl and steps can sometimes be from a chlorine floater, did you use one during winter? Chlorine stains can be hard to remove, if so. If not, you could take the lemon test to another level, and use Stain Free (made with ascorbic acid). To test if it works before you buy, you can use crushed up Vitamin C tablets on the area, to see if that removes the stain. You can also use pH decreaser, in a tube sock, as a stain bag, just lay it over the stain, or hold it on the deep end stain with a pool pole.

      • what a chlorine floater can cause rust color stains?, had a above for yrs but this yr 1st time to have this problem, everything has a rust color stain on it, esp anything white pn the water, water is clear, not sure what to try next?

        • yes, trichlor tablets can create a burnt orange color or stain, but only when they sit on the surface of a step or plaster. Wont create an all-over stain. Sounds like Iron or Rust in the water. Check for any sources of corroded metal, and use a stain & scale like Stain Away or Super Stain Away, to try and dissolve the metals back into solution.

  74. […] Stains and Discoloration in a Vinyl Liner Pool […]

  75. Craig Beck

    I have an 18ft round above ground pool. About 2 yrs after a new liner was put in, a dark grayish stain began to form from the water line and up about 2-3 inches. It formed around the 3/4’s of the pool and only where the sun hit the liner. It isn’t a specific color, but it looks dirty. I took a picture and went to 2 pool stores and neither recognized it or knew what it was. It doesn’t clean off and even fine steel wool doesn’t get it off?????

    • Davy Merino

      Hi, wind blown dust and dirt, or pollutants from planes, cars or industry come to mind. I can’t say exactly what it could be – but could be fading of the liner, in a very odd way! Normally they just ‘fade’, but don’t get darker. I’m at a loss to what it is… but it seems like it’s stuck on there pretty good. You could try some vinyl cleaner or mild acids, in a small test area to see if it would work – but you’ve probably done that already…

  76. […] more info on vinyl liner pool stains, see Davy’s […]

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