Faded liner

[KathyG]

Our liner has been in for 5 years now and the whole of the bottom of it has faded, or so we thought. It's not the sun, as the side of the pool that's south facing isn't affected at all. The only thing we can think of is many feet rubbing on the bottom which is rubbing the pattern off. Has anyone else had this problem? We're going to have to replace the liner for next season just because it looks old now.

[la vache!]

I haven't got a patterned liner, so don't have a problem with the pattern disappearing. My liner (about the same age as yours) is faded above the waterline, but looks fine on the bottom and there have been a lot of people in it. In my experience people done spend a lot of time walking around the bottom of the swimming pool - it is strange that your pattern has faded. If its any consolation, the state of the water line of my liner is awful, but I've never had a negative comment about it. Are you sure it really merits replacing?

[Circé]

Most likely cause is the chlorine (= bleach, don't forget).

[la vache!]

Most likely cause is the chlorine (= bleach, don't forget).

I'd have said that, but in that case wouldn't all the pool liner have faded? You don't chuck chlorine tablets in the bottom of the pool, it circulates throughout and the side of the pool is apparently OK.

[NeatandPicky]

LV - see my post in 'Sun creams and pool liners' about pool borders. The trouble with a waterline stain is that it gives the impression that the pool is dirty. (Although I think we worry about it far more than the guests actually.) And the alternative of a scrubbed off pattern also looks nasty.

When we dropped our pool level in preparation for fitting of the border, we noticed that the liner below water level had bleached - something that wasn't apparent normally.

Our neighbour's pool liner has a much more faded pattern on the bottom than ours (same age), and we think it's because it has been cleaned with a brush-type 'hoover', rather than a roller-type. The roller attachments are more expensive, but less abrasive.

[KathyG]

Most likely cause is the chlorine (= bleach, don't forget).

But it's only the bottom that's affected, as LV says. It is possible it's the pool robot I suppose.......
But we haven't had any problems with the waterline and sun creams amazingly.

[Circé]

Agreed, in a pool properly dosed with chlorine and with PH level correct the liner shouldn't fade. (Low PH with high dose of chlorine will, in simple terms, accentuate the belaching effect).

If you treat the pool, especially with chlor 'choc', and don't circulate it sufficiently you can end up with a concentration of chlorine at the bottom, because the specific gravity of the chlorine is higher (i.e. weighs more) than that of the water.
You must circulate your water long enough to ensure that the chlorine doesn't 'settle' at the bottom. It is also important that you do not cover your pool for at least 24 hours after a shock treatment. The covering of the pool will greatly restrict the chlorine’s ability to dissipate, thereby greatly increasing the likelihood of damage.

[KathyG]

We don't shock the pool Circe, it's filtered for 8 hrs a day with a system that continuously monitors the chlorine and pH then injects more as necessary. So it shouldn't be that.

[enid]

Is that system expensive Kathy?

[Circé]

Katie, you say it all should be right, but how often do you check it with a decent test kit?
8 hours a day .... that's when, day or night, and how many bodies in the pool and what water temp? Doesn't sound enough to me for safe disinfection during peak season.

[la vache!]

I filter my pool 24 hrs a day in season - I think by law in public pools (which mine is classified as) you have to have all the water filtered every two hours or so. But one pool per house isn't classified as a public pool.

[revdev]

I filter my pool 24 hrs a day in season

This is my intention this year as well. Last thing I want is to "lose" the pool in August

[Ju]

We lost a pool pump one year right in the middle season. On talking to the man who installs our pools he said the pump needs to be rested a bit particularly in hot weather other wise the capaciters tend to over heat.

We run for about 14 hrs in full season.

[la vache!]

We lost a pool pump one year right in the middle season. On talking to the man who installs our pools he said the pump needs to be rested a bit particularly in hot weather other wise the capaciters tend to over heat.

My pool company recommends running the pump 24/24. I've only had to change the pump once in 10 years. And it I want the pool to be properly heated, then it makes sense to keep the pump on otherwise you are losing heat all the time as the heat pump only works when the pool filter is on. Probably more important in a cold climate like here than further south!

[Annew]

IME it's the chlorine. We have an indoor pool and this problem (with others relating to underground springs etc - just too boring and stressful to go into here) meant we had to renew our liner last year - 2 years before we expected to.....