Pool Tile Cleaning success

[navigator]

Just cleaned a swimming pool that had a major mineral buildup on the tile along the top. The pool was empty, and the owner had tried several ways to remove the white crud, but nothing worked.

I used a sand blast attachment on my wand, and shot glass beads instead of sand. The white stains disappeared! I was impressed, as I had not expected such ease and success. Be sure to wear good eye protection, and watch your footing, as the beads act like ball bearings underfoot.

The homeowner will be doing the chore of cleaning up all the junk at the bottom of the pool, but he's happy not to be scraping tile...

 

[drivewaysonly]

Interesting thread. How is he going to clean up the mess? I have been curious about using these very methods...thanks for the info.

 

[Revive]

Navigator.

What mesh glass did you use??

 

[navigator]

Saw the pool today full of water, it looks great! The tile did not show any ill effects from the cleaning, and actually look new. Well, there was one tile that had the pool company name on it, which is a bit harder to read now, but even that tile still has a nice glaze on it, just less paint.

The beads and water were removed with a sump pump, basically a portable electric water pump. Then the grates in the bottom of the pool were removed and a shop vac used to suck up the rest. The beads are probably reusable, if I can get them dried out (he put everything into a steel trash can).

I used #6 beads, at $33/bag. It took less than two bags to do the pool, which is about 15 x 30 or so. They look like the same thing the highway department uses to make road stripes refelective.

I also ran my surface cleaner over the cool deck, which really brightened it up. Out of curiosity, I tried removing graffiti with the sand blaster, but it tears up block very quickly...

 

[Revive]

I've used the crushed glass (at 80 mesh) to remove graffiti off of under passes/bridges.Cinder block would be distroyed as it is very soft.The hard concrete can take a far more amount of abuse.

 

[Asbestos]

why glass beads? did you feel that they would be less damaging to the tile? I guess they were as you said it did not dull the glaze. was that the first thing you tried?

 

[navigator]

I haven't had occassion to use it on concrete, but I can see it would work well. At least, on aged concrete.

I did some internet research on cleaning tile, and glass beads sounded like the thing to use. They say that sand has sharp, angular surfaces which are more likely to damage the tile, while the glass beads are rounded and thus safer.

This site has before and after pics: http://www.davestile.com/tilecleaning.htm.

This one has good info and pics: http://www.alchemistpool.com/612715.html

Other places said...

Is your pool tile white and crusty? We can make it look like new again with our professional glass beading service. We shoot small glass beads at the tile to remove the calcium ring. Unlike some competitors, our glass is shot only one, then thrown away. We do not “recycle our glassâ€￾ Here’s why…The glass bead starts out as a tiny spherical ball. When it hits the tile it does its job by scouring off the calcium. As the ball hits the tile, it will break into smaller pieces. These pieces are jagged and, if re-used, can be very hard on your tile’s finish. We do not recommend using recycled glass beads.
http://www.poolcare101.com/swimming_pool_services.htm

I have been in the business of cleaning pool tile for 15 years and I own my own business. I clean the tile with glass beads propelled from a blaster somewhat like a sandblaster. It would be too expensive for the ordinary layman to buy this setup and also, if he tried to clean the tiles ,if he wasn't tile savvy, he could ruin the tile.
http://www.faqfarm.com/Q/How_can_you_remove_the_white_line_on_the_tile

Glass bead media is ideal for blasting pool tile since there is no clean up! The glass beads will sink to the pool bottom where the cleaning skimmer will pick them up during the next cleaning cycle. Plus the glass beads will not harm the tile or the glaze and will leave sparkling results.
http://www.kramerindustriesonline.com/applications/pool-blasting.htm

 

[brendanmckenz]

Really interesting.. Thanks