Help removing White/Bluish water scale marks on Home Outdoor Fountain Please (growing, concrete)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
This seem to be the same fountain. Surely not a cheap crap.
"Cast in quality designer resin and hand-finished to replicate a weathered hollow tree-wood-knots and all-our garden fountain"
Now we have to find out how to clean resin without damaging it. I think that the green stuff could be pea soup algae.
Water deposits are best cleaned with solution commercial vinegar (Home Depot, Lowe's , Cleaning Solution stores) mixed with water. Apply generously on a old rag, cover the affected areas and let it soak. Then scrub with a soft brush. Use old toothbrush for hard to reach areas. You might need to repeat it several times till all is gone.
Thanks... So Didtilled water is beter then buying a filter like brita and using filtered water?
Also, if algae is part of the issue I have this already seen in my pics, should I use a few drops of this per week in the water?
Thanks for the help and FYI the link you sent to Michaels looks exactly the same - ok so it is resin, now I know the material I did pay about $650 after shipping for the fountain, yes. I wanted something quality that would last the test of time. The last one I had was $200 and had a crack in it 2 months after use in summer. Keep in mind it rarely if ever gets below freezing here in Vegas, so cold should not be an issue with resin
I have seen the pictures now. You can try bleach and it will work to some degree at a ratio of 1 cup bleach to 2 cups of water but I don't know how well that will work on copper which is what I think those stains are.
That blue-green stain looks exactly like either copper sulfate or copper mineral deposits. You can get rid of it by mixing vinegar with baking soda or vinegar with salt and scrubbing the stains with a stiff bristle brush dipped in the solution. There are also other products available for removal of the blue copper stains. Here are an assortment of remedies to choose from:
Here is what copper mineral and/or copper sulphate stains look like on a variety of materials, it's a very common thing anywhere there is a lot of copper deposits in the water:
Tried adding clr to the water it got some of it off but not a lot - just like the crystalized stuff or thicker stuff. The actual stains remained. So Maybe I need to scrub it more or something with stronger stregnth not diluted clr?
And yes I know I have hard water here - I was told some of the pictures of the chemicals u see - that those would combat that and make it safe to use. Should I get a filter like Brita or would distilled water be the best route to go moving forward, in your opinion?
I have not - you think bleach would work on this and not stain it more?
Not bleach vinegar and baking soda in a paste. Put on wait 10 minutes and wipe off. You may need to add some sort of all house filter to your water by having it tested for what is causing this. Likely a too low ph.
I've worked 30 years in industries that use plastics in manufacturing. Here's my take.
The fountain is more than likely made of a composite high-impact plastic. Plastic is susceptible to UV damage over time. No scrubbing will remove the discoloration because it is a chemical change within the molecular structure of the plastic and not something on the surface of the fountain.
Use paint. I recommend Valspar or Rustoleum paint for use on plastics on bone dry surfaces. A free half-pint sample could be all that paint you need for this job. Use a 1 inch hair brush not a sponge applicator. Just apply on the bluish areas first. If it doesn't look right, use he brush to feather the paint radiating out from the bluish stuff you already painted over. If you have an artist in your family use their skills.
I've worked 30 years in industries that use plastics in manufacturing. Here's my take.
The fountain is more than likely made of a composite high-impact plastic. Plastic is susceptible to UV damage over time. No scrubbing will remove the discoloration because it is a chemical change within the molecular structure of the plastic and not something on the surface of the fountain.
Use paint. I recommend Valspar or Rustoleum paint for use on plastics on bone dry surfaces. A free half-pint sample could be all that paint you need for this job. Use a 1 inch hair brush not a sponge applicator. Just apply on the bluish areas first. If it doesn't look right, use he brush to feather the paint radiating out from the bluish stuff you already painted over. If you have an artist in your family use their skills.
Oh wow ok, but shouldn't I try n scrub off what I can before just painting over it?
See the pics, this is been an ongoing issue - I finally just turned it off n have it sitting there until I can figure how to combat this (Lights on, pump off)
The chemicals seen I got at Home Depot at the recommendation of someone there who said these should work lol. For the POOL one, obviously, I only add a few drops as I know using too much will cause more scale than removing it. The others I use per the instructions on the bottle (use x amount per gallon or x gallons)
Used these one at a time, where I would use one, then see in a week if it did anything, if not I would empty the fountain, wash it out with soap, then try something else. As a last-ditch effort, I tried the algae thing PLUS the clarifier together, but no dice. Then algae plus sludge together, no dice, then algae and pool together, no dice, and this is my final result.
BACKGROUND ON H2O - I live in Vegas, and we have hard water. Maybe buying a distilled water machine on amazon and making distilled water from my tap water would help? Home depot lady seemed to think with the right treatments they will take care of the hard water issues and prevent this issue, but alas, has not worked. Maybe instead of distilled water just need a filter for my tap like Brita or such to prevent this?
Please help - how can I remove these marks and then prevent them in the future?
YES, I KEEP MY FOUNTAIN ON 24/7 unless my weather station shows a 4+ mph wind speed at my house in which case I have a remote trigger on my phone and I turn off the pump so it does not blow out all the water and burn up the pump.
Thanks!!!
PHOTOS HERE SINCE CANNOT FIND HOW TO POST ON THIS POST:
IMO, it looks better with the current deposits vs fake wood resin when new - post #9 photo by Elnina
I would leave it in current state and/or even try to spread some moss or/and lichens on it.
The mineral deposits, algae, moss, lichens would hide more of fake materials and look more “natural” and more interesting
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I did pay about $650 after shipping for the fountain, yes. I wanted something quality that would last the test of time. The last one I had was $200 and had a crack in it 2 months after use in summer. Keep in mind it rarely if ever gets below freezing here in Vegas, so cold should not be an issue with resin
