Having an in-ground pool is a luxury not everyone has. However, every luxury requires work to maintain. Along with making your pool look nice, colorful, and complete, pool tile serves some functional roles in longevity and maintenance.
Keeping your pool tile clean is an important part of maintaining your entire pool. Tile that is not cleaned regularly can become stained with grime/dirt from sunscreen and dust. It can also get covered in calcium build up (dried water mineral deposits). Though it can be tedious work, there are many ways to clean the pool tile yourself instead of hiring cleaning pool services to do it. But first, if you’re wondering how to clean pool tile , there are a few factors that affect how you will go about cleaning: the tile’s material, and the amount of calcium build up you have.
Pool tile is generally six inches tall and put along the pool’s water line to give a halfway point for the water to hit. Because of this, pool tile has varying exposures to both oxygen and water over time, so only a few certain materials can handle the mixture long term. Generally, pool tile is made of one of three materials: porcelain, natural stone (like travertine pavers and cement pavers), or glass. Treated travertine is commonly used because of its highly durable and impervious qualities. This is also why travertine pool tiles and travertine pool deck are commonly used on pool patios. Most of the best pool patio surfaces have these qualities.
You should not need to hit a specific pool cleaning store for the materials you need – most can be found at stores like Walmart or Home Depot.
Recommended materials for cleaning pool tile (note you do not need to use all of them):
Note that this process may vary based on the severity of the grime/calcium build up. You should always start with the gentlest method first, to avoid unnecessary exposure to toxic cleaning chemicals.
With the weather warming up, everyone’s going to want to be relaxing by the pool. For a cleaner pool, and to save yourself a headache later, keep up with this process regularly. Most classic pool tile and stone can be cleaned fairly easily, without chemicals, and quickly if you are doing it consistently. Build up is inevitable when owning and using a pool.