Remove Copper Pool Stains (And Stop Green Hair)

Copper Pool Stains and Green Hair

Objective 

This guide helps you identify the signs of high copper levels in your pool, explains how to remove existing copper stains from your pool walls, and outlines how to prevent it from tinting blonde hair green.

The Truth About Green Hair 

It is a very common pool myth that chlorine turns blonde hair green. In reality, chlorine has no color! If swimmers' hair is turning a slight greenish tint, or if you are noticing bright blue, teal, or green stains forming on your pool plaster, you have dissolved copper in your water. Copper typically enters the pool from two sources: cheap, copper-based algaecides or a deteriorating copper heat exchanger inside your pool heater (usually caused by poor water chemistry). When the copper oxidizes, it plates itself onto pool surfaces and binds to the proteins in human hair. To fix this, we have to chemically lift the copper off the walls and bind it in the water so it can be safely filtered out.

Prerequisites

  • A liquid chemical drop-test kit.

  • Copper Stain Treat®.

  • No Mor Stain & Scale™ (metal sequestrant).

  • Prepare your water by dropping chlorine below 1.0 ppm and pH to 7.2.

Step-by-Step Instructions: Lifting and Removing Copper

  1. Prep the Water: Turn your Sanitizer System to the OFF position. Follow our chemical preparation guide to lower your chlorine to near zero and your pH to 7.2. (Stain removers cannot work if chlorine is present!)

  2. Apply the Stain Remover: Add Copper Stain Treat® directly over the stained areas of the pool. This specialized formula acts as a reducing agent, safely lifting the oxidized copper off your pool's surface and putting it back into solution in the water.

  3. Sequester the Metals: Once the stains have lifted from the walls, you must immediately add a dose of No Mor Stain & Scale™. This chemical acts like a molecular magnet, wrapping around the free-floating copper so it cannot redeposit onto your walls or swimmers' hair.

  4. Filter the Water: Turn your Pump Switch to ON and let it run continuously for 48 hours to trap the sequestered metals.

  5. Rebalance the Water: Slowly bring your chlorine back up to normal levels. Establish the Hamilton Index™ by keeping your Total Alkalinity strictly between 60–90 ppm. Lower alkalinity prevents metals from finding the "carbonate fuel" they need to form stains in the future.

Troubleshooting Note: Check Your Heater! If you have not used a copper-based algaecide recently but are experiencing heavy copper staining, test your water's pH and Alkalinity immediately. Aggressive, low-pH water will literally dissolve the internal copper piping of your pool heater. Balancing your water properly protects your heater and your plaster.

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