How to Maintain a Wooden Swimming Pool (Part 2)

Home Repairs

This post is a continuation of Part 1 on How to Maintain a Wooden Swimming Pool. Lately, we have gone through the type of wood used for swimming pools, and we had a look at step 1 on how to clean the wood structure of your pool.

This post will now cover:

– Step 2: Degreasing the wood

 – Step 3: Feeding the wood with a saturator

So, let’s now continue…

Step 2: Degrease the wood

This step is not always necessary, depending on the condition of your pool. It is also possible that the coping stones and decks – horizontal surfaces subject to the direct action of UV rays – become more or less grey while the vertical walls have retained their colour.

To remove the gray colour, use a wood degreaser, which removes stains and graying. Proceed as follows:

– Start with a good cleaning of the wood as described in step 1 and let it dry thoroughly.

– If the wood is really in bad condition and very stained, sand it lightly beforehand (use a fine abrasive) and then remove the dust.

– Shake the stain remover well before use.

– Apply the product generously, in the wood fibres’ direction, with a brush or a long bristle roller.

– For vertical surfaces, proceed from top to bottom.

– Proceed in small areas (no more than 10 m² at a time) and leave the product on for 15 minutes.

– In case of stains or heavily soiled wood, scrub with a brush.

– Rinse thoroughly.

– Allow drying for 3 days before applying a saturator (essential after using the degreaser).

– Namely: plan 1 litre of degreaser for 8 to 10 m² of the surface.

Step 3: Feed the wood with a saturator

The degreaser is only a prerequisite: the saturator will make the greyish tint disappear entirely and restore the original colour, i.e. saturate the wood. The saturator’s purpose is to nourish the wood in-depth, which also protects it from possible cracks.

Good to know: saturators containing UV stabilizers are commercially available that protect the wood for a certain period.

To apply the saturator, proceed as follows:

– Shake the product well before use.

– Apply the saturator generously with a brush or a long-haired roller.

– As the wood absorbs unevenly, reapply the saturator in several successive coats, without drying time between coats, until the wood is well impregnated and “rejects” the product.

– Remove excess product with a clean cloth (the product must penetrate the wood and not remain on the surface).

– Ideally, it should be neither cold nor damp within 24 hours of treatment.

– The frequency of a pool’s maintenance with a wood structure depends on the external parameters (sun, dryness, rain).

– On average, count:

– 2 applications of saturator per year on horizontal surfaces (coping stones and decks);

– 1 application of saturator every year or every 2 years on the outside walls.

The frequency of application is more variable, depending on the weather conditions and tolerance: a lightly greyed wood is not necessarily unpleasant to the eye.

Summary of equipment you will need to maintain a wooden pool:

Equipment

Approximate price

Quackgrass brush

$5

Cloth

From recovery materials

Wood degreaser

$10 per litre

Sanding paper

$5 per 3 sheets

Brush Brush

$10

Outdoor wood saturator

$20 per litre

Liquid black soap

$5

Hope these two posts (Part 1 & Part 2) help you maintain your wooden swimming pool. Doing all this might be a bit difficult if you are not a good DIY enthusiast. Hence, you will need to call a professional pool maintenance contractor. Please, remember to share your experience in the comment section below.

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