Frequently Asked Questions

Swimming pool water is loaded with dissolved solids from body oils, suntan lotions, bacteria, decomposed organics, minerals and other airborne and waterborne pollutants.  If you have hard water this also adds to scale issues.  As evaporation takes place, these solids adhere to each other resulting in an unsightly buildup of a white or gray crust on your pool tile and surrounding surfaces known as scale or calcium deposits.

Aside from the fact that chemicals such as Hydrochloric Acid (AKA Muriatic Acid) are dangerous to people, pets and plants; they are for the most part ineffective and alter pool water chemistry. Chemicals can also etch tile allowing scale deposits to further adhere and increase in severity.

Where chemicals fail, Watermark Pros prevails!

Watermark Pros tile cleaning and sealing methods are designed to be extremely effective and environmentally safe.  This means we get your tile and grout sparkling clean without generating contaminants or altering the chemistry of your pool water.

Would you use sandpaper to clean your windows? Pumice stones are abrasive, frustrating to use and leave noticeable scratch damage on tile.

Touch-less = Scratch-less

Our processes and trained professionals insure that no tools or abrasives come in contact with your expensive swimming pool surfaces.

High pressure soda blasting or mineral blasting alters pool water chemistry and can loosen or blast tile and grout completely off pool surfaces.  In addition, high pressure blasting is extremely noisy and can leave damaging salt deposits on outdoor surfaces and plant materials.  The noise and mess of this method does not just affect you but it affects your neighbors as well!

Low pressure = Safe scale removal

Extensive research and development resulted in our designing equipment that utilizes very low pressures (that of the air escaping an automobile tire, typically 35-45 PSI).  Our gentle and effective scale removal process achieves remarkable results without the risks, mess and excessive noise associated with high pressure blasting.

Chemical and organic residues begin to stain or damage new stone and masonry materials as soon as they are installed.  The sealing of masonry around pools, especially salt water pools, is critical. Salt will dry out and deteriorate stone resulting in severe surface pitting, flaking and cracking.

Watermark Pros deep cleans and applies penetrating sealers to all masonry, stone and granite materials. Our sealers are custom mixed to the highest standards using quality ingredients for optimum resistance to staining, fading and UV damage.

Yes, when cleaning your tile, we take great care to make sure grout lines are also restored, however, even after cleaning sometimes grout remains faded or stained.  In such cases, Watermark Pros' exclusive grout revitalization process will restore your grout to like new condition.  Please see our "Expertise" page for more information on grout re-coloring.

Swimming pool (Marcite) plaster has a lifespan of about 10 years. The lifespan can be shortened if the pool has been acid washed a few times or the total alkalinity has not been kept within the recommended range. Below are a few tell-tale signs that your plaster may be nearing the end of its lifespan: The surface feels coarse to the touch. Bathing suits get snagged on the surface. Swimmers' feet feel abraded after swimming.

Typically swim out areas and steps are the high traffic areas where these signs begin to show.   In extreme cases, plaster starts chipping, thinning and losing its bond with the Gunite.  If you suspect your plaster is in need of repair or resurfacing, Watermark Pros can evaluate the condition of your plaster, recommend a proper course of action and even perform the re-plaster work for you.

Swimming pool expansion joints are typically placed between the swimming pool coping and decking to create a buffer zone for expansion and avoid cracking or buckling of masonry materials.  It is extremely important that your expansion joints are maintained in top condition to keep water from washing down into the joints and eroding the soils below. If this is allowed to occur, decking cracks and sinks below adjoining materials. Initially expansion joint fill materials perform well; however, chances are the joint fill materials used on your pool are not up to today's standards and have shrunk and broken down from exposure.

Watermark Pros replaces functionally outmoded expansion joint materials with professional industrial grade sealants that offer maximum resistance to aging and weathering.