# Staining: what a fix costs by stain type

> Organic stains cost $30 to $150 in chemicals, metal stains $100 to $300, an acid wash $400 to $800, and a resurface $4,000 to $10,000 if the plaster is etched.

Canonical: https://poolresurfacingguide.com/staining-cost/

Last updated: 2026-11-09

Pool stain removal costs **$30 to $150** if you treat it yourself, **$200 to $600** for a professional treatment, and **$400 to $800** for an acid wash. The stain type decides which of those applies, and the type is identified with a vitamin C tablet in about a minute. Paying for the wrong treatment is the most common way to spend $600 and still have the mark.

## The price by stain type

| Stain | Treatment | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Organic, light | Shock and brush | $30 - $80 |
| Organic, stubborn | Spot treatment, enzymes | $60 - $150 |
| Metal, iron or copper | Ascorbic acid and sequestering agent | $100 - $300 |
| Scale, light | Scale remover, pumice on tile | $40 - $120 |
| Professional treatment | Diagnosis and application | $200 - $600 |
| Acid wash | Drain, wash, neutralise, refill | $400 - $800 |
| Resurface, etched plaster | New finish | $4,000 - $10,000 |

The jump from $150 to $4,000 is the one to understand. Everything above the acid wash row is a surface replacement, and it is only needed when the stain sits in damaged plaster rather than on top of sound plaster.

## What the acid wash price includes

An acid wash is a drain-and-treat job. The pool is emptied, the surface is washed with a dilute acid solution, the acid is neutralised and rinsed, and the pool is refilled and balanced.

At $400 to $800, most of the cost is the drain, the water, and the labour. The acid itself is a small line. That is also why the price does not scale much with pool size: a large pool uses more acid and more water, but the crew time is similar.

Ask whether the quote includes the refill water and the startup chemicals. A $400 acid wash that excludes $250 of water is a $650 job.

## Why the DIY route is cheap and limited

A chemical treatment at $30 to $150 works because the stain is on the surface. Shock oxidises organic material, ascorbic acid reduces metal back into solution, and a sequestering agent keeps it there.

The limits are mechanical rather than financial. A stain that has penetrated the plaster, a scale layer that has bonded, and an etched surface do not respond to chemistry. Buying more chemicals is not a treatment; it is a delay.

The other limit is diagnosis. A metal stain treated as organic will not lift, and the owner concludes the stain is permanent. The tablet test costs cents and prevents that.

## Worked arithmetic

**An organic stain from leaves.** Shock at $20 to $40, plus brushing and a week of circulation. Total $30 to $80.

**A metal stain across the shallow end.** Ascorbic acid at $40 to $100 for a typical pool, a sequestering agent at $40 to $80, and test strips at $10 to $20. Total $90 to $200, within the $100 to $300 band once a second dose is allowed for.

**A full acid wash.** Drain and refill at $150 to $400 for water, acid and neutraliser at $40 to $80, and crew labour at $250 to $400. Total $440 to $880, which is the published $400 to $800 band with the top end for a large pool.

**An etched surface.** A resurface at $4,000 to $10,000, or $4.68 to $11.70 per square foot on an 855-square-foot pool. This is not a stain repair; it is a new surface.

## What quotes leave out

- **Refill water and startup chemicals.** $150 to $400.
- **Tile cleaning.** The waterline often needs separate attention.
- **Metal source repair.** A corroding heater or a bad fill supply is a plumbing line, not a cleaning line.
- **Coping and deck cleaning**, which the acid wash does not touch.
- **Disposal** of the drained water where local rules require it.

Ask for the scope in writing. Two acid wash quotes that differ by $200 usually differ by whether the water is included.

## The cost of treating the wrong thing

The expensive mistake is an acid wash on etched plaster. At $400 to $800 it removes a thin layer of cement, makes the surface rougher, and leaves the stain in a deeper hollow. The pool then needs the $4,000 to $10,000 resurface that the wash was meant to avoid.

The cheap mistake is buying chemicals for a scale problem. Scale is calcium deposit, and it does not respond to ascorbic acid or shock. A $15 pumice block and a scale remover would have done the job.

## Five steps to price a stain

1. Run the vitamin C test and the chlorine puck test.
2. Note whether the surface is rough, chalky, or sound.
3. Price the chemical route first.
4. Price the acid wash only if the surface is sound.
5. Price the resurface if the plaster is etched or chalky.

Step two is the one that decides between a $150 job and a $6,000 job, and it needs a hand and a wet finger rather than a quote.

## The short version

Treat the stain you have. Organic is $30 to $150, metal is $100 to $300, scale is $40 to $120, and an acid wash is $400 to $800 on sound plaster. If the surface is etched, the money belongs in a resurface. The methods are in [staining: repair options](https://poolresurfacingguide.com/staining-repair/), prevention is in [staining: how to prevent it](https://poolresurfacingguide.com/staining-prevention/), and the acid wash distinction is in [acid wash pool cost](https://poolresurfacingguide.com/acid-wash-pool-cost/).