• Keeping up with your weekly pool maintenance will lessen the need for tile cleaning products.Swimming pool image by Nikolai Sorokin from Fotolia.com
  
  Pool tiles can get dirty from many different factors, from the type of water to the things that are floating around the pool. There are many different fixes for cleaning your tiles. Some require a little more elbow grease than others, but employing them will help get your tiles looking like new.
  
  

Dirt Ring

• If you pool has a ring formed around it, like the rings you find in bathtubs, this is a result of dirt and oil floating on the top of the pool. Get a generic tile cleaner at your local pool supply store and apply a bit to a scrubbing pad. Use the pad along the edges of the pool. If you use Baquacil, or another chlorine free product, in your pool then make sure the tile cleanser you choose has no chlorine in it.
  
  

Calcium Deposits

• Calcium deposits will show up on your tile as a crusty, white substance. Scraping or acid wash are the only two ways to get rid of this. If you do not want to use a product to acid wash it, then use pumice stones. These are gray porous rocks that scrape the surface of the tiles. These are very light stones that will actually float in the water so cleaning and swimming with them is not a problem. They will begin to wear down from usage so if you have a lot of calcium deposits, make sure you have more than one stone on hand. They can be found at hardware and pool supply stores.
  
  

Glass Beads

• Glass beads can be used when you have a large calcium buildup on your tile and pumice stones do not work. This method of cleaning should be done by a professional company because the beads can clog your system if they are net cleaned properly. Glass beads do not harm your tiles.
  
  

Weekly Treatment

• Weekly treatment of your pool helps ensure that the tiles will not get dirty in the first place. Things like mildew and algae build up will not occur if you regularly check the chlorine levels, or the levels of what other chemicals you are using. Be diligent about this and your tiles will stay looking shiny and new.