Is This Cleaning Staple The Solution To Dirty Pool Liners Or Will It Cause Damage?

The brilliant blue water of your pool is a welcome sight during these hot days, but if there's staining on your pool liner, the vision is less pleasant. As you prepare to host a pool party or simply enjoy a good swim, these stains can detract from the overall oasis vibe you want to reflect. Surely this is a task for one of the most indomitable stain fighters, the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, right? Nope. Unless you want a damaged pool liner, use the Magic Eraser for cleaning other things around the house and not your dirty pool liner.

TikTok and social media users are fond of showing the benefits of Mr. Clean Magic Eraser to scrub away interior walls, cabinets, and patio furniture, so it's no wonder some homeowners have tried this cleaning staple on their pools to address stains. Magic Erasers are made of melamine foam, an abrasive agent that offers strong grime-scrubbing abilities for various surfaces. When used with your pool liner, however, it can spell trouble.

Pool liners are one of the areas where you want to avoid using a Magic Eraser to clean your home. Despite their soft touch, their abrasive qualities can ruin glossy surfaces, stone, and even wood. Due to their design with open-cell foam, Magic Erasers are like sandpaper, trapping dirt and grime between the foam's small pores when activated with water. The cleaning ability is excellent if you want to clean your bathtub, but harmful to delicate pool liner. Pool liner manufacturer Tara Pools calls the Magic Eraser as a suitable pool cleaner a "myth" and warns pool owners to keep the cleaning favorite away from liners. The company states that using melamine foam on a vinyl liner can cause discoloration plus wear the liner down, reducing its longevity and effectiveness. 

Another reason to avoid putting Magic Erasers in the water is that they're a household cleaning product with cleaning agents that might mix poorly with your pool water or introduce new chemicals. Pool & Spa News states a Florida pool service technician contacted the company for guidance and was told, "The answer to your question is, no — we have not tested the product in pools, and the chlorine may react or interfere with the ingredients in the product." Mr. Clean's website lists over 100 places where you can use the sponge inside and outside the home, but pools do not appear on the list. 

Now that you know using Magic Erasers could be one of the worst mistakes you make when cleaning your swimming pool, you might wonder if you can use any other household cleaning ingredients to clean the liner. First, avoid using anything kerosene or petroleum-based, as these can weaken your liner. Before you can clean, check your pool liner's manufacturing paperwork for any recommended products and prohibitions to best prolong the life of your vinyl liner. You should also check every pool cleaning solution to make sure it's rated safe for use on liners.

In addition to using a specialty pool liner or tile cleaner, you can try cleaning with equal parts baking soda and vinegar, scrub gently with a cloth, then rinse. A combination of two to three drops of liquid dish soap mixed with 1 cup of white vinegar and 1 gallon of water can also do the trick to remove pool liner stains.