White crystals growing on pole left in the pool ...

[paulshikleejr]

I'm new here and the process is just starting to penetrate my thick skull, so my apologies to the powers that be.

Here are my questions:

I live in Arizona where the water is hard.

Sometimes, being less diligent than I should be, I leave my pool pole in the water for a few days.

I've always noticed that white crystals will start to seed and grow on various points of the pole where the blue coating is scratched.

Generally, is this a bad thing?

Is aluminum dissolving into my pool water?

Is that calcium coming out of solution such that my water is getting very slightly less hard? If so, should I do this more?

I'm hoping that this isn't a rare and unknown phenomenon (since it was very easy to have happen).

Thank you for your time.

[PoolDoc]

It's some sort of aluminum corrosion -- aluminum chloride, I'd guess, but I don't know.

Sometimes, it will get a jelly-like consistency, though that may be aluminum hydroxide.

The simply solution is to not leave your pole in the pool . . .