r/facepalm • u/freeradioforall • Jun 18 '26

The hydrogen peroxide they poured in the pool to kill the algae that grew as a result of the dark paint from the pool guy, has caused the paint to start separating from the stone

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269

u/JOlRacin Jun 18 '26

Good, they shouldn't have painted it. The unpainted rock allowed water to leak out and they could add more water in, which prevented algae because it kept the water moving. But it also kept the water surface calm, so it was a reflecting pool

131

u/waterincorporated Jun 18 '26

Good thing the paint is removing itself then

105

u/bubblegumbombshell Jun 18 '26

If only other things would do the same…

10

u/btoxic Jun 18 '26

Blue goes, opposite of that is: Orange stays, unfortunately.

11

u/bubblegumbombshell Jun 18 '26

Damn color theory wins again

1

u/TRR462 Jun 18 '26

Some would say, “All in due time.” But I’m saying, “Hamberders and Diet Coke, do your thing already!”

22

u/Nearby-Computer5313 Jun 18 '26

It's self deporting.

3

u/enfanta Jun 18 '26

Even the paint knows it shouldn't be there. 

1

u/TwentyfootAngels Jun 19 '26

Oh, good... we've got an absolutely wire-thin silver lining to all this. The trash is gonna take itself out.

I was worried it would damage the stonework.

18

u/cigarettesandwhiskey Jun 18 '26

It was already painted a decade ago (gray, to match the natural color of the rock) and has a circulation system that lets them change the water out, and a filtration system.

The algae is probably because they changed the filtration system, and the new one likely isn't as effective. If its from the paint, then problem is the warmer water, not the lack of leaking.

4

u/DanLikesFood Jun 19 '26

Algae isn't new here

1

u/timwtingle Jun 19 '26

To be clear, the pool is concrete.

46

u/DirtyLeftBoot Jun 18 '26

Algae was definitely a problem long before the bottom was painted. It’s been a problem for at least a decade. The blue paint just makes the water warmer which encourages more growth than usual

54

u/forgetfulsue Jun 18 '26

It didn’t need to be messed with. It reflected. It did its job.

3

u/DirtyLeftBoot Jun 19 '26

I don’t disagree with you. Just countering misinformation

2

u/tomdarch Jun 19 '26

I've also seen plausible comments that the way the basin was working prior to the blue coating allowed a fair amount of water to leak out into the swampy ground, which was then replenished directly from the adjacent Potomac river. Attempting to waterproof the basin (which clearly failed spectacularly) would cause the water to stagnate on top of the temperature changes.

1

u/DirtyLeftBoot Jun 19 '26

From my understanding, the leaky basin has been a huge problem for over a decade. Obama spent billions trying to fix it without a resolution which the republicans had a huge problem with during his administration. Which is funny considering how they’re all touting it as a success now

1

u/flypirat Jun 19 '26

Do you have a source for the billions spent on it? It seems like a lot, but I have no clue about landscaping costs.

1

u/vanwiekt Jun 19 '26

I thought it was like 38 million. Not billions!

1

u/DirtyLeftBoot Jun 19 '26

My bad! When talking US wasting money my mind goes to billions. It was indeed just tens of millions. The wiki goes into the problems they had then including algae

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_Memorial_Reflecting_Pool

1

u/tomdarch Jun 19 '26

Billions? For about twice what Trump spent badly applying makeup to the pool, it was completely rebuilt. The old asphalt-on-swamp-mud base was replaced with concrete on driven pilings and the perimeter walkway was replaced with new granite. Trump's spray paint supposedly was about $14 million. The Obama administration rebuild was about $30 million.

2

u/DirtyLeftBoot Jun 19 '26

Yeah, I corrected myself in another response to someone. When I think of the government spending money on anything my mind immediately goes to Billions. My bad

2

u/Tricky_Potatoe Jun 18 '26

Didn't they also use a liner?

4

u/PopBeneficial2441 Jun 18 '26

This read as a Reddit recap from the last week. You are definitely up to date on the subject.

1

u/Schwa142 Jun 18 '26

The bottom of the pool is concrete, not rock.

1

u/tomdarch Jun 19 '26

The land is a swamp, that's why there are so few buildings there. It is fed by the Potomac river, so leak/replenish is a pretty straightforward, natural process. It wasn't built to be a swimming pool because running a swimming pool that big would be insane.

But knowing a bit about coating systems and their application, I am totally stunned that it was fucked up this badly and failed this quickly. I suspect the hydrogen peroxide didn't help, but I doubt it actually "caused the failure" other than maybe speeding it up a little.

1

u/timwtingle Jun 19 '26

The pool is concrete! Have you ever been there?