Sequester metals before they stain your pool.

Keep iron and copper out of the water in the first place. Test your fill water before you add it, and avoid copper-based algaecides like the plague — they stain, not just treat.

Most stains come from two places: your fill water (well water is notorious for iron) or your algaecides (copper). If your source water has metals, use a metal sequestrant (like Metal Magic or similar) every time you top off. Also keep pH in the mid-7s — low pH dissolves metals and makes staining worse.

If you already have stains, that’s a different job (ascorbic acid treatment). But for prevention, sequestrant is cheap insurance. Don’t skip it.

An ounce of prevention genuinely saves you a weekend of scrubbing.