What could this be?

[JustClean]

Hi all,
I just noticed 3 little holes in my aluminum self serve bay walls (see photos) which I haven't seen before. They are in two different bays. Has anyone any ideas what that could be? I recently changed chemicals and wonder if this could be the problem...

 

[Randy]

It looks to me like they are corroding from the back side. Water and chemicals will get behind the wall panel and it makes for a perfect environment for corrosion. Aluminum diamond plate isn’t a good choice for wall paneling, it looks nice.

 

[JustClean]

It looks to me like they are corroding from the back side. Water and chemicals will get behind the wall panel and it makes for a perfect environment for corrosion. Aluminum diamond plate isn’t a good choice for wall paneling, it looks nice.

The corrosion seems to happen from the front as on one spot it hasn't eaten fully through. The aluminum plate had been fine for the last 6 years. I was actually very happy with it. Easy to maintain and good looking. I wouldn't use it in the automatic but in the SS it was fine.

 

[MEP001]

It seems pretty obvious from the last photo that it has corroded through from the back, and it makes the most sense because moisture trapped behind it will cause that.

 

[JustClean]

I am not sure about eating into the aluminum from the back - maybe this is happening too. But today I cleaned and inspected my aluminum walls very thoroughly. I found some more. There is a black particle sitting on the wall's surface that burns itself into the alu. I can't get to that black particle because as soon as I hit it with the high pressure it gets blasted away and you can't distinguish it between this and the normal dirt.