Batteries are filled with acid and water, mixed to a desired strength. My understanding is that the acid part of the mix does not go away, so you don't have to replenish it. The mix merely gets stronger as the water in the mix is driven off or evaporates. Although you can buy bags of acid at your FLAPS, most battery sites caution you - DO NOT ADD ACID TO A BATTERY.
The problem is that as the mix gets more strongly acidic, it eats at the lead plates, either coating them with insoluble crystals of lead sulfate, or causing them to shed flakes which settle to the bottom of the battery where they short out the plates. Neither effect is recoverable, and I think this is what you are seeing.
If you would like more info, go to sites like batterystuff.com or any of the battery makers' tech support/FAQ sections. Progressive Dynamics' FAQ site says
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Do I ever need to add acid to my battery?
Under normal operating conditions, you never need to add acid. Only distilled or deionized water should be added to achieve the recommended electrolyte levels.
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and Batterystuff.com says
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"When Should I Add Extra Sulfuric Acid to my Battery?
When you see your battery acid level begin to drop, you may wonder when and if it is appropriate to add acid, or just water.
We recommend that unless a battery was tipped over and all the acid spilled out, that you add only distilled water. Think of it like this: If you were to fill a pot up with salt water, and put it on your stove to boil, what happens? All the water will boil off, and you will be left with only salt. To re-create the original salt water mixture, you simply add straight water, because all the original salt is still in the pan, waiting to be re-suspended in the water. Batteries are the same way. All the chemical needed to make sulfuric acid is still in the battery, it is just the water that is gone. If you add more acid, you will be changing the chemical makeup of the battery which can lead to an incorrect sulfuric content.
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Bill