Safety Suggestions For Pool Chemicals
- Keep pool chemicals away from other chemicals and locked up in a cool, dry place.
- Do not store pool chemicals near other chemicals or flammables, including petrol, detergents or alcohol.
- Always use chemicals strictly as instructed.
- Never combine chemicals together for example, mixing different types of chlorine together can cause an explosion.
- To avoid splashing the chemicals, always add the chemicals to water and not the other way around.
- Donât add the water to the chemicals.
- If you are splashed, rinse contaminated clothing straight away and wash your skin thoroughly in plenty of water.
How To Test The Pool’s Ph Level
Knowing how to lower pH in a pool means youll need pool test kits and strips. There are three main types of pool pH testers: liquid, test strip and digital. Dissolvable tablets fall into the liquid category. Some testers even have apps that connect to your smartphone.
When youre ready to test your pool water, keep these tips in mind:
- Test your water’s pH and total alkalinity.
- The pH level should be between 7.2 and 7.6. A pH of 7.4 is perfect for pool water.
- The total alkalinity should be between 80 ppm and 150 ppm.
- If the levels are too high, you will need to lower your water’s pH.
- A high pH level means your water is too alkaline. You need to use a mild acid to balance it out.
Make sure your water sample is from the center of pool, at least 1.5 feet deep. Avoid the skimmer and pool jets. The moving water will distort your sample. Just reach in to scoop out the sample no need to climb into the pool.
Sometimes, pH testing may be inaccurate. You may not get a good read in these situations:
- Residual chlorine levels are above 3.
- You added bromine to your pool water.
- Your water sample was pulled from near the jets or skimmer.
Guide To Raise The Ph Level In Your Pool Safely
If you have a swimming pool at home, youll need a pool testing kit to ensure that the water levels are all properly balanced.
If the water in your pool is too acidic, this will corrode your equipment, and its likely to bring about etching on surface materials. Beyond this, acidic water will irritate your eyes, nose, and skin.
If, on the other hand, your pool water is too alkaline, this can cause scale to develop on the surface as well as all over your pool plumbing gear.
Neither of these scenarios is ideal. Excessive acidity or alkalinity both impact the efficiency of the chlorine in your pool, and resultantly impede the process of disinfection.
When youre checking the pH level in your pool, you should aim for somewhere between 7.2 and 7.8. On the pH scale, 0 is extreme acidity, with 14 representing extreme alkalinity. 7 is neutral, so youre shooting for just the alkaline side of neutral.
Now, before we show you how to raise the pH level in your pool, a few more basics so you can proceed better informed
Contents
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Take Final Water Test 48 Hours Later
After two days and two nights of keeping a close watch over the process, I took the reading in the morning. Total alkalinity in my example read 101 ppmânot bad at all. The pH was stable at 7.4. Remember that even if the natural aeration process is not complete, pH levels will not likely rise above the recommended levels because the alkalinity is within range and no pH increaser was used in this process.
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About The Ph Levels And Alkalinity Of A Pool
PH level of water is one of the most important factors to consider when cleaning a pool. Maintaining the right PH will ensure that your pool is healthy enough to swim in. A high PH level indicates that the water is alkaline, whereas a low PH level signifies acidic water. Acidic water is a problem for both the swimmer and the pool itself. It can cause drying out of both the skin and hair and may also cause corrosion of pool tiles and fixtures.
Factors like rainfall, which have a PH level of 4-5, can sometimes change the PH level of your pool to make it more acidic and sometimes this causes damage to the pool, leading to repair or remodeling of the pool. Other factors that may influence the PH level of your pool include organic debris, body fluids, and chlorine. This goes to show how important it is to keep the PH level of your pool in check always.
Due to its ever-increasing acidity, alkalizing agents are always added to pool water to help maintain the PH level. Alkalinity is a measure of how much acid your pool water can absorb. It does this by absorbing hydrogen, which it uses to create neutral bicarbonate ions.
In other words, PH levels represent the current acidic level of your pool, whereas alkalinity measures your pools ability to break down acid. On a scale of 0-14 on the PH scale, with 7 being the neutral point, you would want your pool to lie between 7.2-7.8 .
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How To Raise Ph Levels In Your Pool
Maybe you have noticed something off with your pool water, or perhaps it was just time to test the water. You run the test, and the pH is low. You retake it to be sure and again, it is low. What steps can you take to raise the pH level and get it back in balance?
There are a number of things that you can try to correct the issue and raise the pH level in the pool. Before you go to the trouble of adding products and additional testing, double-check your reagents. Your test strips should be replaced at least once per year, if there is a chance that these are out of date, buy a new test kit and test again.
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How Does Baking Soda Work With Chlorine To Clean A Pool
Due to the versatile nature of chlorine, it can also be used to clean an acidic pool with a low PH level. But, to get the best out of chlorine in cleaning your pool, your pool water needs to be slightly alkaline. However, keeping the chlorine level of your pool in check does not necessarily guarantee a comfortable swimming pool. Your pool can still feel cloudy and uncomfortable to swim in because an acidic pool would most likely have too much chloramine present in it, which will end up stinging the eyes while also producing some pool smell. So, it is essential to keep the PH level and chlorine level of your pool water in check to achieve a comfortable swimming pool.
What Ph Balance Is So Important
As you can tell, off-balance pH levels can cause some issues. For example:
- Low pH irritates the skin and eyes. It can also irritate the mucous membranes in your nasal cavity. This is because acidic water will strip away your bodys natural oils.
- Low pH corrodes equipment. Everything in contact with acidic water is basically being worn away, which is why if left unchecked, it will corrode your plumbing, accessories, liners and other equipment.
- Unbalanced pH kills chlorines power. Whether its low or high, unbalanced pH is the super-villain of your pools germ-fighting hero. In this scenario, you can add all the chlorine you want and your pH levels will render it useless.
- High pH clouds the water. While cloudy water in and of itself is not necessarily unsafe, it does usually signal an underlying issue. And besides, no one wants to swim in murky water!
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Calculate Dose Of Boric Acid
Amount Needed per 10,000 gallons per 10 ppm = 76 oz Pool Volume Factor = Pool Volume ÷ 10,000
Dose Factor = Desired Increase ÷ 10 ppm
Boric Acid Dose Amount = Amount Needed × Pool Volume Factor × Dose Factor
16,500 gallon pool and 50 ppm Borate
Amount Needed per 10,000 gallons per 10 ppm = 76 oz Pool Volume Factor = 16,500 ÷ 10,000 = 1.65
Dose Factor = 50 ppm ÷ 10 ppm = 5
Boric Acid Dose Amount = 76 oz × 1.65 × 5 = 627 oz 627 ÷ 16 oz/lb = 39.19 lbs
Ph Information For Balancing Your Pool
Testing Pool pH:Test your pools pH level regularly with a test kit or test strips. In addition, we recommend periodically taking a water sample to a dealer test station to verify the results.
One of the biggest parts of pool care is maintaining the chemical balance in your pool. Pool chemistry is not only necessary to keep your pool clean and safe, maintaining a proper pH level in your pool is essential in order for other chemicals to do their work. Chlorine is much less effective at higher pH levels in fact, at a pH of 8.2, chlorine is only 15% effective. The optimal pH range for your pool is 7.2-7.8. Is your swimming pool well balanced? Find out with our Langelier Saturation Index calculator.
If using a FROG® System, use only FROG Test Strips to help you dial in the low chlorine or bromine level used with FROG minerals. With standard test strips you could over chlorinate which wastes money. Using FROG Test Strips can help your chlorine pacs and bromine cartridges last up to 50% longer!
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How To Add Borax To Pool
The quantity of borax to add to your pool depends on the pool size, pH level, pool alkalinity, and the borax you are using. To be accurate in doing this, you can use an online water-chemistry calculator to determine the borax quantity to add to your pool. The following are step-by-step guides you would need to follow to enable you to add the right amount of borax to your pool.
- First, use an online calculator to ascertain the amount of borax to add to your pool.
- Utilize recommended powder for your skimmer when the filter and pump is working
- Leave it for a day before you proceed to test the pH level.
- Add more borax if it is necessary to spruce up the pH to your desire level.
- If the online water-chemistry calculator shows there is a need for more acid and borax to be added, proceed to add recommended acid and half of your preferred borax but ensure you scrub your pool wall adequately for proper and rapid dissolution of chemicals.
- After the proper dissolution of borax, add the remaining half of the acid and borax. Scrub again and let the pump run for like two days .
- Test your swimming pool pH level and add borax if the pH level isnt accurate.
Alternatives To Baking Soda For Raising Ph Levels
Although baking soda is effective and recommended by most for adjusting both PH and alkalinity levels in a pool, there are certain cases where other substances might work best. For example, a pool with the right amount of alkalinity level may possess a slightly lower PH level, in which case using baking soda may not be the ideal option. However, a compound like soda ash, also known as sodium carbonate, will work just fine for the scenario discussed above, in which case adding it in small quantity will only affect the PH, leaving your alkalinity level untouched.
E.g.: To adjust the PH level of a 10,000-gallon pool from 7.2 to 7.6 would require about 21 pounds of baking soda. However, a closer look would indicate that the amount of baking soda mentioned would only so more damage by increasing the level of alkalinity to 150 ppm, more than is required for a healthy and comfortable pool. With the use of soda ash however, it would only take 12.2 ounces of soda ash in 10,000 gallons of the pool to move the PH level of the pool from 7.2 to 7.6. What is more, is that this soda ash process will only add 10ppm or less to the total alkalinity of the pool.
The pH level of baking soda is 8.3, so it takes a lot of it to raise a pools overall pH level. The upside is that using baking soda will never make a pools pH level higher than 8.3 . Still, its better at adjusting the overall alkalinity of the water.
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The Role Of Chlorine In Pool Health
The most common chemical used to oxidize and disinfect swimming pools is chlorine.
This chemical works in 2 distinct ways:
If pH levels are unbalanced, the chlorine wont work properly, resulting in unsanitary pool conditions.
How Can I Balance Water Quickly How Do I Raise Ph Without Raising Alkalinity
I wrote another long paper about this that has been I also included this information in the IPSSA Basic Training Manual 2016 Revised Edition Part 1 Chemicals. We all know that adding acid of any type to the pool water decreases pH and alkalinity. But pH and alkalinity are not lowered equally by adding acid. The reason is that pH is measured on a logarithmic scale and alkalinity is measured on a linear scale. So they will never lower together equally. We all should know that adding soda ash will raise pH and alkalinity, and adding sodium bicarbonate will raise only alkalinity with very little effect on pH. This presents a problem you can raise alkalinity and pH, you can raise only alkalinity and you can lower both, but there has not been a way to raise pH alone without raising alkalinity. The only chemical we use to raise pH, soda ash, also raises alkalinity. So all we have are soda ash, which raises both pH and alkalinity or bicarb, which raises only alkalinity.
Now it becomes possible to lower high pH and alkalinity with acid to get the alkalinity to the desired level of 90 ppm with one addition of acid, which will cause the pH to be very low . But now we can aerate and create turbulence and, depending on how much aeration and turbulence we generate, raise pH within hours to 7.5. We can get perfectly balanced water in the same day.
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What Happens In A High Ph Swimming Pool
A swimming pool with a high pH is considered alkaline, which can cause issues with the pool and swimmers. There can be several answers to what causes high pH in pool, such as a sudden rise in water temperature, but more importantly that the causes are its effects. If the pH level is above 7.8, you can expect the water to become cloudy and to see scaling along the pool sides.
Further, a pH that is above normal prevents the chlorine and other disinfecting chemicals to do their job. This means bacteria and other microorganisms may thrive in your pool. While you cannot see with your naked eye, bacteria in your pool water can be harmful when they enter your body. Read on to learn how to lower pH in pool naturally.
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Why Is The Ph Low
When the tendency of the pool runs toward a low pH, it is usually the consequence of more than one factor. First, water in the pool from municipal water supplies may be naturally acidic. This most commonly occurs in areas where the water is very soft and mineral content is low. Exposure to sunlight also makes chlorinated water more acidic, as does heavy rainfall where the pH of rain is typically low. Aggressive treatment for high alkalinity in the pool by adding excessive amounts of muriatic acid can also result in a low pH pool.
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Baking Soda To Raise Ph And Alkalinity In Pools
Most people know that chlorine is an important chemical in keeping pool water safe for swimming. But adding too much chlorine can lower your pools pH as well as its total alkalinity. When alkalinity falls, it is more difficult to maintain a stable pH. Plus, a lower pH and alkalinity of your pool water creates several negative effects, from itchy skin and stinging eyes for swimmers to corrosion of your pool ladders, liner, or other components.
When your waters alkalinity is too low, any chemicals you add will exponentially affect the pH, creating a condition known as pH bounce. Youll also need to add more chlorine to get the same sanitizing effect, and your swimmers will complain. Overall, pool water with inadequate alkalinity levels can be frustrating and costly.
Fortunately, there is a simple and cost-effective way to maintain your pools alkalinity and pH. You might use it in your cookie recipes or to freshen your fridge. This handy tool for pools is none other than Arm & Hammer baking soda, although youll need pounds of it rather than a pinch.
