How to Balance Pool Water Chemistry
When you visited a public pool in the past, it probably didn’t cross your mind how difficult it was to maintain the water. However, now that you have your own pool, you’re all too familiar. As it turns out, keeping your swimming pool’s chemistry where it’s supposed to be is a tricky balancing act. In fact, you might not even have a handle on how to do this work. By reading this blog, you’ll learn how to balance pool water chemistry so you can keep your swimming pool in the best possible condition. We are Epic Home Pro, a local pool maintenance company, and we’ll be your guide!
Why Balanced Pool Chemistry is Important
Why does your pool water need to be balanced in the first place? As it turns out, all sorts of things can go wrong when your pool’s chemistry isn’t where it’s supposed to be. Unbalanced pool water allows the presence of bacteria and algae. As these unwanted guests reproduce, the pool will become unsanitary, which can negatively affect your swimmers’ skin and eyes. As you can imagine, nobody wants to swim in a pool that will cause them physical pain!
Unbalanced pool water can even damage the pool itself. For example, if the pool water’s pH is too low, it can actually corrode pipes, filters, and other parts of the pool. By maintaining your pool’s water chemistry, you’ll avoid pool damage and save yourself from having to pay for expensive pool repairs in the future.
Maintaining Chlorine Levels
Chlorine plays an incredibly important role in your swimming pool. It’s a disinfectant, meaning that it kills bacteria and algae. So, as you can imagine, it’s incredibly important that you maintain the correct chlorine levels in your pool. Too little chlorine, and pathogens will run rampant. Too much chlorine, and you can actually injure your swimmers.
Maintain a level of 1.0-3.0 ppm in your swimming pool. If you find that there is not enough chlorine in your pool, you can add more in the form of liquid chlorine or chlorine tablets. Is there too much chlorine in your pool? By simply removing the pool cover and exposing the water to sunlight, you’ll be able to dissipate chlorine with little to no effort.
Maintaining Pool pH
Maintaining your swimming pool’s pH is difficult. It might be the toughest part of how to balance pool water chemistry. If your pool water is too acidic, it can corrode components of your swimming pool, resulting in the need for costly repairs. On the other hand, if your pool water is too basic, it will irritate your skin and result in a cloudy, visually unappealing swimming pool.
How can you adjust the pH of your pool? To increase pH, use an alkaline base such as sodium carbonate. On the other hand, if you need to decrease pH, add muriatic acid. Be sure to test your pool’s pH on a daily basis; aim for a pH level of 7.3 to 7.6. Continue making adjustments as necessary.
Maintaining Pool Alkalinity
Pool alkalinity is responsible for stable pH levels in your pool. So, if your pool’s alkalinity is too low, you can count on pH levels to swing back and forth like a pendulum. This, of course, increases the risk of bacteria and algae growth. So, how can you raise your pool’s alkalinity?
Just as with pH, the key is sodium carbonate. Add 1.5 pounds of sodium bicarbonate per 10,000 gallons of water. Then, test alkalinity four days later. If alkalinity is within the range of 80 to 120 ppm, you’re golden. Otherwise, rinse and repeat. Is alkalinity too high? You can solve this problem by adding muriatic acid to the pool.
Maintaining Calcium Hardness
What is calcium hardness? This term refers to how calcium is dissolved in your pool water. When there isn’t enough calcium in your water, it will try to “find it” in other places, causing damage to your pool walls and floor in the process. On the other hand, if your pool’s calcium hardness is too high, it will cause scale buildup—a chalky white buildup that forms on tiles and other pool surfaces.
The ideal calcium hardness level is 200 to 400 ppm. When you need to raise calcium hardness, you can do so with calcium chloride. For reference, 1.25 lbs of calcium chloride will raise the calcium hardness of 10,000 gallons of water by 10 ppm. What should you do if calcium hardness is too high? We recommend that you partially drain your pool and fill it back up with softer water.
Don’t Forget to Check Filters
Remember, your pool water’s chemistry isn’t the only thing you need to maintain. You’ll also want to keep a close eye on your pool filters. These important pieces of equipment remove contaminants from water and keep your pool clean. However, over time, they will age, and their efficiency will decrease. Eventually, you’ll need to clean them, if not replace them altogether.
What are the signs that your pool filters require maintenance? If your pool water is constantly cloudy, it’s a clue. Frustratingly enough, this is also a sign of unbalanced pool water chemistry. Unbalanced pool water can also put additional strain on your filters… so in many cases, when your pool water chemistry needs to be checked, your filters do, too!
Professional Pool Maintenance Services
Learning how to balance pool water chemistry is tough. It’s a complicated subject, and because of this, we’ve only really scratched the surface in this blog. If you aren’t feeling confident about balancing your pool water on your own, that’s okay! You can always reach out to Epic Home Pro for professional pool maintenance services instead.
We are Hillsborough County’s first choice for pool maintenance, and it would be our pleasure to serve you! That way, you can sit back and relax while we do all the hard work for you. Contact us online to speak with one of our professionals today. It won’t be long before we are at your property, giving your pool the professional attention it deserves.