JavaScript seems to be disabled in your browser. For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser.
Customer Service: [email protected]
A Guide to Swimming Pool Alkalinity
Wrapping your mind around swimming pool chemicals and how they work, may initially seem like a headache. This guide will help you to understand the important roles they play within your pool.
Although it may seem like there are a lot of chemicals to consider when handling a pool’s maintenance, we hope to ease your mind with this simple and easy to follow guide.
If you’re wondering how you’ll know your pool water is balanced, you can get a general idea by the way it looks, smells and feels. It should be smooth, silky, clear and the smell of chlorine should be subtle.
But the best thing to do is to use a water test kit. There are various testing kits available such as pool test strips, liquid test kits and digital pool testers. The digital and water test kits offer more accuracy in comparison to the strips.
Even if the water appears clean, you should always test it. From a glance you’ll be unable to tell the total alkalinity, which after a swim can result in irritated skin and itchy eyes, not to mention the long term damage to the pool.
Chemically speaking, a balanced swimming pool has to meet particular requirements. Contacting your water company is often a good rule of thumb when balancing pool chemicals.
They are obliged to disclose their water test results, which will help you determine what chemicals you will need to frequently keep in balance.
Here’s what to look for:
Chlorine is the main component in keeping your pool clean. The rest of the chemicals help to support chlorine by creating an ideal environment for it to carry out its usual process of maintaining a clean pool.
Chlorine sanitises the pool and is used as an effective algaecide and strong oxidiser. This in turn keeps your pool clean and safe to swim in. You can buy chlorine as a liquid or in tablets.
Mainly used for indoor pools as it is more stable, bromine is a sanitiser similar to chlorine. When exposed to UV light Bromine won’t last as long as chlorine, hence why it is best to use indoors in comparison to outdoors.
In addition to chlorine, oxidisers assist chlorine with the breakdown of organic contaminants. They are most effective in the evening, when UV rays can’t compromise them.
Cyanuric acid supports chlorine by acting as a stabiliser. It reduces the amount of chlorine required to maintain a clean pool. This is due to its ability to protect chlorine from being destroyed by UV rays.
Chlorine tablets already contain cyanuric acid, thus it worth noting the importance of not using too much or little while maintaining your pool. You want to aim for 30 to 50 ppm (parts per million).
By adding too much you will most likely encounter algae growth and cloudy water. This is because too much cyanuric acid can hinder chlorine’s ability to sanitise.
A crucial part in encouraging the chemicals to do their job is to ensure the pool’s pH level is balanced accordingly.
Too much of one chemical can easily throw you pool off balance. You can use a pH plus to increase the pH and balance out the water.
Alkalinity is the pool’s water pH stabiliser measure in TA (total alkalinity). Alkaline substances are used as a buffer, hindering the changes in the pH level. When pH is too high, this can contribute to high calcium levels.
High calcium levels will result in scaling, cloudy water and clogged filters, itchy skin and irritated eyes. Low alkalinity can rapidly fluctuate the acidity from too high to too low.
An acidic pool is corrosive and unsafe for swimmers as well as reducing the lifespan of the pool. It can damage the walls and metals of the pool, causing them to become etched, delaminated and cracked.
The alkalinity of the water has the most influence over the pool’s water, as it directly relates to the pH level. The bicarbonate alkalinity is the substance in which you need to regulate between 80 and 120 ppm.
Factors that can lower the Alkalinity of the pool:
If you find that it’s necessary to increase the alkalinity, you’ll need to consider two factors; your target range and the size of your pool. You can use bicarbonate of soda to counter the effect of low alkalinity.
To avoid tampering with the pools pH scale too much, when using dry acid or muriatic acid to treat the pool’s low alkalinity levels, only apply the instructed amount and test the alkalinity after six hours.
A telltale sign that your alkalinity levels are too high is the presence of calcium deposits in the filters or the appearance of murky.
Although not a common problem in comparison to low alkalinity levels, it’s still one that should be addressed as quickly as possible. It has a direct impact on the calcium levels and increases them, which can result in damage to the pool.
A leading cause of high alkalinity is the addition of too much bicarbonate of soda when trying to raise the alkalinity levels.
Some advice when raising the alkalinity levels to prevent them from becoming too high would be to only use small doses. Ensure that you test every 24 hours until you have reached an ideal condition.
Although there are an array of chemicals you can use to lower the alkalinity of your pool, the most popular option is muriatic acid.
If after addressing the issue, the pools pH levels become too low, you may have to use more muriatic acid in an aeration process. But this is only recommended when all else fails to naturally raise the pH.
The process works by lowering the alkalinity and pH levels together, and then after the acid has dissolved, the aeration process will raise the pH levels separately.
In brief terms, the aeration process involves adding the acid until the alkalinity is about 90 to 100 ppm. You then run the pump on high, this will cause a disturbance in the surface of the water, raising the pH.
We hope that you now feel more comfortable and understand the importance of alkalinity a little more clearly. If you are in need of further information on maintaining your pool, you can find more on our blog!
Feel free to check out our range of swimming pool chemicals to get you started, or you can browse through our swimming pool test kits.
