An above-ground swimming pool is a source of enjoyment, and you can spend your time in a significant way in these swimming pools with your friends and family.
But If you notice that:
These are the first signs that you need to check the alkalinity of your pool water. You also have to check the pH of the water. The high alkalinity of the water can be detrimental to the pH effects. And can also cause damage to the material of the pool. Take care about your pool and read How To Lower Alkalinity In Pool.
Contents
Why You Have High Swimming Pool Alkalinity?
High pool’s alkalinity is a big problem for many swimming pool owners. Several reasons can increase the alkalinity of the pool water.
Local alkaline water
The cause of alkaline can be the water itself. If you use local water from municipal water sources, there are many chances that you will get highly alkaline water. This is because they use highly alkaline water to keep the pipes protected from corrosion.
High pH of the water
The leading cause of the high alkalinity of the pool water can be the raised pH of the water. It can be anything from natural body oils to sunscreens or lotions applied to the skin. Or also the sweat that drips off from our bodies.
Pool shocks
A thing that most of the pool owners usually do is to shock their pools many times. The chlorine-based pool shock is a big reason for alkalinity in the pool water. The reason behind this is that chlorine is a highly alkaline substance. So, shocking the pools frequently with chlorine-based pool shocks can be harmful. Try avoiding doing this thing often to achieve a maintained pH of the pool water.
Taking accurate readings
Before lower swimming pool alkalinity, check the alkalinity level (alkalinity, or Total Alkalinity/TA) in the pool in the late afternoon or early evening when the temperature is slightly more relaxed.
Test the water at the bottom of the pool or the point farthest from the filter. If you find a level of alkalinity that does not match your desired parameters, you can always make minor adjustments.
Testing your pool helps keep your water safe from viruses, bacteria, and algae, and ensures chemical levels are safe and comfortable.
And it is worth remembering that when making changes to the total alkalinity, a specific rule applies: increasing it is much easier and faster than lowering it later. Therefore, it is advisable to act with the help of gradual, small steps.
So it is essential to test your water. You can get pool testing kits for this purpose. Carefully check your water to know which chemical to add to your swimming pool and how much amount.
How To Lower Alkalinity In Pool?
Using the right acid is crucial to lowering alkalinity. There are two main chemicals available to lower total alkalinity: sodium bisulfate, dry acid, and muriatic acid. Sometimes use sulfuric acid.
1.Pool and Spa pH Reducer- Sodium Bisulfate
Keeping your total alkalinity balanced is an essential step to keeping your pool water healthy. This dry acid will lower the pH of the pool. The dry acid contains a granular formula that is very effective in bringing the pH down.
It is non-toxic and non-caustic. Also that this is a biodegradable product, so it is entirely safe and secure to use this for your pool with high alkalinity. This product will solve the high pool’s alkalinity issue without causing any damage to the pool surface.
Ensure that the container is stored in a dry place and moisture will not enter.
Can you use baking soda to lower alkalinity?
Sodium bicarbonate, aka baking soda, is a chemical you can use to raise your pool’s total alkalinity. However, muriatic acid is the best chemical to lower the high alkalinity levels.
Here’s how to add it to your pool:
- Test total alkalinity level in the pool using the pool test kits
- Read the package directions carefully to determine how much dry acid to add, for lowering total alkalinity to 80-120 ppm.
- Fill the plastic bucket three quarters with water.
- Pour the prepared acid to lower into the water.
- Stir with a wooden stick until the granules are completely dissolved.
- Carefully pour the solution around the perimeter of the pool, starting from the deep end.
- After about an hour, check the water for alkalinity and pH levels.
2. Klean- Strip Green Muriatic Acid
The most common lower the pool’s alkalinity is muriatic acid. Klean-Strip Green provides environmentally friendly products to users.
It muriatic acid is simple and easy to use. You don’t have to put in much time to wait for the extraordinarily excellent results it provides. We recommend muriatic acid, which is especially useful for larger pools.
It would be best to remember that this muriatic acid is slightly diluted hydrochloric acid. So, it is necessary to deal with care and use gloves and goggles while handling it.
Here’s how to use muriatic acid:
- Turn off the pool pump to prevent water from circulating.
- Test the pool water using special test kits. Test kit strips are the easiest to measure alkalinity levels.
- Review the label on the bottle to determine how much muriatic acid should be added so that the total alkalinity is between 80 and 120 ppm. You can use a special calculator to confirm your calculations. (Using a pool calculator makes pool chemistry easy!)
- You have two options for adding hydrochloric acid. You can dilute it and then add it to the water. Or you can add it directly to the water as well. Do it starting at the deep end.
- Allow the pool to rest for approximately one hour after you add the chemical to the pool. Then you can turn on the pool pump.
- Let the acid and water mix for about an hour. Make tests to check the pool’s alkalinity at the pH levels
How to Restore PH Level
The relationship between pH and total alkalinity is directly proportional: the higher the alkalinity of the water, the higher the pH. If one adds enough acid to lower the total alkalinity all at once, the pH can get very low.
So, lowering total alkalinity is a two-step process.
The first step is to lower alkalinity by adding muriatic acid. It makes your pool water more acidic and neutralizes the alkaline materials in your pool.
If you are low to alkalinity, the pH of the pool water will also drop. Your task is to ensure that the pH level is in the range of 7.0 – 7.4.
You can boost it with baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) or sodium carbonate, which will also increase your total alkalinity.
And the second step is to aerate your pool. Aeration fills the water with oxygen. This usually happens when the pool is in use or raining.
Aerators are designed to throw water into the air and the pool. When water moves through the atmosphere, it absorbs oxygen along the way and injects it into the pool upon landing.
There are special pool aerators that can be used. This will significantly speed up the process.
If the is still too low pH, try adding more soda ash. Soda ash can be used to increase both the pH level and total alkalinity. It may make the pool water a little cloudy at first, but it should become more apparent after a day or so.
Conclusion
Even though a high alkalinity level is less harmful to your pool surfaces and equipment than a low level, the alkalinity level still needs to be maintained.
By doing this, it is possible to avoid unanticipated maintenance costs due to the wear and tear of pool equipment such as pool pumps. Because of blocked filters and scale buildup, its lifespan is shortened.
FAQS
Can you swim in a pool with high alkalinity?
No, you can’t swim in a pool with high alkalinity. It is dangerous and harmful to swim in such water. The water with high alkalinity levels makes this very hard to maintain or adjust the pH. It can cause burning in the eyes. It can also be bad for your hair and skin and cause itchiness.
How do I balance the alkalinity in my pool?
The standard pool alkalinity test will give you your total alkalinity, almost what you need. In addition to knowing your total alkalinity levels, you should also know your carbonate alkalinity level. Subtracting carbonate alkalinity from your total alkalinity is necessary to find your corrected or proper total alkalinity, which is the level you want to adjust.
What should be adjusted first, alkalinity or pH?
If you want to adjust the alkalinity and pH simultaneously, you should start with the alkalinity first. Just elevate the alkalinity of the water to 100 ppm. You have to add a 1lb product to increase the alkalinity per 10,000 gallons. This will increase to 10 ppm alkalinity. After this, there may be no need to add the pH increase to raise the pH.
How can you test alkalinity in a pool?
Total alkalinity is mainly similar – and notably similar – to cyanuric acid. It’s not as volatile as chlorine or pH. Moreover, it will not require frequent testing like free chlorine. Test kits can help you monitor this. A trustworthy and reliable practice should be testing the total alkalinity level of each other every time you do this, about once per week.
What is pH should be?
pH means the water’s total acid-alkalinity balance. Pool experts suggest that pool or spa water’s ideal pH level reading needs to be between 7.2 – 7.8. If you need to raise pH, use baking soda. So if you have a low pool’s pH and need to purchase a pool alkalinity increaser product be sure the product is made from sodium bicarbonate, which is the primary substance used to raise pH levels.
