pool chemicals
Keeping Your Pool Water Sparkling Clear
Tips for the right chemical balance
Testing your pool 2-3 times a week is important to maintain adequate water balance and sanitizer levels plus to insure swimmer comfort. Although drop-type tests are best, test strips are a quick (30 second) means to test the pool for adequate sanitizer levels as well as pH and total alkalinity. Proper testing also ensures that calcium levels are maintained and that there are no metals present in the pool water. You can buy test kits at your local pool store, or take a sample of the pool water to them for testing. Many pool stores will do this for free. Below is an example table of the recommended levels to look for when testing.
| Chemical | Ideal Range | How to Lower Level | How to Raise Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free Chlorine residential | 1.0 to 3.0 ppm | Neutralizer | Shock Treatment/Chlorine |
| Free Chlorine commercial | 2.0 to 5.0 ppm | Neutralizer | Shock Treatment/Chlorine |
| Total Chlorine | 0 ppm | Shock Treatment | not applicable |
| Total Bromine residential | 2.0 t0 5.0 ppm | Shock Treatment/Bromine | Shock Treatment/Bromine |
| Total Bromine commercial | 3.0 to 6.0 ppm | Neutralizer | Shock Treatment/Bromine |
| Total Alkalinity for vinyl pools | 80 to 150 ppm | Controller 2000 | Total Control 1000 |
| Total Alkalinity for gunite pools | 100 to 150 ppm | Controller 2000 | Total Control 1000 |
| Calcium Hardness for vinyl | 200 to 400 ppm | Calcium Reducer | Calcium Lift 3000 |
| Calcium Hardness for gunite | 250 to 400 ppm | Calcium Reducer | Calcium Lift 3000 |
| pH | 7.2 to 7.6 ppm | Controller 2000 | Builder 2000 |
| Cyanuric Acid | 40 to 100 ppm | fresh water | Sun Shield 4000 |
| Copper in a chlorine pool | 0 ppm | Metal Muscle | not applicable |
| Copper in an AlgaeShield pool | up to .9 ppm | don’t add anymore | Algae Shield |
| Copper in a Pristine Blue pool | up to .9 ppm | don’t add anymore | Pristine Blue |
| Iron | 0 ppm | Super Erace | not applicable |
| Manganese | 0 ppm | Super Erace | not applicable |
| Borate | 30 to 50 ppm | don’t add anymore | Proteam Supreme |
| Salt | 3000 to 4000 ppm | fresh water | Pool Salt |
| Total Dissolved Solids | under 3000 ppm | fresh water | not applicable |
| Nitrates | under 20 ppm | fresh water/heavy shock | not applicable |
| Phosphates | up to 125 ppb | Phosphate Remover | not applicable |
The pH level in your pool should be about the same as the pH level of human tears, 7.2, though in the range of 7.2 – 7.6 is optimal. Chlorine is about 10 times more effective at sanitizing your water when the pH is at 7.2 rather than at a high ph level of say 8.2. pH can best be measured with a drop-type test kit versus a test strip, which can be easily misread.
Most often you’ll find the pH level is high; the best way to lower pH is by slowly pouring “Muriatic Acid” (AKA Hydrochloric acid) directly into the pool while the pool pump is on and the water is circulating. However, granular acid (pH Minus or Decreaser) is safer to use alternative than Muriatic Acid. If pH is high, add a small amount of Muriatic Acid and retest the water after about 6 hours of continuous filtration, readjusting pH as needed. This will prevent “bouncing”. If you have a true pH bounce problem, that is typically due to a LOW Total Alkalinity issue; once properly adjusted, the pH should maintain itself well over a period of 1 to 3 weeks depending on rain, use, etc.
Best Practices
If swimmers are having a problem with “burning eyes,” high or low pH is probably to blame, not high chlorine.
Follow up the next morning with a maintenance dose of algaecide. Algaecides are surfactants that work on pool surfaces to prevent algae from growing.
Shock the pool weekly. As it works to clean your pool, chlorine binds to other chemicals like ammonia and nitrogen, which not only render it effectively inactive, but also create an irritant that can cause skin conditions.
Special Notes
The difference between chlorine and bromine is that once chlorine combines with bacteria or harmful organics to kill them, most of the chlorine is used up and will no longer work to sanitize your swimming pool. This “combined chlorine” will be burned off by the next shock treatment and removed from the pool water by the filter. When bromine combines with bacteria in pool water, the bromine is still active but combined with the bacteria and organic matter to neutralize these harmful contaminants. When you shock a bromine pool, the shock treatment only burns off the harmful contaminants, leaving a good portion of the bromine behind in the pool water. The bromine left behind is available to sanitize the pool again. The result is that the volume of bromine tablets needed to sanitize a swimming pool is noticeably less than the volume of chlorine needed to do the same job.
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
on Pool Chemicals
What chemicals are used in swimming pools?
While we don’t recommend the use of many pool chemicals (we recommend a mineral pool), there is a pool chemical inventory that all chlorine and salt water pool owners should alway have on-hand. You should always have 1) chlorine tables, 2) pool shock, 3) pool pH up, 4) pool pH down, and 5) a test kit with strips. However once a year you should always balance your pool, and that may require, a) sanitizers like TriChor, DiChlor or Bromine, b) oxidizers such as calcium hypochlorite and chlorine free shock, c) water balancers like alkalinity increaser, calcium hardness increaser and chlorine neutralizer, and d) special chemicals such as algaecides, clarifiers and enzymes.
Have a Question about Pool Chemicals? Call Rich at 607.786.0010
How do you balance pool chemicals?
The pH level in your pool should be about the same as the pH level of human tears, 7.2, though in the range of 7.2 – 7.6 is optimal. Chlorine is about 10 times more effective at sanitizing your water when the pH is at 7.2 rather than at a high ph level of say 8.2. pH can best be measured with a drop-type test kit versus a test strip, which can be easily misread. Most often you’ll find the pH level is high; the best way to lower pH is by slowly pouring “Muriatic Acid” (AKA Hydrochloric acid) directly into the pool while the pool pump is on and the water is circulating. However, granular acid (pH Minus or Decreaser) is safer to use alternative than Muriatic Acid. If pH is high, add a small amount of Muriatic Acid and retest the water after about 6 hours of continuous filtration, readjusting pH as needed. This will prevent “bouncing”. If you have a true pH bounce problem, that is typically due to a LOW Total Alkalinity issue; once properly adjusted, the pH should maintain itself well over a period of 1 to 3 weeks depending on rain, use, etc.
Do pool chemicals expire?
If you’re a chlorine or salt water pool owner, buying pool chemicals in bulk is a smart path to take. However, not all pool chemicals have a long shelf life. Most liquid acids and dry pool chemicals have a long shelf life if they’re kept away from excessive heat and moisture. Products that have the most common short shelf life are a) liquid shock, b) test strips, and c) reagents. All other chemicals may vary based on the supplier’s packaging, and again where and how you store the chemicals. If you live down south where it is excessively hot or warm, you’ll want to store your pool chemicals in rooms that maintain a 35° to 75º temperature.
