High pH levels in the pools are considered to be a state when your swimming pools have water with a pH range above 7.6. Can you swim in a pool with high alkalinity? This is a question that hits the head of swimmers who simply love diving down the pools to chill on a hot summer day?
For this, the answer is a simple ‘no’. After thorough research and observations, here is a quick guide where you will get to know the reasons to lower down the pH and ways to implement them for a happy looking pool.
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Reasons to Lower Down the Ph of Your Pools
If you tend to swim in pools that have high pH content, then you are prone to dangers that come associated with the high pH content value. These problems may not be significant at first, but they have all the might to gradually increase and show up posing serious health issues.
Below listed are a few symptoms that may signal you that the pH level in your pool is not adequate:
- Irritation in skin and eyes
- Scaling in pipes
- Demand for higher chlorine content
- Clogging of pipes and filters
Quick and Easy Tips for Maintaining the Ph of Your Pools
A pool with high pH means that it consists of soft water which may sound pleasing but actually is the other way round. It is not deemed to be suitable for the swimmers and decreases the effectiveness of the chlorine that you add to the pools for disinfection purposes.
Is it safe to swim in a pool with low alkalinity is haunting your minds, then here are a few ways to gain control over the pH levels:
Pool Chemistry test
As it is said that prevention is better than cure, make it a habit to test the pools at least twice a week to be well informed about the pH levels. Yes, of course, it may consume a little bit of your precious time, but this is advised so that you can keep an eye on the increasing pH level of the pool.
Cleaning it regularly
Cleanliness is next to godliness, we have heard this saying since childhood. This does not only apply to your surroundings and home but for your pool as well. The dirt and unwanted things such as leaves that get collected inside the pools may hamper the pH of the water and give it a hike.
Thus you must ensure that your pools are free from dirt and debris to ensure balanced pH.
Pool Shocking on a regular basis
Usually shocking your pool once a month is quite feasible. But if you want to keep a check on the increasing pH count, you should practice it more often. Especially when you get to see climatic variations, pool shocking can help in restoring the pH levels.
Maintaining proper filtration
Keep a check on the pool filters. Ensure that the filtration system is performing well so that the pH of the water stays balanced and clean.
How to Lower Down the Ph Levels in the Pool?
It is essential to keep the pool water properly balanced, lack of ability to do the same can make you uncomfortable in swimming and may also cause health concerns. Also, it causes damage to the equipment of the pools and incurs a money drain to get things in the right shape.
Pool water that has a high quantity of pH can lower the effectiveness of chlorine. This will further give birth to algae build-up and hazy water. Treating pools with various chemicals also stands as a reason for the increase in pH levels.
High pH level pool water is not recommended and does not stand safe for swimming. Thus arises the need for treating the pool water to lower the pH value.
Read further to get some quick assistance for treating high pH value pool water:
Testing the pH level
For effective treatment of pool water, the primary concern is to examine the pH level of pool water, which lets you know the actual condition of the water. If the pH level lies between 7.2 and 7.6, then it is good enough for you to take a deep dive into your pool.
But if the story is another way round, then you need to take care of the pH content and lower it down to prevent yourself and everyone getting down the pool from the adverse effects that it may bestow.
Treatment of water
Once you get to know that the pH level of the pool water is not adequate, the next thing that comes in line is water treatment. For this, you are required to buy products that can decrease the pH level.
Also, make sure that you wear proper clothing while performing the water treatment task so that the chemicals do not spill on you as it can cause skin irritation.
Wear proper safety gear such as goggles, gloves, safety glasses, etc. to stay at bay from letting the chemical come into contact with your body. Use pool brushes to disperse the chemicals evenly so that the water receives adequate pH treatment.
Retest
Once you are done with the water treatment, you need to take a break and leave it for some time to settle down. Retest the pH level of the water, and if you find it good to go with, you may resume using the pool.
And, if you still find that the pH level is not balanced, you can proceed further to add more products to reduce the pH of pool water.
Role of pH Reducers
There are various products available that can help in reducing the pH levels, but out of them, muriatic acid and sodium bisulfate stand as the most effective ones. These are known as pH reducers but needs to be used with proper care and caution.
Sodium Bisulfate
It is also known as dry acid and comes in a powdered format. It is mild and is safe to use for reducing the pH level in the pools.
Muriatic acid
Muriatic acid is another pH reducer and is commonly known as hydrochloric acid. It is used for reducing the pH levels and also finds major usage in other cleaning activities. It is comparatively stronger than sodium bisulfate.
It is liquid and thus should be used with utmost care and caution so that it doesn’t prove to be harmful to the person using it for the good of swimming pools.
Conclusion
Owning a pool is not enough; taking care of the pool health and monitoring it continuously is also required to make it safe for swimming. The ill-effects of high pH content in the pool cannot be underestimated. So if the pH levels are not ideal, make sure that you find ways to deal with it to ensure safety while swimming.
