A lot of people have questions regarding the pH levels of their pools. The significance of your pool’s pH level stretches from personal health to pool hygiene. In this article, we help you answer some of the questions you have on your mind.
How to raise the pool pH
How to raise the pH of your pool? Do you need to increase your pool’s pH levels? How to raise the pH in a pool is the question we ask ourselves if in our periodic or punctual measurement a significant variation of pH is detected.
In this case, you must immediately use pH boosters or reducers, as appropriate. If the pH is low or acidic, use a pH Booster to raise water ph. If you do not know how to raise the pH of the pool water then we present the products that will solve the problem of how to raise the pool pH.
From now on, how to increase the pool pH will be the easiest problem to solve the summer.
If you need to know how to increase the pH of the pool, we have selected the best products on the market to raise the pool and that the boring task of increasing the pool is a simple task for you. Contact us.
How to lower the pool pH
How do you lower pH pool?
If the pH is high or basic (alkaline), use a pH Reducer. It is very important that this product addition is done gradually and waits a while, usually, a few hours are enough, to re-measure the pH of our pool. The pool filter needs to be in operation for the pH corrector distribution to be done effectively and spread throughout the pool’s water volume.
If we maintain the pH levels of the water in our pool correctly, we can enjoy water in perfect conditions, making the rest of our pool additives such as flocculants, algaecides, and chlorine itself works properly. Therefore, knowing how to lower pH+ pool is an important matter to control.
What are the Ideal pH Levels for Your Pool?
The pH is one of the most important measures and parameters to maintain the water quality of your pool. If you keep the pH at the right levels, in addition to enjoying healthy water you can keep the water in your pool clean and crystal clear.
The pH is the measure of the acidity or basicity of a solution, in this case, the water in our pool. The optimal values recommended by the experts range between 7.2 and 7.6, so we must pay attention and be alert if the average obtained falls outside the indicated range.
If the pH decreases below 7.2 we have acidic water. If this happens, it will cause irritation to the skin, eyes, and mucous membranes, in addition to generating corrosion problems in the pool materials (metal ladders, pumps, valves, and filters).
If on the contrary, the pH value rises above 7.6, the water in our pool becomes basic or alkaline. As was the case with acidic water, alkaline water, in addition to previous symptoms such as skin and eye irritation, would also cause dryness in our skin. Due to the basicity of the water, traces of calcium compounds are generated on the surface of the pool, and consequently, the water is seen in a more turbid and less crystalline form, also reducing the desired sterilizing and disinfectant effect with the addition of chlorine, consequently generating algae problems.
Experts recommend that periodic checks be made to maintain good water quality, as well as to maintain pH levels at levels suitable for bathing. It is advisable to perform a pH measurement at least once a week, acting as explained below if the pH parameters are beyond the ranges indicated.
Importance of the pH of the Pool
Why Does it Rise and Fall?
The ideal pH range for our pool water to be healthy ranges from 7.2 to 7.6, but sometimes when we take the measurement with our pH meter we are surprised that this value has risen or fallen.
The reasons why the pool’s ph rises (or falls) are mixed and varied, but commonly the pH of the pools usually gives high values, that is, basic ph’s:
- A determining factor has to do with the amount of water in the pool. Weather factors such as wind and sun make the water evaporate over time and therefore the pH increases as the amount of water decreases. On the other hand, ultraviolet radiation from the sun increases the dissolution rate of chlorine in water, generating a gradual increase in pH values.
- A second factor is the bathers themselves. The sunscreens, moisturizers, body lotions, hair cells, dead skin, and even electrolytes from sweat make both chlorine and water acidity to be modified. Generally, bathers also cause pH levels to rise.
- Finally, the way to add chlorine to the pool can also change the pH values. The chlorine added in liquid form is nothing more than sodium hypochlorite, that is, bleach. This salt in the form of a solution is a highly alkaline or basic substance and therefore its addition generates significant pH increases. Chlorine added in tablets, on the other hand, includes trichloroisocyanuric acid that acidifies the water, thus reducing the pH of the water. A third modality is a form of granulated chlorine, which is characterized by having a pH close to neutrality (6.7) and the pH levels will be close to 7 therefore.
If for some reason you add more chlorine than you should, you should know how to lower the chlorine of the pool. For this, there are different techniques we will discuss later.
How to keep the pH at optimal values?
Maintaining the pH value at optimal values is of the utmost importance. Failure to do so creates a danger to the health of the users of the pool. The recommended pH values range between 7.2 and 7.6, so a periodic pH measurement is advisable. Broadly speaking, when the pH becomes acidic and falls below 7.2, acidic water can irritate the eyes and skin (it is important to know how to increase the pool). If the pH rises from 7.6 becoming the basic water, there is a loss of effectiveness of the dissolved chlorine and therefore a decrease of the disinfectant power that is pursued.
The pH meter or pH meter is the scientific instrument specially designed for these tasks. In the market, we have different types of meters, such as digital, pocket, and even the test strips, which although they give us semiquantitative values, we must not neglect their effectiveness, simplicity, and ease of use.
Expert recommendations tell us that pH measurements must be made periodically or after special episodes, such as a storm. The rain and the pollution that drags in its precipitation tend to acidify the water and raise the pH.
It is also advisable to measure it after the use of the pool by a large number of bathers since the use of lotions, sun creams, and the bathers’ own sweat can cause the pH to rise and become more basic.
With this, you understand your pool’s pH better. And you can make better decisions to enjoy your pool to the maximum.