Out of balance water chemistry can not only make swimming uncomfortable but it can also damage the pool walls, pool decks, and pool equipment as well as other surfaces around your swimming pool.
The most important levels to keep your swimming pool chemistry balanced are
Total Alkalinity: 80 – 120 ppm
pH: 7.2 -7.8
Total Hardness: 200 – 400 ppm
It’s important to test and use adjustment chemicals in this order. Check out our Water Balancing Guide for Pools here for more detailed steps.
Sanitizers only work effectively when water is balanced, as imbalances in chemistry reduce chlorine’s efficiency.
TA represents the number of alkaline substances in the water, and every pool needs a healthy amount of alkaline.
Why? Because alkaline stabilizes pH. When the Total Alkalinity is properly adjusted, the pH fluctuates less.
pH measures the amount of acid or base in pool water, on a scale from 1.0 – 14.0, where 0 – 7.0 covers the acidic range; water below a pH of 7.2 and cause eyes to sting and damage pool lines and equipment.
pH from 7.0 – 14 covers the basic range, pH higher than 7.8 reduces chlorine’s effectiveness and can cause cloudy water, or even skin rash and scale on pool equipment.
Expert Advice: Always balance in this order: Total Alkalinity, pH then Total Hardness. Once your pool water is balanced, ensure it stays that way – it puts you on the defense against common pool problems from cloudy water to algae, and extends the life of your pool.
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