BEAT THE HEAT SERIES: WATER CHEMISTRY 101

Pool chemistry for beginners

Ensuring your pool water is clean doesn't automatically guarantee it's safe for swimming. Hidden contaminants may lurk, undetectable to the naked eye, and imbalanced pool chemistry can lead to harmful bacteria jeopardizing the health of you and your loved ones.

Balancing the elements is crucial, and you don't need to be a chemist to achieve it. We're here to support all pool chemistry beginners, guiding you on how to take control of your DIY pool maintenance effectively.

However, pool chemistry is just one piece of the puzzle for maintaining a healthy pool. Sanitization, filtration, and pool chemistry are interconnected, each element working harmoniously and relying on one another to ensure your pool remains pristine and safe.

The role of sanitization

Before delving into the intricacies of balancing your pool chemicals, let's first understand why achieving balance is crucial. When key water attributes such as pH, alkalinity, and calcium hardness are misaligned, the effectiveness of sanitization products becomes severely compromised, rendering them unable to maintain a healthy pool environment.

Consider all the elements that find their way into your pool – twigs and dirt blown in by the wind, birds taking a dip or leaving unwanted droppings, and swimmers leaving behind body oils, dead skin, sweat, and various bodily residues. Sanitizers act as powerful allies in preventing these contaminants from transforming your pristine pool into an unpleasant swamp, effectively fending off harmful bacteria and algae that could jeopardize the water's health.

There are a few different options you can use for your pool sanitizer, depending on the type of pool you have and your own personal preferences.

Chlorine 

Undoubtedly, the most prevalent and cost-effective sanitizer for your pool is chlorine. Available in three forms – liquid, granular, or tablets – chlorine efficiently sanitizes your pool by penetrating contaminant molecules and eradicating them from within.

Bromine  

If you seek an alternative to chlorine and wish to steer clear of its strong smell, bromine is the ideal choice. This effective sanitizer ionizes pollutants, breaking down chemical bonds. While not as potent as chlorine, bromine exhibits longer-lasting activity.

Pool salt

For saltwater pools, pool salt is all you require. This salt passes through a chlorinator, where it is utilized to generate chlorine. Hence, in saltwater pools, the need for a separate chlorine product is eliminated, as the chlorinator continuously produces the sanitizer. Learn more about saltwater pools and what kind of salt to add by visiting your local Poolwerx.

Minerals

Mineral systems in pools, as the name implies, feature additional minerals like magnesium chloride, sodium chloride, and potassium chloride. These minerals collaborate to not only maintain your pool's cleanliness but also offer a variety of health and skin benefits. To support the mineral system effectively, a small amount of chlorine is recommended.

How to balance pool chemistry

Having understood the significance of pool sanitization, let's proceed with the steps to ensure its effective implementation.

For a visually stunning pool that also guarantees safe swimming, achieving balanced water conditions is paramount. This entails maintaining ideal levels of PH, alkalinity, and calcium hardness.

To achieve this balance, it's beneficial to grasp the role played by these pool chemicals in your quest for a healthy pool. Here's what you need to know.

PH levels

pH levels gauge the acidity of your pool water. A lower pH reading indicates acidity, leading to potential etchings on pool surfaces and erosion of metal fixtures. Conversely, a high pH reading indicates a basic environment with more hydroxide ions than hydrogen ions, potentially causing scaling on the pool surface and plumbing. Since various factors like rain, dirt, and swimmers can influence these levels, it's crucial to stay vigilant and maintain them within the ideal range. For recommendation on pH range and pool levels, your local Poolwerx can advise you on what to use to achieve this.

Alkalinity

Alkalinity serves as a vital buffer, effectively regulating factors that could disrupt your pH levels. Therefore, it is advisable to focus on adjusting alkalinity levels first before fine-tuning your pH. Based on whether your alkalinity is low or high, using a quality balancer or pool acid is recommended. For personalized guidance on choosing the right product, don't hesitate to consult with your local Poolwerx associate. They will be more than happy to assist you.

Calcium hardness

We all know calcium’s important for our body, but what about calcium hardness in our pool?

Calcium in our pools works to keep your pool water clean and keeps the surface of your pool in good shape. The starting calcium hardness levels can depend on where you get your water from, for example water from a spigot will have less minerals (and calcium) than well water. Low calcium hardness can make your pool water feel slimy and can even corrode the surface of your pool.

Pool chemistry testing

The key to identifying your pool chemistry levels is in pool water testing. This will let you know the best pool chemicals to use.

While you can conduct your own water tests at home, if you have any concerns about the health of your pool water or feel that your chemicals may be out of balance, it’s best to get your water professionally tested – especially if it’s cloudy or green.

You can get your pool water tested for free at your local Poolwerx. Following the test, our experts can advise you on the best products to help you get your pool chemistry perfectly balanced.