There are a couple of key essentials for safe, sparkling water, and it all starts with the correct pH level in your pool. The pH affects three areas of swimming pools:

1. Swimmer comfort

The pH of blood is around 7.5, and blood comes closest to the surface of the human body in your eyes. So, if you swim in water that is too far away from 7.5, guess what, you’ll get sore eyes! Lots of people think it’s the chlorine that causes red eyes, but chances are, it’s because the pH level is incorrect. That’s why we want a pH between 7.4 – 7.6!

2. Chlorine effectiveness

How well chlorine works in water, depends on what the pH level is. At a pH of 8.0, chlorine is only 20% effective! That means green and cloudy water and dangerous bacteria. The higher the pH, the less effective chlorine is. At a pH between 7.4 – 7.6, chlorine works best.

3. Water condition

When the pH level is too high (above 7.8), water becomes more alkali. What this means for your pool is the water can hold fewer chemicals in solution, and starts to turn them into solids. This is called precipitation. Your water can turn cloudy, and you will start getting calcium build ups on the floor and wall of your pool. You will also need to clean your filter more often. The pool floor and walls can also become rough and scaly.

When the pH is too low (below 7.0), it becomes acidic. This makes the water corrosive, and metal parts in and around the pool can rust and it can actually damage the interior of your swimming pool. For a vinyl lined pool it can cause the liner to become wrinkly and unsightly. OK, so we’ve seen just how important maintaining a pH between 7.4 – 7.6 really is. So how do we keep it there? Well, that’s where water balance comes in. Water balance describes the condition water is in, in relation to maintaining a correct pH level. The pH of water will always want to change. Whenever we add chemicals to the pool, they all can affect the pH. Bathers can also affect it just by suntan lotions etc. Wind-borne debris can also affect the pH. Correct water balance helps us to slow pH change.

There are 3 factors that affect water balance.

pH. We’ve already seen how important this is, and that it needs to be kept between 7.4 – 7.6. We either use Filtrite pH Up or Filtrite pH Down to adjust it.

Total Alkalinity Sometimes this is abbreviated to TA. TA refers to the amount of dissolved alkali material in the pool water. It is measured in parts per million (PPM). TA helps absorb pH movement. It’s like blotting paper in your pool, and helps to slow pH movement. Let’s say we had a pool with a TA of 40 (that’s very low). If we added some pH down, the pH would drop significantly. However, let’s say the TA was 150. The pH would not fall as much as if the TA was low. TA is increased by adding Filtrite pH Buffer to your pool. TA is usually kept between 120 -150 ppm.

Calcium Hardness Calcium hardness is a measurement of dissolved calcium in the water. Water will hold a certain amount of dissolved material in solution. If there isn’t enough, the water will actually go looking for it and become ‘hungry’. It can damage the pool interior, even eating into concrete pools! If the calcium hardness level is too high, the water will keep precipitating material, causing cloudy water and rough calcium build ups on the wall and floor. The calcium hardness level varies throughout Australiwa. In ‘soft’ water areas it is very low, such as Melbourne. In ‘hard’ water areas it is very high, such as Northern Australia.

We can increase calcium levels by using Filtrite Hardness Increaser, and decrease them by using Filtrite Calcium Decreaser. Calcium hardness is usually kept between 100 and 200 ppm. Phew! If that all sounds a bit complicated, don’t worry. What most pool owners do is take a sample of their pool water into their local Clark Rubber store every couple of weeks and get their water tested. Our professional staff can analyse your pool water and give you a print out that tells you what you need to do and how much chemicals you need to add.

The chemicals you use to adjust water balance are:

* Remember: Never add chemicals directly to the pool. Always premix in a bucket of water and distribute evenly throughout the pool. Never mix chemicals together and always add the chemical to the bucket of water, not the other way around!