Swimming Pool School: Pool Chemistry 101 (for dummies)

02 Sep Swimming Pool School: Pool Chemistry 101 (for dummies)

Basic Pool Chemistry 101

from Swim University

Swimming pool chemistry can be a mystery to even the most seasoned swimming pool professionals.  Things like chlorine demand, phosphate levels, and bio film can make the hair of experienced swimming pool professionals stand on end.  It is no wonder then that the average swimming pool owner sometimes can get into trouble keeping their swimming pool water balanced.  This post from Matt Giovanisci from Swim University explains the most basic forms of swimming pool chemistry, and gives a no nonsense guide to keeping the Langlier Index in balance.

Here is an excerpt from the post:

1. Water Balance

Your pool water is delicate, and in order to reach perfect pool harmony, it must be balanced.

Balancing your pool means keeping the pH of the water between 7.4 and 7.6, which is slightly above neutral on the pH scale.

There are 3 main ingredients to keeping this balanced: pH, alkalinity and calcium hardness.

pH
pool-phProper pH Level: 7.4 to 7.6

pH alone is unstable. Rainwater, swimmers, and just about anything that enters the water can affect the pH level. When pH is low, it means your water is acidic, and when it’s high, you water is basic.

To give you an idea of how pH works, our tears are pH neutral. If they had a low pH, it would burn when we cried. And if the pH was high, it would dry out our eyes.

Always keep a good supply of pH Increaser on hand because this reading can change frequently.

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