Balancing Your Pool Water

Keeping your pool water properly balanced is one of your most important assignments as a pool owner. Many things can throw the water out of balance. Bather load, rain, sun, wind, algae, dust, debris, circulation, even which sanitizers you use. The source of fresh water (well, municipal, etc.) will also affect water balance in a number of ways. Six factors need to be monitored for their effect on water balance: pH, total alkalinity, calcium hardness, total dissolved solids, temperature and cyanuric acid. When all these factors are within acceptable ranges, it is unlikely that your water will cause corrosion or scale deposits. Correctly balanced water also provides maximum bather comfort.

Understanding pH is one of the most important aspects of pool care. Low pH can lead to skin irritation and corrosion of equipment. High pH can result in cloudy water and contribute to scale formation. More importantly, the incorrect pH will reduce the effectiveness of the chlorine in your swimming pool. The ideal range is between 7.2 and 7.6