BALANCED POOL WATER

Think of the perfect swimming pool.  What pops in your head?  Sparkling water, happy swimmers, easy maintenance, etc.  If you take the proper steps to sanitize and balance your pool water, it will be free of algae, free of disease causing pathogens and swimmers will not complain about red eyes or chlorine smell.  Below, you will find a description about the certain tests that should be performed on your swimming pool routinely. 

1.  Free Chlorine is regularly dispersed into the pool water and should be tested weekly for proper disinfectants.  Routine super chlorination (shock treatments) kills harmful microorganisms that can cause health-related problems, such as gastroenteritis, Legionnaires disease, ear infections and athlete’s foot.  Keeping a proper chlorine level in the pool is what keeps your pool clear and free of algae.  Learning how to properly test your water will allow you to identify the chlorine residual and demand in pool water.  More frequent testing is needed if there is heavy swimmer use.  You need to maintain a free chlorine level of at least 3 ppm.

There are three types of tests you can do to perform a chlorine test at home.  A. Test Strips (Poolmart recommended) - tests for free available chorine B. DPD - tests for both free available chlorine and total chlorine C. OTO - tests only for total chlorine.  If the water is properly sanitized, free and total chlorine will be the same.  If contaminates are present, total will be higher. Combined Chlorine = Total Chlorine minus Free Chlorine (total chlorine is NOT a sanitizing chlorine).

 2.  pH and Alkalinity should also be tested regularly.  These levels fluctuate throughout the summer.  Heavy bather loads, chemicals, and weather can all affect pH and Alkalinity levels.  If these levels are not in proper balance, it will cause discomfort to swimmers and corrosion to the pool and its equipment.

pH and Alkalinity are closely related.  If you adjust alkalinity, you will adjust the pH with it.  Alkalinity acts as a buffer for the pH,

helping to stabilize it so that the pH does not continually going up or down.  Always adjust the Alkalinity first, then the pH.  Many

references suggest different Alkalinity ranges for your pool water, the national average is 80 - 120 ppm.  In Southeastern Michigan, Alkalinity is very aggressive and should be maintained between 150 - 250 ppm.  

Chlorine's ability to destroy bacteria is greatly effected by the pH; that is why the ideal range for pH is between 7.4 and 7.6.

3.  Calcium Hardness is important for the pool.  It protects a liner from shrinking, plaster from etching, and corrosion of the pool.  

There is no reason you would need a home kit to test Calcium Hardness.  Typically, it is only necessary to test the Calcium Hardness in the beginning of the season and the end before you close up your pool.  The Calcium Hardness does not fluctuate like pH, Alkalinity, and Chlorine.

4.  Cyanuric Acid (CYA) is a pool enhancer.  It is not necessary to have it in the pool, but it will sure save you a lot of money in the long run on chlorine consumption.  Stabilizer or UV Shield is sunscreen for the pool water.  When the sun is beating down on your pool, Stabilizer protects the chlorine from UV rays consuming the free sanitizing chlorine.

Check your pool with your Aquachek* Chlorine test strips at least twice a week.  Also, it is recommended that you bring your water into Poolmart & Spas once a month during the summer for a FREE complete water analysis.

* Test Strips bottles will say the correct Alkalinity level is 80 -120. This is an average of every region. The correct reading for Southeastern Michigan is 150 -250. The correct level should read High and Very High on your test strips bottle.

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5738 South Main Street
Clarkston, Michigan 48346
phone: (248) 625-0729 fax: (248) 625-7079
e-mail: poolmartinfo@poolmartspas.com