Are pool chemicals necessary?

To maintain a safe and healthy swimming pool, you need to keep your pool chemicals at the following levels: pH: 7.4 to 7.6. Calcium Hardness: 175 to 225 ppm and 225 to 275 ppm for plaster pools. For Chlorine or Salt Water Pools: 1 to 3 ppm (I recommend you keep it at 3 ppm)

What do I need to balance my pool?

7 Steps to Balance Pool Water

1. Test and Adjust Total Alkalinity. Total Alkalinity (TA) is the first thing you should balance in your pool water.
2. Test and Adjust pH.
3. Measure and Adjust Calcium Hardness.
4. Add Sanitizer to Your Water.
5. Check and Adjust Cyanuric Acid.
6. Shock Your Swimming Pool.

How often do you need to balance pool chemicals?

Therefore, you should be testing your pool water’s chlorine and pH levels every two weeks. Maintaining proper water chemistry will reduce the amount of work needed when you’re ready to start swimming again.

How do you balance water in a new pool?

Tips for Adding Start-Up Pool Chemicals Run filter pump while adding chemicals to circulate. Re-test the pool water after 8 hours of filter run time. Add chlorine shock when the sun is not directly overhead. Add algaecides last, after chlorine level drops below 3 ppm.

Can you swim in an unbalanced pool?

Unbalanced pool water like that is pretty gross to swim in and it can damage the pool itself, leaving stains on the pool’s surfaces or causing corrosion in the plumbing, as well as to any ladders, handrails, or pumps.

How often should I put chlorine in the pool?

Depending on your chemical needs, you probably need to add chlorine shock every two weeks. The pools that I’ve worked on, average backyard pools in Oklahoma that use a floater; 3 tabs every week on the same day. Four tabs when the outside temperature stays above 80 overnight all week.

What chemicals do you need to balance your pool chlorine?

The pH level might be the second most important chemical to balance because it also directly affects how well the chlorine works. If it’s too low, the chlorine will work well, but the water becomes corrosive, damaging equipment.

Should a pool pump circulate before adding chemicals?

Your pump should be circulating before you add any chemicals to ensure proper integration into the pool water. Keep in mind that it’s not safe to add more chemicals than recommended at one time. If your water test shows you need more than the recommended level, you’ll need to add the chemicals in stages.

What are pool chemical levels and why are they important?

Pool chemical levels can be crucial to the health of swimmers, as well as the health of the pool. Unsanitary water, stains and corrosion are common in pools with consistently unbalanced pool water. To avoid these problems, test and balance your pool water regularly, and enjoy your pool with less mess, and less stress!

How does temperature affect pool chemicals?

The temperature of pool water will influence the effectiveness of pool chemicals. At higher temperatures, the water and chemicals are more active, so you may need to use fewer chemicals to balance the water. And at lower temperatures, you may need to add more chemicals to balance the water.