Pool Chemicals
The key to any pool being its most clean, clear, and non-irritating is proper chemical balance. Having a pool correctly balanced is crucial for an enjoyable swim, as an unbalanced pool leads to discomfort such as itchy eyes and skin, as well as cloudy water. When a pool is balanced the range of pH, alkalinity, water hardness, trace metals, and chlorine are each within their correct scale.
pH is the measure of how acidic or basic your pool water is. Acidic water has a low pH and basic water has a high pH. The pH scale used throughout the world to measure how acidic or basic a substance is ranges from 0 to 14. Pool water should range between 7.2 and 7.6 for maximum skin and eye comfort.
Alkalinity on its own refers to the total concentration amount of chemicals in your pool water. Alkalinity effects how sensitive your pH levels are to change and visible water quality. A low alkalinity causes unstable pH, while high alkalinity increases the change for cloudy water. Alkalinity should range between 125-150ppm (parts per million).
Water hardness refers to how much dissolved calcium is in your pool water. Improper hardness causes scaling and surface buildup on the sides and edges of your pool. Hardness levels differ depending on what type of pool surface you have. 200-250 is acceptable for plaster pools, while 175-225 is desired for vinyl, fiberglass, and painted pools.
Trace metal amounts in your pool water stem from how your pool has been filled. Ground water, filtered water, city water, etc all have a different inert amount of trace metals. There is no range needed for metals, as it is only when there is a large buildup of either iron, copper and manganese does this become a problem.
Chlorine is the water cleaner for a pool. Chlorine kills off and sanitizes your pool water while keeping the water crystal clear. Chlorine levels should ideally be between 1 and 3 ppm.