When chlorine levels are too high, the water's pH will start to decrease, which can eventually lead to corrosion. However, liquid chlorine has a pH of 13 and can cause the water's pH to increase.
Chlorine & pH Level in Pool
For the chlorine to work properly you will want to maintain your pool's pH level between 7.4 to 7.6. If the pool's pH level is 8 or higher it is important to lower the pH along with the chlorine. High levels of pH and chlorine can damage the pool, the filtering system and even the swimsuit.
You should also look at your pH levels to see if you need to add in pH, as chlorine reduces the amount of pH in water. Diluting your pool water is another option, but it takes time. Refilling your pool can also throw off your pH, alkalinity, calcium hardness, and other chemical levels.
Lowering a pool's pH naturally can be done in four ways: installing a distilled water system to pump in water, cleaning your pool on a regular basis, leaving it alone, and letting the pH level come down on its own as minerals build-up, or installing a pool heater.
Also known as “dry acid”, sodium bisulfate is a fine powder commonly used to lower the pH in pools. Sodium bisulfate is typically preferred over muriatic acid due to its safer use and ease of storage. However, as it is a powder, you should avoid using it on very windy days. The pH level of sodium bisulfate is 1.2-1.3.
To bring down pH, use a made-for-pools chemical additive called pH reducer (or pH minus). The main active ingredients in pH reducers are either muriatic acid or sodium bisulfate (also called dry acid). Reducers are readily available at pool supply stores, home improvement centers and online.
Effects of a High pH Level
You'll hear complaints about stinging eyes, dry skin, and sticky feeling from the swimmers. You'll notice that the pool has become hazy or cloudy which isn't very appealing to those who want to swim. Chlorine becomes less effective at higher pH levels.
What Does Baking Soda Do For a Pool? Baking soda, also known as sodium bicarbonate is naturally alkaline, with a pH of 8. When you add baking soda to your pool water, you will raise both the pH and the alkalinity, improving stability and clarity.
Depending on what PH you wish to achieve, adding a little baking soda will simply not affect the PH level of your pool, thereby causing it to remain almost the same way (acidic). However, adding too much baking soda might also raise the PH level of your pool to an undesired stage (alkaline).
There are a couple of ways you can lower pH in water. If you're drinking a glass of water, add a few drops of lemon juice. The acidity will lower the pH naturally. You could also install an acid injection system to your water supply to lower the pH of your drinking water.
However, liquid chlorine has a pH of 13 and can cause the water's pH to increase.
Using trichlor raises CYA by 6 ppm for each 10 ppm of FC. And because it is acidic, it lowers pH and alkalinity.
First, as pH goes up, the ability of free chlorine to kill germs decreases, especially if pH is >8.0. Second, as pH goes down, especially if pH is <7.0, the ability of free chlorine to kill germs increases but the pool or hot tub/spa pipes are more likely to corrode or break down.
Start with pH. Inexperienced pool owners often think that all you have to do is shock your swimming pool with chlorine, but the truth is that pH is the key. If your pH is not balanced, any other chemicals that you add will be ineffective. The ideal pH is between 7.4 and 7.6.
Here are common causes of an alkaline pool: Algae can raise the pH. Adding strong liquid chlorine, calcium or lithium hypochlorite chlorine may raise it. Suddenly heating the water, whether from a pool heater or a string of sunny days, could up the pH.
On the other end of the spectrum, once your pH level reaches the high scale, your pool chlorine is rendered basically ineffective and you'll end up with a lot of chloramines in your pool. Finally, we have the ideal level of pH 7.4, which places our pool chlorine effectivity at slightly above 50%.
While it's important to shock your pool on a regular basis, chlorine-based pool shocks are highly alkaline and will raise pH and therefore alkalinity. So you may notice higher pH and total alkalinity after shocking your water.
Wait for the soda to dissolve
You will need to wait 6 hours to let the baking soda thoroughly dissolve into the pool water.
Shocking the pool will lower the pH, whether you use chlorine-based shock (calcium hypochlorite), or the non-chlorine kind (potassium peroxymonosulfate).
Hydrogen peroxide is used to lower the pool's pH levels. It also reacts with chlorine to produce air and water, evidenced by bubbles forming in the water.
Rainfall dilutes pool chemistry levels and lowers the readings for pH, alkalinity, hardness, stabilizer, and chlorine. Rainfall does not contain chlorine. As well, rainfall brings with it small amounts of contaminants that are washed into the pool.
The fluctuation of the pH of the pool water can have many causes, including: Sunlight accelerates the dissolution of chlorine, increasing the pH. Wind favours the evaporation of the water, which also increases the pH.
It will slightly raise your pH, so make sure you adjust pH while using it. As the name implies, it will also raise your calcium hardness levels in your pool slightly.
However, because chlorine tablets lower pH, it means that your water will not need as much acid to keep the water balanced. This also means that the amount of acid you will need to add to your pool will be reduced. This is one reason why chlorine tablets are ideal if you are going away for a period of time.