Pool maintenance is key to keeping your swimming pool clean, safe, and ready to be enjoyed by you and your family. Along with routinely ridding your pool of leaves, branches, and other kinds of debris, proper pool cleaning requires testing and balancing the water. If the alkalinity or pH levels are too low, or if the levels of calcium hardness are too high, complications can arise. To keep your pool safe for swimming all year round, test and balance your pool water.

5 Steps to Test & Balance Your Pool

1. Determine the Volume of Water in Your Pool

First, determine the volume of water in your pool. To do so, simply calculate the pool’s length multiplied by its width, depth, and a specific multiplier. This will help you approximate how many gallons of water are in your swimming pool. If your pool is shaped like a rectangle, the multiplier will be 7.5; if your pool is shaped like a circle, multiply by 5.9.

2. Turn on Your Pool Pump

Next, turn on your pool’s pump. It is essential that the pump is in operation while you add the cleaning chemicals so that they can completely circulate throughout the water. To efficiently restore the amount of chlorine in your pool, deposit one chemical at a time.

3. Test the Total Alkalinity

To assess the total alkalinity of your pool, use a test kit to take a water sample from 12-18 inches below the surface. Ideally, the total alkalinity should range between 80-120 ppm. If the reading is low, add an alkalinity increaser. If the measurement is high, decrease the alkalinity with sodium bisulfate.

4. Test the Pool pH

Practicing proper pool maintenance also requires testing the water’s pH. Using a pH scale, aim for a reading between 7.4-7.6. If your pool’s pH level is low, add sodium carbonate. If the reading is high, add sodium bisulfate to the water supply.

5. Test the Calcium Hardness

Last of all, test the water hardness in your swimming pool. It is important that a pool’s calcium hardness range between 200-400 ppm, as this measurement determines the presence of minerals in your water. Should the water hardness be deficient, add calcium chloride to the pool. If the calcium hardness is too high, more drastic measures of pool maintenance may be required, such as draining the pool.

 

Located in Honolulu, HI, M & M Pool Services is dedicated to serving residents throughout Honolulu and Oahu with experience and expertise. Family-owned and locally operated, their skilled staff is committed to providing their clients with reliable pool repairs, pool renovations, and 24/7 emergency services. Call (808) 375-6816 to schedule your next pool service and visit them online for a full list of their premium pool maintenance services.