Wanting to keep your pool surfaces away from damage? We will shed light on why it is related to high calcium and show you how to soften pool water.
Every pool owner knows how balancing the water chemistry is essential. In doing so, you must also pay attention to the hardness of your pool.
Hardness is the extent of calcium and magnesium in pool water. When water is overly hard, white scale forms on the pool surface. On the other hand, when too soft, facilities rust. Overall, unbalanced levels cause real harm eventually when not adjusted.
In this article, we’ll show you how to soften pool water.
Contents
Facts About Water Chemistry (Softness Vs Hardness)
Balance.
High calcium in the water is usually the eventual outcome of your pool’s chemical disproportion. When water’s pH, chlorine levels, and complete alkalinity are out of whack, calcium level heightens.
Level.
The correct hardness of water relies upon the kind of pool you have. Vinyl or fiberglass surface must have a scope of 175 parts per million (ppm) – 225 ppm, while a pool made of concrete must have a level kept inside 200 ppm – 275 ppm.
Effects.
While hard water causes scaling, overly soft one also brings harm as it can be corrosive. It can separate concrete and disintegrate any metal parts reached by the pool water. Everything adds up to expensive fixes if not adjusted and balanced right away.
How To Soften Pool Water?
1. Test
In knowing how to soften pool water naturally, you need to make sure that there’s a real need to lower hardness in the pool. Usually, the primary sign is cloudy water. Utilize a test strip 18 inches underneath the water.
Hold it until the shade changes and remove to contrast the outcomes and the ideal degrees of ppm, as referenced previously.
Note that it is prescribed to screen calcium levels every 1-3 months.
2. Drain
In spaces with tremendously hard water, it is suitable to sink a part of the water by utilizing a hose or siphon. Keep in mind not to eradicate the water, except if you are doing significant pool changes.
3. Fill
The best way to soften pool water is to fill softened water into a region of your pool that will cut down the calcium hardness after draining. You have to be careful, however, not to overfill as it can once again cause an imbalance in your water chemistry.
4. Add hardness reducer
Learning how to soften chlorine pool water is easy as long as you follow the item description and measure the suggested amount. Different softeners have their own particular manufacturer guidelines to be followed.
Also, try not to include the entire solution at one space over the pool. Rather, you need to add this gradually by filling a pail and pouring the treatment from the container.
Afterward, you can turn the filter on for 24 hours.
5. Maintain balanced water chemistry
Test the pH, chlorine, and alkalinity, five days after the treatment. Changes in any of these can relentlessly disrupt the ideal calcium level hardness.
The following are the recommended levels to keep in mind:
- pH level at 7.2 – 7.4 (You can add borax to increase these levels)
- Chlorine at 1-3 ppm
- Alkalinity level at 80 – 120 ppm (Put sodium bicarbonate if you want to raise it)
6. Retest
Seven days following the above steps, see if the recommended levels are attained. If not, repeat the steps.
7. If none of these doesn’t seem to work, you can use muriatic acid. It won’t lessen the calcium hardness, yet it will raise the intensity, which can help in taking the water back to being adjusted.
8. Explore other methods
Chelation is a method for molding hardness-causing particles in water, so they don’t join with other chemicals in the pool to form scale. This procedure has been utilized in treating water on business for quite a few years; however, it has just become accessible for household-use recently.
The main contrast between the earlier process mentioned and chelation is that the last procedure doesn’t expel hardness particles from water, but merely alters their charge state for them to become less responsive with other compounds. As such, this procedure is more appropriately described as “water conditioners” instead of softeners.
Conclusion
Now, you have just realized why keeping balanced water chemistry is essential. One component influences the other, and everything is interrelated.
In the same way, you’ve found how to soften pool water quickly to keep your hardware and pool surfaces away from harm.
Mindfulness is unquestionably an absolute necessity in ensuring your pool’s optimal condition. The more proactive you are at the beginning, the more you will save yourself from further inconvenience and costs. As long as you keep in mind the guidelines above, you’ll have the power and control to pick the correct item for what you precisely need.
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