Pool Water Chemistry 101 – About pH, Alkalinity and Chlorine



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13 November 20
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Basic understanding of how to maintain properly balanced swimming pool water chemistry is critical to maintaining a pool that is healthy and safe.  Knowing the factors that contribute to keeping your swimming pool water in balance is important. Here we talk about pH, Alkalinity and Chlorine.

pH is the most important factor in water balance and user comfort.  It is essentially a unit of measure that describes the level of acidity in the swimming pool water. The ideal range for pH in your swimming pool water is about 7.4 which is considered a neutral range, which means non-acidic, or basic. For chemistry buffs, pH stands for ‘potens hydrogen’, Latin for the “power of the hydrogen ion” as pH is a measurement of the hydrogen ion concentration in water. Understanding the chemistry of pH in greater detail can be found in the National Swimming Pool Foundation’s Pool & Spa Operator Handbook.

Controlling and maintaining the proper amount of Total Alkalinity in your swimming pool water is important to controlling pH balance. If your swimming pool water’s alkalinity is too basic or has a high pH, it will negatively effect your ability to change pH.

There are a number of ways to sanitize your swimming pool, however, chlorine is the most commonly used swimming pool chemical. It destroys bacteria and solid waste like dirt that enters your swimming pool.  Maintaining proper levels of chlorine in your swimming pool water can be dispensed, monitored and controlled by an automated swimming pool controller such as those manufactured by IPS Controllers.