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The two most important things to remember about the health of your pool are that it must be sanitized and it must be balanced. The best way to sanitize your pool is with chlorine. Keeping your pool balanced, which means keeping the five basic pool water components (pH, total alkalinity, calcium hardness, total dissolved solids and stabilizer) within their proper ranges, helps your sanitizer work more effectively and protects your pool's finish and equipment.
Total Alkalinity: In simple terms, total alkalinity refers to how much alkaline is in the water. But you can't fully know the importance of total alkalinity without referring to the pH, because the two go hand in hand. High alkaline water leads to high pH. Low alkaline water leads to low pH. For now, just remember that most swimming pools should have an alkalinity reading of around 100 ppm.
pH: Keeping your pH level within it's proper range is not only important for swimmer comfort, it's also important for keeping your equipment and pool finish in good condition. pH refers to the acidity or baseness of your pool water. All you need to remember is that a proper pH level is around 7.4 to 7.6 on a pH test kit's numeric scale. 0 to 7 reflects a low or acidic pH, 8 to 14 means the pool has a high pH level. Low pH readings mean your chlorine will dissipate quickly. High pH levels make chlorine inactive. And that means you're using more chlorine than you really need and algae may still form.
Calcium Hardness: Anyone who has ever washed their hair in hard water knows that hard water doesn't do much for getting up a good lather. But in your pool, just the right amount of calcium is essential. Too little and your plaster can erode. Too much and your water could become cloudy, scale and stains could form. 200 to 400 ppm is the general range for calcium hardness, while 300 ppm is ideal for the average pool.
Stabilizer: Stabilizer is to chlorine like your home's insulation is to keeping in hot or cold air - it helps retain your chlorine longer just as insulation helps retain heat or air conditioning. Stabilizer is even added to some chlorine compounds to protect them from the effects of sunlight. When your stabilizer level is low, you'll use a lot more chlorine. When it's too high, you may need to dilute your pool water to bring it back into the 40 to 70 ppm ideal range.
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS): Like calcium, there are many other dissolved elements in pool water. Unless it's distilled, all water contains dissolved minerals. As pool water evaporates, minerals remain behind and become concentrated. The more concentrated these minerals become, the harder it is for chemical additives to work, algae is more prevalent, and stains can form. If you have 3000 ppm or more total dissolved solids (TDS), you may need to drain some water and add fresh water.
More Useful Chemical Descriptions
Alternative Sanitizers: Alternative sanitizers can help eliminate the stinging eyes, skin irritation and strong odors associated with traditional sanitizers. Check out our selection of purifiers, chlorine generators, ozone generators, and chlorine-free chemicals for crystal clear water and more enjoyable swimming!
Ozone Generators: Ozone works as an oxidizer, breaking down or altering nonliving bather wastes or organics such as body oils, suntan lotions, cosmetics and amines, such as urine and prespiration. Ozone also degrades dead algae and bacteria. [Read complete article on Ozone Generators]
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