Water Testing Kit & Swimming Pool Chemistry

Swimming Pool Care
You can test your swimming pool water like an expert using a good pool water testing kit whether you have an above ground, inground, or salt water swimming pool. Great weekly pool maintenance tips and instructions to reduce your
pool maintenance cost.
By using a good pool water testing kit for basic pool care, you'll be able to balance your swimming pool, Hot Tub, and spa water chemicals.
Having a good kit is of the utmost importance. Proper pool water testing and swimming pool care is the best insurance against swimming pool algae and other pool problems.Your water tests should be done at least once per week, maybe even more if you have a large bather load or after a heavy rain. You should test your pool water chemistry in the early evening and after your backwash your filter.
If you have an interesting story or question about your pool water testing kit, pool chemistry, or have any swimming pool maintenance tips you can go here to submit your story.
Swimming Pool Water ChemistryGood pool water chemistry should include a good water testing kit and the proper levels of: - Pool Chlorine
- Chloramines (Combined Chlorine)
- pH
- Total Alkalinity (TA)
- Calcium Hardness
- Total Dissolved Solids (TDS)
and - Cyanuric Acid (CYA)
Swimming pool chlorine
is the sanitizer of the pool and should be kept between 1.5-3.5ppm. Your
pH
should be between 7.6-7.8, not 7.2. You will use too much pool acid to keep it at that level.
Total pool alkalinity (TA)
is between 80-100,
calcium hardness
between 150-250, and cyanuric acid between 20-40ppm. CYA is a stabilizer for your chlorine and is used for mostly outdoor swimming pools although I've heard that indoor pools may benefit from cyanuric acid use. An excellent source for CYA are
chlorine tablets.
Simply place them in your chlorine tablet floater or chemical feeder. A good
water testing kit
will have a CYA reading. Careful reading should be taken for CYA as sudden drops or increases will cause your chlorine to lose its effectiveness. Most CYA tests are done by mixing melamine solutions and pool water which causes the water to become cloudy. A black dot on the bottom of the testing tube will disappear when a mixing stir or rod is added. You then measure this against a graduated scale to find the exact amount of your CYA. You'll also need to keep up on your
residual chlorine demand
testing. You can learn how, when, where, and what of the best
pool tips
and swimming pool care for these readings from the above links. The maximum you should allow for TDS is 1,500ppm. There is really nothing that can be done to lower your TDS short of draining some or all of the pool water and starting over again. You cannot use a normal water testing kit to test for TDS, you'll need to take your water into your local pool store. Metals in your swimming pool water is the copper, iron, magnesium, etc...that, at higher levels, can cause the water to turn brown or green and stain the pool walls. Copper can also turn a blond-headed little princess into a little green-headed princess. And you thought it was the high chlorine, didn't you? Come on now. You know who you are. The maximum level for copper should be 1.0ppm and iron is 0.3ppm. Try to keep those readings under that and you should be fine. Well-water is one of the worst places for copper and iron to hide. If you do have a high levels of metals in your well-water, you may want to look into chelating agents. This agent binds up the iron and copper and prevents it from discoloring the pool and your little ones with blond hair. Having a good water testing kit is critical in keeping your swimming pool in great shape all season long.
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