Aqua Technics Pools – What the ph is pH?

Part of owning a swimming pool means knowing how to take care of the chemicals in your pool water. Maintaining your pool within a healthy, balanced chemical range will help to keep your water clean and safe for swimmers.

pH level is the measure of how acidic or alkaline the water in your pool is. Low levels down to pH1 means your pool water is acidic, while higher values up to pH 14 are alkaline. At Aqua Technics we recommend you should maintain an optimal pH range between 7.2 – 7.6.

If pool pH is too low or too high, you’re in danger of eroding the pool surface, damaging equipment, pool surrounds and risking harm to swimmers such as itchy skin and red eyes. From a long term perspective, consistently low or high pH can reduce your pool’s lifespan or increase the need for regular repairs and renovations.
The good news is that this isn’t as complicated as it might sound. Testing your pool once per week is enough. A manual or electronic pool tester will check the pH, chlorine level and total alkalinity of your water so you can see how much acid or alkali is needed to balance it out.

The simplest way to test is with a manual testing strip that comes with a comparison chart. To test your pool water, pick a spot away the skimmer, hold a test strip elbow deep under water for roughly 10 seconds. Take the strip out and wait for colour to show, then compare the strip to the colour range on your comparison chart to determine levels.

Testing kits can be purchased from your local pool shop and alternatively there are more advanced units that automatically detect and add pool chemicals as needed.
If your pool is regularly delivering pH readings outside the recommended range, speak to your local pool professional to determine the best approach to return to the healthy range.