Why pH Levels in Pool Water Must Be Monitored and Balanced

Keeping your pool clean and healthy is essential to ensure that everyone who uses it is safe from potential contaminants. One of the key components of maintaining a clean, healthy pool is monitoring and balancing the pH levels in the water. But what are pH levels and why are they so important? Let’s explore why pH levels are essential for a healthy swimming environment.

What Are pH Levels?

The term “pH” stands for “potential hydrogen” and refers to the amount of acidity or alkalinity of a substance on a scale from 0–14. A neutral state has a pH level of 7 which means it has equal parts acidity and alkalinity.

When there is more acidity than alkalinity, the pH level will be lower than 7, while if there is more alkalinity than acidity, then the pH level will be higher than 7.

In pool water specifically, it is important to maintain a relatively neutral pH as extremes can cause various issues such as skin irritation or damage to pool equipment.

Why Are They Important?

Balanced pH levels are essential to keep pool water safe for swimmers by ensuring that it remains free from bacteria and other contaminants.

If the pH level gets too high (above 8) then chlorine in the water becomes less effective at killing bacteria and other microorganisms, making them more likely to grow rapidly in an unbalanced pool environment.

Too low (below 6) of a pH level can also lead to an increase in bacteria growth due to chlorine becoming inactive in acidic environments as well as cause corrosion of metal fixtures such as ladders or railings inside your pool area.

How Can They Be Balanced?

Maintaining balanced PH levels should be done regularly either through testing strips or using a digital tester which measures both PH and chlorine levels accurately. You can easily hire Las Vegas Pool Maintenance professionals who can take care of these essentials for you.

Once you have established whether your pool’s PH needs adjusting, you can use specific products such as sodium bicarbonate (a base) or muriatic acid (an acid) depending on whether you need to increase or decrease your current PH respectively.

Simply add these products into your swimming pools according to their labels instructions until you reach your desired balance; however, always make sure that you test again after adding these products until it reaches the correct range so that you don’t go overboard with any one product!

Conclusion

Keeping balanced PH levels in your swimming pool is essential for ensuring that it remains safe for swimmers by preventing bacteria growth caused by extremes in either direction of the scale.

It’s also important because having an unbalanced PH level can lead to corrosion of metal fixtures inside your pool area due to acidic environments which would ultimately cost more money down the line when needing repairs or replacements on these items.

You can monitor this easily using test strips or digital testers which measure both chlorine and PH levels followed by adding products such as sodium bicarbonate or muriatic acid depending on whether you need an increase or decrease respectively until reaching desired balance – just make sure not overdo it with any one product!

With proper maintenance, you will be able to enjoy crystal clear waters all summer long!