The importance of pH balance in your pool is vital which keeps the swimmers as well as the pool equipment healthy. A low pH can cause skin and eye irritation, and a high pH can result in scaling and less effective chlorine. But what do you do when your pool’s pH drops too low? That being said, one of the frequent fixes is to add baking soda, and this will increase not only alkalinity in your pool but also raise the pH level. But how much should you add, and are there other ways to keep your pool healthy in general, such as purchasing a robotic pool cleaner?
In this blog post, we will discuss the appropriate use of baking soda to increase your pool’s pH, and additional important maintenance tips, including how a robotic pool cleaner can make your pool maintenance easier and less time-consuming.
What Is pH, and Why Is It Important?
Before we get into the nitty-gritty of adding baking soda to your pool, it’s necessary to understand what pH is and why you need to care. pH is a measure of acidity or alkalinity in your pool water. The best pool pH is between 7.4 and 7.6. If your pH is too low (below 7.2) the water will be acidic, which can corrode your pool equipment, irritate the skin and the eyes, and even damage your pool surfaces.
If your pool’s pH is too high (above 7.8), the water is alkaline, which can result in scaling on the pool’s surfaces, cloudy water, and reduced effectiveness of chlorine. Routine testing and adjusting of your pool’s pH is a fundamental component of pool maintenance.
How Baking Soda Impacts pH & Alkalinity
Sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) is a commonly used chemical to increase pool water alkalinity. It doesn’t increase the pH level in itself but rather helps to buffer the water and stabilize the pH. Alkalinity is a buffer that helps resist rapid changes in pH. When you add baking soda to your pool, it raises the pool’s alkalinity, thus helping to stabilize the pH level.
Stabilized alkalinity soon prevents those rapid pH drops. So baking soda serves two purposes: it raises alkalinity directly, but it also serves to help keep the pH from dropping too low.
How Much Baking Soda to Add for pH Increase?
How much baking soda to add will depend on how big your pool is and how much you want to raise the alkalinity. Here’s a simple rule of thumb for how much baking soda to add:
For example, to increase the alkalinity by 10 ppm (parts per million) in 10,000 gallons of water, it would take roughly 1.5 lbs (24 oz) of baking soda.
You would need 2.25 pounds to raise the alkalinity by 10 ppm in 15,000 gallons.
However, increasing the pH level requires changing your method based on the state of the water. For pools with low pH (below 7.2), using a pH increaser (sodium carbonate, or soda ash) as well as baking soda might be in order.
How to Add Baking Soda to Your Pool
Test your pool water: With a good pool test kit, you can test the pH and alkalinity in your pool.
Step 1: Calculate How Much Baking Soda You Need: Based on your pool’s volume and your current alkalinity level, calculate how much baking soda you should use.
Step 3: Dissolve the Baking Soda: To ensure even distribution, dissolve the baking soda in a bucket of water before pouring it into the pool.
Adding the Baking Soda into the Pool: Slowly pour the dissolved baking soda into the pool, focusing on areas where water circulation is the strongest (e.g., just in front of the pool skimmer or return jets).
The pool pump should run for several hours to disperse the baking soda throughout the pool.
Re-test the Water: Wait 24 hours, then re-test your pool’s pH and alkalinity once more to ensure that it falls within the ideal range.
Other Pool Maintenance Tips
(pH helps to understand the water’s chemistry and balance, as baking soda can be a good pH raiser for your pool, but caring for your pool is more than just chemistry.) One of the simplest methods of maintaining a clean pool without being on cleaning duty for hours is a robotic pool cleaner. Robotic cleaners are automated devices that make pool cleaning easy peasy by removing debris from pool floors and walls.
A fabulous robotic pool cleaner like the Beatbot AquaSense Pro or the Beatbot AquaSense can save you tons of time and effort in the pool cleaning process! These devices are designed to scrub the pool’s surfaces and filter the water, keeping your pool in prime condition and your pool chemicals working harder.
A pool cleaning robot will leave your pool’s water free of any debris which helps in terms of balancing both pH and alkalinity. Keeping debris out of the pool, as well as proper filtration, will lessen the amount of work you need to do to balance your pool’s chemicals.
Investing in Pool Automation
If you are looking for convenience in the mess of a pool, investing in a pool vacuum robot or pool robot cleaner is a great decision. They can save you time and in fact, it’ll reduce the amount of additional chemicals needed for the job. Automated cleaning systems like the Beatbot iSkim Ultra also mean your pool will remain cleaner for longer, which reduces chemical adjustments, including less need to balance out pH.
You can also be sure that all the debris and dirt are removed from the pool by using a robot pool vacuum. This refers to keeping debris from breaking down in the water which could over time change pH levels.
Conclusion
Baking soda is an easy way to raise your pool’s pH but it is important to make sure you are adding the correct amount or you could end up overcompensating. Baking soda to adjust your pool’s alkalinity is a buffer, a substance that resists changes in your pool’s pH levels. Regular maintenance is everything, and this adjustment helps stabilize your pool’s pH levels.
Invest in a robotic pool cleaner if there is no getting around cleaning your pool. If you have other devices, such as the Beatbot AquaSense Pro, Beatbot iSkim Ultra, or Beatbot AquaSense, you will have a well-sparkling pool to enjoy while not needing to adjust the chemicals, including measures to balance the pH, constantly.
Complementing regular chemical maintenance with automated cleaning offers the best of both worlds, ensuring your pool is always ready for a swim without the manual labor associated with upkeep.
