Have you ever jumped into a swimming pool and your eyes immediately started to burn? Most people would then tell their friends that there is too much chlorine in the pool.
Although heavy chlorine does impact how your eyes feel, chances are the pH level is off in the pool and that’s what’s causing your eyes to sting.
Adding some baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) to your pool will most likely eliminate that type of eye irritation. This is just one of the many things that baking soda can do to help improve the quality of your swimming pool water.
What does baking soda do to a swimming pool?
There are several ways in which baking soda will help improve the looks and feel of your swimming pool water. These are a few of the main ones:
- Baking soda can help clear cloudy water.
- It’s a decent algaecide spot treatment.
- Baking soda can make the pool water easier on your eyes and skin.
- It can help save your pool equipment.
We will explain these helpful uses for baking soda in pool water in a little more detail.
What does baking soda do for a pool that has become cloudy?
Nobody likes the idea of swimming in a cloudy swimming pool. It’s really not recommended for several reasons, including safety reasons. If the cloudiness of your swimming pool water is caused by low pH and alkalinity, then baking soda can help correct this problem.
Pool water often gets to the acidic side much more often than it becomes alkaline. That’s because when it rains, raindrops pick up some of the sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide pollution that’s always present in the air. This causes rainwater to often be to the acidic side, and that affects the chemistry of the pool water that this rain goes into.
Pool bather load and improper chemical balancing can also make your pool water more acidic. Once the pH and alkalinity in your swimming pool water get too low, that often causes your pool to become cloudy.
By adding baking soda to the pool water, it will make your pool water pH and alkalinity go back up. When this happens, it makes your pool water more neutral again, and the cloudiness in your swimming pool should start to clear up.
The use of baking soda in pools can spot treat algae
No one ever wants to see algae build up in their swimming pool. It can turn any backyard pool murky green or cause unsightly black spots on the walls and floor of any swimming pool. If your algae come in the form of black spots, it can be extremely tough and frustrating to try and get off your pool’s interior. Baking soda can help.
You can use baking soda as an effective spot treatment for black or brown algae spots. You just broadcast some of it in the area of your swimming pool that has the algae spots. Then you simply take your pool brush and scrub the area with the algae until it comes off. This method is often most effective if you have treated the pool with an algae destroyer first and let the swimming pool circulate overnight.
Properly balanced pool water is easier on your eyes and skin
We mentioned in the opening paragraph that pool water can sometimes sting your eyes. This is often due to the same conditions that can cause cloudy pool water, which is usually low alkalinity and pH.
When your pool water is to the acidic side, it not only will burn your eyes, but it can impact your skin too. When this happens, once again you will have to bring your pool water pH and alkalinity back up to bring it into proper balance. Adding baking soda is again the best way to do this without affecting the other chemical balances of your pool water.
Acidic pool water can ruin your pump and filter
Have you ever seen what pouring acid on metal does even in a dilute form? It can break down any metal and greatly speed up the corrosion of it too. That is the very same thing that happens when your swimming pool water pH and alkalinity are to the low side. It creates water with acidic properties that will slowly eat away at your pump, filter and other pool parts that have metal parts in them.
Using baking soda to raise the pool water pH and alkalinity back up will once again neutralize the pool water and stop this damage from happening.
After reading this article, you should now know what to say when someone asks you what does baking soda do to a pool. It really is a must own chemical for those that own a swimming pool. It does a great job of helping to keep your pool water eye-friendly, equipment friendly, and crystal clear.
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