Balanced alkalinity will create the perfect environment for the other pool chemicals to do their job

While we have explored the pH Level of your swimming pool before, we barely touched upon Alkalinity and the effect it can have on your pool's water. Alkalinity (Alkalinity Increaser is pictured right) is a measure of your pool water's capacity to control natural acids; it's hard to maintain the recommended pH levels without first achieving the proper Alkalinity levels.

Chemists define Alkali as basic ionic salts derived from metal elements that dissolve in water naturally. Chemicals such as calcium, strontium, radium, magnesium, beryllium and barium dissolve into basic salts or bases such as lye, sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide and calcium carbonate.

I know this is getting quite technical; basically pool owners should note that high alkalinity can cause irritated skin and eyes, cloudy water along with scale formation on the pool walls and in the plumbing of the filter systems. Low alkalinity can cause irritated skin and eyes, will destroy fiberglass components, erode metal parts, stain vinyl, concrete or plaster pool walls and liners and cause erratic pH levels.

One of the easiest ways to keep pool chemicals such as Chlorine (pictured left) working properly in your swimming pool is to get the Alkalinity in the proper range. This should be achieved before a pool owner attempts to adjust the pH levels. Adding sodium bicarbonate, or Alkalinity Increaser (view Alkalinity Increaser here), is the best way to increase the Alkalinity of your swimming pool. To decrease the Alkalinity of your pool water, Muriatic Acid is best, which is typically only available from a local store, due to its volatile nature.

While sodium bicarbonate is basically regular baking soda, granular sodium bicarbonate made for swimming pools comes with recommended doses and measurements. We recommend using Alkalinity Increaser from a swimming pool supply store, rather than trying to guess the amount of kitchen baking sodium to add to your swimming pool. This guesswork can lead to problems.

Balanced Alkalinity will create the perfect environment for the other pool chemicals, such as chlorine, to do their job properly. The pH level will be easier to keep in line when the Alkalinity is at the appropriate level. Family Leisure has swimming pool supplies for sale, including Alkalinity Increaser, and with Free Nationwide Shipping. View Family Leisure Pool Supplies here.