How To Lower Alkalinity In Pool With Muriatic Acid

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Maintenance of swimming pools can be difficult as it involves a lot of things.

This guide on how to lower alkalinity in the pool with muriatic acid will get you to that crystal clear water.

Swimming pools are the perfect breeding ground for dirt, debris, bacteria, algae, and other microorganisms.

That is why you always need it to be as clean as it can possibly get.

Cleaning the pool with robotic pool cleaners or automatic pool cleaners will surely get the large debris out of the pool but there are times that they miss some, let alone cleaning it manually.

LOWER ALKALINITY IN POOL WITH MURIATIC ACID

See, your pool might look clean and clear by the time the pool cleaner is released from the pool.

However, there is unseen dirt inside the pool and in the water that is in it which needs cleaning.

That is why you need chemicals in order to continuously keep the pool clean.

Agents and acids that need to be added to the water are responsible for eliminating those invisible bacteria. Now, while that process might seem easy as you just put the chemicals into the water and allow the equipment around it to mix the chemicals, it is not that simple since you need specifics.

There is a certain amount of chemicals that you need to put in a specific volume of water.

This way, you will keep the chemicals balanced in accordance with the amount of water in the pool.

See, when you go too much with a particular chemical, the water might not react right and will not clean the pool.

It can also add risks to the health of the swimmers like irritations and rashes.

Alkalinity is one of the hardest to control since it reacts to almost any chemical.

You also need to keep it balanced because the alkalinity also affects other chemicals in the pool so here is how you do it.

Table of Contents

What Is Alkalinity?

The most basic description of alkalinity is it is the measurement of the concentration of the alkaline chemicals in the water.

This is responsible for keeping the pool clean and clear.

It is measured in larger numbers compared to the other chemicals in the pool such as the pH level. The normal measurement of alkalinity in the water is between 80 and 120.

This number is measured in Parts Per Million (PPM). That basically means that for every 1 million parts of water, there are between 80 and 120 parts of alkaline substances.

If the alkalinity is lowered, your pH level is directly affected.

The same goes when the alkalinity goes higher and this reaction can be dangerous to both the swimming pool and the swimmers.

So you always need to keep the water checked by testing it daily if you can.

This way, you will know whether it is safe to swim in it or not and balance the chemicals if they are over or under the line.

What Causes High Alkalinity In The Pool?

There are many reasons why pool alkalinity is affected. That means that there is no general reason why this occurrence happens and so you need to factor it out and see which is which.

Carelessness

I know that this factor is a bit attacking but it is one of the most common mistakes done by pool owners.

They carelessly put the chemicals in the pool and this can be dangerous for many reasons.

See, some pool owners do not test their water before adding chemicals to it.

If you do this, you get an inevitable reaction where not only one chemical is affected but also the other chemicals.

This can, again, affect the health of the swimmers and the pool liner.

This is pretty common so you always need to check the water first before you add anything to it to keep it safe.

Another thing that most pool owners do is the application of the chemicals themselves.

See, you should not abruptly pour the chemicals into the water and then let it settle down by itself.

If the chemical or acid is concentrated within a single area, you will not be able to distribute it with the pool pump. You need to let the chemicals settle by themselves in the water. In order to avoid this, when you apply any kind of chemical in the pool’s water, do it slowly.

There is no need to hurry as the chemicals will do the rest of the job for you.

Water Source

This is also a very common cause of why your alkalinity and other chemicals in the pool fluctuate or go off the reading.

The water source itself can affect the chemical concentrations.

The thing is, water companies that distribute your water supply may have most likely treated the water before it gets to your home.

Treating, of course, involves chemicals that affect the water.

Powder Chemicals

This last reason why your pool alkalinity rises is a common mistake as well.

Using powdered chemicals will only give you more problems than solutions to the issue of alkalinity in the water.

See, powdered chemicals such as Calcium Hypochlorite (Powder Chlorine) are effective. However, they are a little bit harder to control compared to liquid chemicals.

Such chemicals also bring calcium to the equation which is very hard to control.

It causes pool shocks that are sometimes too much and will only bring more issues to the swimming pool.

Powder chemical is concentrated so even if you pour it slowly, you will not be able to control how much goes into a certain area. So as much as possible, always use liquid substances.

How much Muriatic acid to Lower alkalinity in pool?

In my opinion, you have to add some muriatic acid and measure the pH of the pool.

Also, read the concentration of the acid on the packet and then accordingly calculate the concentration.

Depending on the pH of the pool and the volume of water it holds, the quantity of muriatic acid that you need to dissolve depends and it can be a bit of a learning curve for many.

You can add some muriatic acid and then let it spread across the pool for a while and again check the pH after the pool pump spreads it evenly in the pool and add more accordingly.

You can calculate the volume of water your pool holds and check the pH of the pool to understand how much muriatic acid needs to be added. I use this Pool calculator to calculate the exact quantity of muraitic acid to be added.

How To Lower Alkalinity In The Pool With Muriatic Acid?

Before you get into the process, you need to remember some of the few factors that affect this process. This will take time which can last for hours or even days to see the difference.

The process of lowering the alkalinity in the water will also affect the other chemicals in the pool. So there are times when you need to let the acid sit in the water for days to take effect.

Step One: Test The Water

The first thing that you should do when adding chemicals in the water is to test the water first.

You should always do this even if you are performing other processes that involve chemicals.

So in order to measure the chemicals that are already in the water, you need to let them settle down and stay as they are.

So turn the pool pump off and let the water sit for at least an hour.

After waiting for the chemicals and the water to settle down, grab your test kit, and get a sample from the swimming pool.

Just get the water from the surface without going over 1 foot deep.

The best way to get the most controlled water is to dip the testing strips directly into the water.

That way, you will not affect the water by putting it in other containers or even worse, in your hand.

Once the color of the strips changes, read the results by comparing the color to the guide that is included in the testing kit, then you can proceed to the next steps of the process.

Step Two: Add The Muriatic Acid

Once you get the results from the test, calculate the volume of the water in your pool.

From there, you will know how much muriatic acid you will be needing for the alkalinity to go lower.

The muriatic acid that you will need is the one used for industrial purposes.

The muriatic acid that is used to clean bricks, tiles, and other household materials to affect the alkalinity.

This may seem like a chemical that is too harsh for someone to swim on but it will actually not affect your skin or body. In fact, it will dilute into the water and keep it clean at all times.

The Trick: Pour Slowly

This is one of the most important things that you should do when changing the level of alkalinity in your water.

So excuse me if I keep on repeating that you need to pour the acid slowly.

The bottle of muriatic acid should have instructions on the back telling you to dilute it first.

If not, you can simply research it and it will turn up immediately or pour the acid directly into the water.

From there, you need to go around the pool to evenly distribute the muriatic acid.

If one side of your pool is blocked and you cannot access it, then you can pour the acid elsewhere.

Another trick for pouring the muriatic acid safely is to put the extra muriatic acid into the deepest part of the pool.

This will settle into the part where there is more water to dilute it.

Add The Air

Since we have talked about the fact that the acid affects the other chemicals, you need another process to compensate for that.

Keeping the process as natural as possible is the best way.

So in order to let the acid settle down properly and let the other chemicals rise to their normal levels, do not speed up the process by turning on the pool pump and other pieces of equipment.

The pH level is one of the chemical imbalances that are directly affected by lowering the alkalinity.

It is also dragged down so you need to let it rise in order for the water to be safe.

Natural aeration will give you the best results as it is able to mix the chemicals without actually continuing to lower the pH level.

This will also make sure that the acid is distributed evenly.

See, the muriatic acid dilutes evenly into the water which is only attained by letting it aerate naturally.

Mixing it with the pool pump will only put it under uneven mixtures.

This is the part of the process that will take days to wait for.

So be patient and only add other chemicals after two days if there are no reactions to the pH level balance.

Conclusion

Swimming pools are probably the most fun part of your backyard where you can enjoy relaxing under the sun or play games with your friends and family.

That is why you need to keep it safe for both the pool and the swimmers.

Alkalinity is the one responsible for eliminating the debris and microorganisms that you cannot see in the water.

When it goes too high, the acidity can cause irritations.

So you need to go for the right level of alkalinity to be able to swim in it and for it to do what it is supposed to.

So if you follow the process above, you will be having the best and cleanest water in the pool.

Make sure to do it properly and do the tricks involved in the process for a fun swimming time all the time!

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