Why do I have to keep adding muriatic acid?

The main reason that muriatic acid needs to be added into pool water is because it can help reduce pH levels that have become too high. High pH levels are known to lead to the development of scale.

How often do you need to add muriatic acid to pool?

If you have a pH reading of 7.8 or higher, and an average size (15,000 gallons) in-ground pool, you should add 1/4 gallon (a quart) of muriatic acid, and re-test after the water has circulated for an hour.

Can you add too much muriatic acid?

If you do add too much muriatic acid, your pH levels can dip dangerously low, and your pool water can cause rashes and eye irritation. Low levels of pH can also damage metals in your pool like ladders, railings, screws, bolts, and other important equipment.

Why does my pH keep going up in my pool?

Here are common causes of an alkaline pool: Algae can raise the pH. Adding strong liquid chlorine, calcium or lithium hypochlorite chlorine may raise it. Suddenly heating the water, whether from a pool heater or a string of sunny days, could up the pH.

How long after adding muriatic acid can you add more?

Muriatic acid can create a hot spot of acid in the water that could potentially burn or irritate your skin. It is best to wait 30 minutes after adding it to your pool.

How To Lower POOL ALKALINITY with MURIATIC ACID | Swim University

Why does my pool need so much acid?

Why do Swimming Pools need acid? The reason we add acid to swimming pools is reduce the pH (Potential Hydrogen) of the water. The pH is always slowly rising due to either chlorine being added manually or produced through salt chlorination.

How long does it take for muriatic acid to work in a pool?

Slowly Add the Acid to the Water

Make sure that you don't reenter the pool for least 30 minutes. When you're adding the acid to the water, it's recommended that you do so very slowly.

Does shocking pool lower pH?

Adding shock breaks up the combined chlorine and creates an increase in free chlorine. This increase can spike your pool's pH level. Pool shock is available in both chlorinated or non-chlorinated versions. If your pool already has a high pH level, using chlorinated shock will only make things worse.

Why does my pool pH keep going down?

The normal tendency of pool water pH is to rise through exposure to wind, sunshine and bathers. The most common cause of consistently low pH is low Total alkalinity, which should always be adjusted (with sodium bicarbonate ) before trying to increase the pH.

Does Shocking a pool lower alkalinity?

Another cause for high alkalinity can be when you shock the pool. While this is performed to quickly rid the pool of pollutants, chlorine-based pool shock is highly alkaline, and can raise the water's total alkalinity level in the process.

Can you add muriatic acid and shock at the same time?

Perhaps most important note of all, never add chlorine and muriatic acid together in the pool. This creates a dangerous toxic gas that can have severe health consequences if inhaled.

How long does it take for muriatic acid to lower alkalinity?

It will take 24 hours for the muriatic acid to react with the existing balanced pool water. Remember never to pour muriatic acid into your pool. Dilute part of the muriatic acid in a bucket of balanced pool water, and then pour it into your pool. "Dilution is the solution," Dukes says.

Should pump be on when adding muriatic acid to pool?

Turn the pool on

By having the pump on it will aerate the pool, slightly increasing pH and aiding alkalinity. Therefore, adding muriatic acid to the pool while the pump is running will reduce the likelihood of large drops in pH.

How long does muriatic acid last?

Sodium Bisulfate and muriatic acid could have a 5 year shelf life, however pH decreasers are acids, and a larger shelf life concern about pH decreasers is the strength of the container. Over time, thin plastic bottles or packaging can break down from contact with acids.

How often can you add acid to a pool?

The stronger the muriatic acid (aka Hydrochloric Acid) is, the less you can add at once. In a 10,000 – 15,000 gallon pool, you should not add more than 2 or 3 cups of muriatic acid in a 24 hour period.

Will muriatic acid clear up a cloudy pool?

Cloudiness Due to Elevated pH

Before you floc the pool, you should check the chemical balance, and if you notice the pH is too high, that may be why the pool is cloudy. You may be able to clear the water by adding muriatic acid to lower the pH.

Do you adjust pH or alkalinity first?

Check Total Alkalinity (TA) first, then adjust for proper pH range. Proper TA will buffer pH, that is, it will help to prevent pH fluctuations. Use fresh, high quality test strips. Excessively high bromine or chlorine levels can result in false pH and TA readings.

Does high chlorine lower pH?

High chlorine levels decrease the pH of your pool's water, making it more acidic. The more acidic the water, the higher the likelihood of corrosion.

Should I shock my pool every week?

How Often Should I Shock My Pool? Shocking your pool regularly will help to keep the water clean and free of contaminants. You should aim to shock your pool about once a week, with the additional shock after heavy use. Some tell-tale signs that your pool needs to be shocked are cloudy, foamy, green, or odourous water.

What happens if you put too much shock in a pool?

Although, if you overdo the shock treatment, you risk getting green hair from chlorine due to the excess chlorine oxidizing the copper in the water. You can execute a shock treatment with a few different types of pool shock, just be mindful of how much you're using.

Can I put pH up in skimmer?

To raise your pH or alkalinity, you can add soda ash to your pool, but do not add it directly in the skimmer basket.

Can you swim in a pool if the pH is too high?

Can you swim in a pool with high pH? Definitely, but know that chlorine in the water may not be as effective as it normally would and you may be exposing yourself to harmful microorganisms. Besides, the water can also turn cloudy and your pool sides may scale due to alkaline water.

How long after adding muriatic acid can you test water?

It takes about 24 hours for the chemicals to properly circulate in order to get an effective reading from the retest. The water test will assess the pH, chlorine, total alkalinity and calcium hardness. If you use chlorine in the pool, you should also test for cyanuric acid.

Will muriatic acid lower hardness in pool?

Try muriatic acid.

It won't actually reduce the water's calcium hardness, but it will raise the saturation level, which can help bring the water back into balance.