Beyond Basic Pool Chemistry: The Importance of Borates and pH Monitoring

If you have a pool on your property, you must take specific steps to keep the water clean and free from contaminants that can cause irritation and other health issues. One solution considered to be highly effective is borates (often called borax), which are boron compounds that have numerous applications.

While borates mainly serve as laundry detergent, they can also help you improve your pool’s pH level and increase water quality. Maintaining the water chemistry in your pool can be a time-consuming process. You must clean your filter and skimmer basket and check your water level weekly.

You must also balance the water chemistry, which is difficult without impacting the alkalinity. You can use a borate compound as a pH buffer, which should help prevent algae growth in your swimming pool while leaving the water clear and clean. The following guide provides a detailed look at how crucial borates are and why you should constantly monitor pH levels.

What are Borates?

Borates are a white and powdery substance whose structure is a salt of boric acid. You can find this salt in a granular or crystalline form. While it has many of the same characteristics as table salt, it’s more effective at improving the appearance of clothes in the laundry, removing mold and mildew from clothing, and softening water.

You can use borates to increase your pool water’s pH levels if the water has become too acidic because of high contaminant levels. This compound will also serve as a buffer for the pH, meaning you can effectively maintain the water’s sanitizer levels. Now that your sanitizer is running well, you can prevent bacteria and algae growth.

Enhancing Water Quality with Borates

Borates are considered a natural mineral capable of improving water quality and clarity. This mineral binds to contaminants and harmful particles in the water. Once you initiate this process, the particles will become smaller, which makes it easier for chlorine to remove them.

Once you remove the particles from the water, it’s safe for people to swim in your pool. There’s also less chance that you’ll need to use chemicals while maintaining your pool. Borates are much more environmentally friendly than many other cleaning solutions. Unlike the alternatives, you don’t need to dispose of the compound once you’ve used it, which makes it the perfect choice when placed in small ponds and pools.

You should also notice that the water’s clarity is improved. Borates are potent enough to keep algae growth at bay. During the season, you should also be consistent with the amount of borates you apply to the water.

Maintaining pH Levels with Borates

Pay close attention to the pH levels of your pool. The pH scale measures the hydrogen ion concentration in a liquid. This scale ranges from 0-14. Any reading you receive that’s less than seven is acidic. pH readings above seven are alkaline. When the concentration of hydrogen ions increases, the pH value will drop. In many cases, more acidic water means water quality is poor because of a high concentration of contaminants.

In swimming pools, pH is likely the most crucial reading you can obtain. The optimal range for a pool’s pH levels is 7.2–7.6. If you try to swim in acidic water with pH levels below seven, you may experience reddened eyes, itchiness, and irritation. Also, when water is too acidic, you risk damaging the mosaic tiles in your pool and promoting algae growth.

If your pool’s pH levels are higher than seven, your pool water may be murky and cloudy. High alkaline readings can promote clogs in crucial pipes and filters. Alkaline water can also bring about eye irritation. If pH levels are unbalanced, you may notice that the benefits of chlorine have dissipated considerably.

When you apply the right amount of borates to your pool, you should see an increase in pH levels. Borates aren’t carbonate compounds, which is why the effects of this substance don’t adversely impact the water’s alkalinity. Borates also keep additional water chemistry changes from taking place by applying a buffer to the current pH levels. Finally, routinely monitor pH levels to determine if the borates produce the intended results.

Improving Chlorine Efficiency with Borates

As mentioned, you should keep your pool water’s pH between 7.2-7.6. Your pool equipment can corrode when the pH level is lower or higher than this range. Reducing the effects of chlorine also means that bacteria growth could spread quickly. If pH levels are too low for a lengthy period, you may spot some lime buildup on your pool’s concrete or stone materials. Over time, these materials can start to dissolve.

Borates help improve the effectiveness of chlorine by maintaining pH levels when they are too low or too high. Even though borates can increase your pool water’s pH, they won’t automatically push the water chemistry to be above the neutral point of 7.2-7.6. It’s also possible that any chemical solutions you add to the pool will weaken the chlorine effects.

We highly recommend you focus on maintaining the chlorine levels in your pool. Ample contaminants and organic matter get into your pool water after use. These contaminants often come from cosmetics, sweat, and saliva. Debris and dust from the nearby environment can also contaminate your pool. Eventually, you will find yourself at risk of becoming sick if contaminant levels are too high.

You will want the chlorine you add to the water to keep your pool clean and free from harmful bacteria. Chlorine is capable of inactivating and destroying germs. Use borates when your water’s pH levels get too high because the chlorine may not be as strong as you’d like it to be. Once borates dissolve in your water, they go away permanently. You will have to use less of the compound by having more effective chlorine, which saves you money.

Using Borates in Pools

If your water’s pH levels are too low, add borates to the pool to increase the pH and restore the proper water chemistry. To determine how much borates you need, identify your pool’s capacity. You will also need to measure your pool’s current pH levels to pinpoint how much the pH needs to increase.

Keep in mind the pump and filter in your pool should be running. Once you turn on the necessary equipment, you can add borates directly to the skimmer. From here, you’ll need to wait 24 hours or more before obtaining an additional water sample for testing. You can also use a borate test kit to see how much borate is in the water.

Your pool’s size and pH levels dictate the recommended borate levels. Consider adding around 7.5 pounds of borate for every 10,000 gallons of water. If you’re attempting to use borates to increase the pool water’s pH, you can add borates without any extra substance. However, an acid may need to be included alongside the borates if you’re attempting to buffer your pH but don’t want pH levels to exceed 7.6.

Handle borates safely. Avoid inhaling them by keeping them far away from your mouth or nose. You should also wear gloves when handling the substance. Once you add the compound to your pool, wash your hands thoroughly.

Common Misconceptions about Using Borates in Pools

We must also address and clear up the concerns and misconceptions about borates before you use them in your pool. Many of these concerns center around using the compound as a cleaning agent in the house. While borates can cause nausea and vomiting, these health issues only occur if you ingest the substance. Once you add borates to your pool water, it will dissolve, which effectively makes it harmless.

If you use borates but find that your pool water is still cloudy, this doesn’t mean that the borate you used is ineffective. Any chemical you place in the water will accumulate. If these chemicals combine with sediment and algae, they can create cloudiness. Next, filter your water regularly and maintain chlorine levels to mitigate these problems.

Also, a high amount of additives can cause cloudy water. Even though these additives keep a pool clean, they may bring about poor circulation and cloudiness when used excessively. Ultimately, borates are safe. You can place add them to your swimming pool without issue.

Finally, borates do not expire or get used up even after you place them in the water. The only way the effects of borates lesson is when you lose water. You’ll need to replace the borates when you empty your pool and refill it.

Conclusion

Borates give you the ability to increase low pH levels in contaminated pool water, provide a buffer that keeps pH levels from rising too high or dropping too low, and improve your water’s clarity. While borates are safe once it dissolves in your pool water, you must adhere to the safety guidelines mentioned earlier to avoid health concerns.

You should also monitor the water chemistry to maintain optimal pool health. Obtaining pH measurements should only take up a few minutes of your time. You can use the results from these measurements to decide how to use borates in the future.