What Happens If You Swim in a Pool with High pH?

We all know that having the right balance of chemicals in the pool is the key to a safe, clear, and comfy swimming experience. A crucial aspect of pool chemistry is the pH level. A high pH in your pool can lead to a range of issues – for swimmers and your pool gear. In this article, we’ll discuss the effects of swimming in a high pH pool, and how tools like robotic pool cleaners can help you keep your pool water properly balanced.

What Is pH and Why Does It Matter for Pool Water?

pH — a measure of how acidic or alkaline the water is. For Instance: The optimum pH level for pools is in the range of 7.4 to 7.6. A high pH means the water is more alkaline; a low pH means the water is more acidic.

Proper pH balance is vital for many reasons:

Chemical Efficacy: Chemicals such as chlorine work more effectively at a balanced pH.

Swimmer comfort: A pH too low or high will irritate skin and eyes.

Equipment Lifespan: Improper water balance can damage your pool equipment and appliances, like your robotic pool cleaner, pool vacuum, and other filtration equipment.

What are the Effects of High pH?

If your pool’s pH level is above 7.6, the water is becoming too alkaline and it will create issues that will impact both the cleanliness of the pool and potentially the safety of the swimmer. Here’s what you need to know about swimming in a pool with high pH levels:

Skin and Eye Irritation

Skin and Eye Irritation Skin and eye irritation are among the first and most common signs that your pool’s pH is too high. Swimmers may experience:

Red, itchy eyes: High pH can cause eyes to sting or feel dry, making swimming uncomfortable.

Dry, irritated skin alkaline water can also take away the natural oils from the skin and cause dryness, itchiness, and irritation.

Maintaining the pH levels means that swimmers can swim in comfort without nasty side effects.

Chlorine Less Effective

Its main ingredient is chlorine, the sanitizer that keeps pool water free of bacteria, viruses, algae, and the like. But chlorine is less effective when the pH is too high, which can result in:

Higher Risk of Contamination: Low chlorine efficiency makes your pool naughty-can become a perfect hideout for bacteria and algae thus making it Unsafe to Swim in.

Cloudy Water: Low levels of chlorine can lead to cloudy, turbid water because of the accumulation of organic matter.

A robot pool cleaner such as the Beatbot AquaSense Pro can assist with debris, but it can’t replace chlorine. Keeping the pH in your pool balanced balances keeps your pool cleaner robot working properly, so your materials stay clean and safe.

Scaling and Staining

At high pH, calcium and other minerals in the water will tend to precipitate out and create deposits. This can result in:

Scales of Calcium: High pH causes Calcium to develop scales on tiles, walls, and the pool floor of the pool. These scales can become very difficult to remove and they can hurt your pool’s finish.

Stains: Over time as the calcium builds up, it can leave ugly stains on the surface of the pool. This impacts the aesthetics of the pool and can also be expensive to remedy.

Controlling the pH level is important to avoid scaling. For a pool cleaner or robotic pool cleaner, regular use of a vacuum cleaner will help keep debris at bay, but fixing pH imbalance is the key to preventing long-term damage to your pool surfaces.

Fouling of Filtration Systems

A high pH will also promote scale and debris formation that can clog your pool’s filtration system. If the pH is too high for too long, you might notice that your pool vacuum, skimmer, or robotic pool cleaner isn’t working as well. This can:

Reduced Circulation: Once debris and minerals start building up in your filtration system, it can limit the overall circulation you get in your pool, limiting how well your pool cleaner works.

Higher Maintenance Costs: As pH levels go unbalanced over time, certain parts of your pool equipment may wear prematurely.

Regularly monitoring and correcting your pool’s pH levels can also help keep your filtration system working efficiently and prolong the life of your pool equipment.

Cloudy Pool Water

High pH levels in water result in hazy or degree mud pool cleaning. The reason this happens is that the alkalinity ensures ensuring fine particles and debris cannot be adequately filtered. Even if you own a swimming pool robot cleaner, the cloudiness won’t go anywhere unless the pH gets corrected.

A robotic pool cleaner is a regular use & keeps the pH balanced ensuring that the water remains clear and inviting.

How to Lower High pH in Pool Water?

Now that we understand the risks associated with high pH, it’s important to know how to adjust it back into a healthy measure.

Test the Water Regularly

Regularly test your pool’s pH with a testing kit. During peak swimming season, however, it’s a good idea to test the water every 2-3 days to ensure the pH remains in the ideal 7.4-7.6 range.

Add pH Reducer

To lower the pH when the level is too high, you can add a PH reducer (muriatic acid or dry acid). Read the manufacturer’s instructions carefully and pour the acid into the pool water slowly.

Muriatic acid: Muriatic acid is a typical and effective method to decrease pH. It is best to throw it in little by little and check the pH after each addition.

Sodium Bisulfate: This dry acid can also be added to a pool like you might sprinkle sugar on your cereal.

Adjust the Alkalinity

Total alkalinity is usually elevated along with high pH. You might have to add an acid or alkalinity reducer to balance the alkalinity.

Run Your Pool Equipment

After adding the required chemicals to balance the pH, run your robotic pool cleaner and your filtration system for a couple of hours. This will assist in mixing chemicals into the water and promote even distribution.

Monitor and Maintain

Once the pH is balanced, consistently test the water weekly. Having clean, balanced water chemistry is essential for your pool cleaner robot to work harder than it needs and for swimmers to enjoy a comfortable, safe swimming pool.

In Conclusion: pH Must Be Maintained for the Health of Your Pool.

High pH can cause skin and eye irritation, lessen the effectiveness of the chlorine, promote scaling, foul-up filters, and contribute to cloudy water. A stable pH level (7.4–7.6) keeps your pool safe, clean, and inviting. Regularly test and adjust your pool’s pH, use tools like robotic pool cleaners (like Beatbot AquaSense Pro or Beatbot AquaSense) to prevent the accumulation of debris, and make sure that pool equipment, such as filters and pumps, is functioning correctly. Maintaining ideal pH levels helps to maintain both the health of your swimmers and the lifespan of your pool and equipment.

Caesar