Pool maintenance is an essential duty of every pool owner as pools tend to get dirty over time. Neglecting the pool leads to debris, dirt, and bacteria accumulation that may potentially cause serious health issues. Moreover, this may also disrupt the pool’s alkalinity and pH levels. Hence, it is important to regularly clean and maintain your pool.
When talking about pool maintenance, many different chemicals come into play. One such chemical is muriatic acid. But what does muriatic acid do for a pool? That is what we will be exploring in detail in this guide on pool maintenance.
Muriatic acid is a diluted version of hydrochloric acid and is highly corrosive, meaning that it requires special care and attention when handling it. It is colorless and has a strong pungent odor. Muriatic acid is a component of the gastric acid in the digestive system of humans and animals.
Muriatic acid is commonly available at convenience stores and is used for various purposes, such as removing rust and stains from concrete or brick. It also removes rust stains from toilet bowls and tiles. In terms of swimming pool maintenance, muriatic acid helps reduce the pH levels and balance alkalinity. It also kills bacteria, and mold and eliminates calcium deposits from the pool’s surface, ensuring pristineness.
Benefits of Using Muriatic Acid in Pools
You may wonder what muriatic acid is used for. Well, it has many applications in swimming pool maintenance and offers plenty of benefits, making it the best pool maintenance chemical.
Balancing pH levels
Maintaining optimal pool pH levels is integral to ensuring the pool’s condition. High pH levels such as 7.8 or above make the water too alkaline which may cause cloudiness, scaling, calcium buildup, and algae growth. While high alkalinity may decrease over time, it may cause damage to the pool surface, filters, and circulation system. Adding muriatic acid may save your pool from disaster and reduce pH levels quickly and effectively.
Removing stains and buildup
Ignoring pool maintenance leads to bacterial and mineral buildup which causes stains and calcium deposits. These stains may harm your pool’s lining, surface, or pool equipment, incurring heavy expenses over time. Adding muriatic acid eradicates these stains and protects your pool from damage.
Improving water clarity
When the pool’s pH levels increase too much, it becomes too alkaline which makes the water cloudy and decreases the chlorine’s ability to kill microorganisms, thus becoming a breeding ground for bacteria. Muriatic acid quickly eliminates cloudiness and ensures pool water clarity, making it safe for swimming.
How to Use Muriatic Acid Safely
Adding muriatic acid to the pool must be your routine practice. While muriatic acid is highly effective, it is also corrosive which may be dangerous. It is important to follow the step-by-step guide to ensure safety and effectively clean the pool.
Step 1. Test Your Pool’s pH Levels
The first step is to test your pool’s pH levels. While you may use pH strips to test pH levels, they may provide inaccurate results. Hence, you must use pH sensors as they are more reliable. If you find high pH levels in your pool, you must add a small amount of muriatic acid to the pool. You must ensure that the ideal pool pH levels must be in between 7.2 and 7.8.
Step 2. Wear Protective Gear
The next step is to wear protective gear as exposure to muriatic acid may cause severe burns on the skin. Ensure your arms and legs are fully covered before adding muriatic acid into the pool. You must also wear goggles and gloves to protect your skin against splashes. In case muriatic acid splashes on your skin, you must immediately pour cool water on the area.
Step 3. Dilute Muriatic Acid
Before you add muriatic acid into the pool, you must dilute it as adding it in concentrated form may be too potent. You must never add water to acid as it may cause a serious reaction and the acid may splash on your skin. Instead, you must fill a bucket of water and then add acid into it gradually. The acid must be 10% of the water in the bucket to ensure proper dilution.
Step 4. Switch On Your Swimming Pool
You must switch on your pool before pouring the diluted solution. The water must be running fully before you add muriatic acid.
Step 5. Add Muriatic Acid to the Water
Once the water runs properly, add the acid to the water and pour it on the perimeters to allow it to disperse into the pool properly. It is advised to add the acid slowly to prevent splashes. You must not enter the pool for at least 30 minutes to avoid skin damage.
Step 6. Recheck the pH Levels
Now that you’ve added muriatic acid to your pool, it’s time to recheck the pH levels. You must only retest after a few hours to get an accurate reading. If the pH sensor readings are too high, you may add muriatic acid again in the same manner mentioned above until you get the desired pH, i.e., 7.2-7.8.
Conclusion
Pool maintenance is an essential routine that must not be ignored. One important aspect of pool maintenance is adding muriatic acid into the pool which helps balance pool alkalinity, remove stains, and eliminate cloudiness. It is important to follow safety precautions when dealing with muriatic acid as it is harmful to the skin.
So, you must always wear protective gear when handling muriatic acid. With the proper use of muriatic acid, you can enjoy your pool for the current sparkling swim season.
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