"Why do I have to worry about testing & balancing my swimming pool water?  If it looks clear, everything must be good. Right?"  The answer is, "Usually not." 

Pool Water balancing for you & your body:  When the pH & Total alkalinity are out of balance, your chlorine, bromine or other sanitizer don't work as efficiently as they should.  When the sanitizer doesn't work efficiently, bacteria & other stuff you don't want in your spa start gaining control.  You could easily end up with skin rashes and eye irritations at least. Imagine swimming in  battery acid (low pH) or oven cleaner (high pH).  You wouldn't do it.  It would be foolish.

Here's a case in point.  It's extreme but a true story:

Two local dentists are talking generally about several patients whose enamel has "suddenly" been stripped from their teeth.  It's an odd "coincidence".  The dentists sit down & do some comparing of cases.  All of the patients are students at a local high school.  Further comparing of notes shows that all of these students are on the school's swim team where they spend anywhere from 2 to 3 hours per day, 5 to 6 days per week practicing in the particular swimming pool.

The dentists decide to take a trip to the pool to try to find out the problem.  They walk into the pool area.  The natatorium wreaks of "high chlorine."  The water in the pool is crystal clear. They notice corrosion on the stainless steel handrails & poolside equipment.  They check the records.  The test records show that all the water balancing levels are "fine".   What's wrong?  Let's take a water sample.  The new water sample shows Free Available Chlorine (FAC) at almost ZERO!  Remember that FAC is the chlorine that is actually working to kill bacteria & algae.  The Total Chlorine level is over 3.0 ppm.  That means there is a chloramine level of over 3.0 ppm.  A test of the Total Alkalinity shows ZERO.  The final blow is the pH with a level of about 2.0; that's about 100,000 times more acidic than properly balanced water.  The constant exposure to swimming pool water that was that acidic literally ate the enamel off the students teeth!  How can we equate this?  Imagine swishing lemon juice or muriatic acid or stomach acid in your mouth for 2 hours a day! Take a look at the chart below for pH values.

Your physical well-being is at stake.

Adjusting pH:  Adjusting the pH is one of the most essential elements to good swimming pool maintenance.  Almost more important than the chlorine, bromine or other sanitizer level.  When the pH is correct, the sanitizer works the way it was meant to.  Use BioGuard Balance Pak 200 to increase the pH and BioGuard Lo 'n Slo to lower the pH.  Don't use baking soda (great for baking & cooking, lousy for pools) or any other household product that isn't made to treat swimming pool water.  Lo 'n Slo is a dry acid & is much safer than muriatic acid or sulfuric acid to lower the pH.

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