How To Add Baking Soda To Your Pool

Baking soda has many uses effectually the business firm, and many people are surprised that it can as well be used in puddle intendance. But what does baking soda do to a pool?

Baking soda is really sodium bicarbonate, which is alkaline, so adding it to a pool that is too acidic will raise the pH and as well the full alkalinity. This will allow the chlorine in the pool to work more than effectively to proceed the pool water clean and articulate.

Many people head to their local puddle supply shop and purchase relatively expensive "pH or alkalinity increaser" believing to be some kind of specialist production. However, most tubs of this just comprise sodium bicarbonate – simple baking soda. So if you tin can, just go and buy some baking soda in bulk and save money.

In this article nosotros will become into some of the benefits and drawbacks of using baking soda in a pool as well as the best time to add it for maximum benefit. Observe out all this information and more below.

What Does Baking Soda Do For A Pool? Baking Soda in Pool

What does baking soda really practice in a pool?

Baking soda is more often than not used to neutralize a pool if it is too acidic. This is considering baking soda is alkaline, normally with a pH of effectually 8-8.3. So it is non strongly alkaline metal – only slightly to a higher place neutral.

The benefits of baking soda to a puddle are numerous and include:

Helps to brand chlorine more than effective at sanitizing the puddle's water
It can make the puddle's water feel softer
If a pool'southward water is cloudy it can help to bring it back to being articulate and sparkling
It can help with algae treatment
Used to reduce the acidity, it reduces the risk of corrosion to things such equally chrome pool ladders, pool surfaces and other pool equipment which can take place when the water is more acidic

How to keep a pool clean with baking soda

Below is the method I apply when I want to add together baking soda to my pool to raise the pH and full alkalinity levels.

1. Examination the pool h2o

Test your puddle water to discover out the pH and total alkalinity levels using test strips of whichever method you prefer. If the pH is between seven.2 and vii.8 and the total alkalinity is above 80ppm then you don't need to add any blistering soda.

2. Piece of work out how much baking soda to use

If your total pool'south alkalinity is below 80ppm so you lot need to decide the amount of baking soda to add to bring the reading upwards to the level required. Refer to the table below (remembering to adapt for the book of your pool).

So every bit an case, if your pool was 20,000 gallons and the reading was 60ppm and so you lot would need to add 12lbs (xx,000/10,000 x 6lbs).

3. Run pool pump

You need to ensure that the baking soda gets thoroughly mixed effectually your pool equally you add together it. The best manner to do that is to run your pool pump until you lot are happy with your new exam results. If adding quite a chip of blistering soda I would normally add it in the evening and run the pool pump overnight.

4. Add baking soda (slowly)

This should be added in stages, over a few days if y'all need to add a substantial corporeality. Anything over 3lbs should not be added at once otherwise this can cause problems.

With your swimming puddle pump running, you should add the baking soda by one of three methods:

Fill a saucepan with pool water and add about half a pound of blistering soda. Mix this around until at least well-nigh of it is dissolved and then walk around the border of the puddle slowly pouring it equally you lot go. Then repeat as necessary. (This is my favored method).
Using a scoop, walk effectually the pool and scatter the baking soda across the surface of the puddle equally you go.
Slowly pour the baking soda directly into a skimmer so that information technology gets pushed out of the pool returns and mixes with the pool water (my least favored method).

5. Test the water again and repeat if necessary

After you lot take given the baking soda sufficient fourth dimension to mix thoroughly around the pool (at least an hour but preferably longer) then retest the pool water again. If the pool'south pH level and total alkalinity levels are yet besides low then repeat the to a higher place.

How much baking soda to enhance pH in puddle

Alkalinity Reading	Baking soda to add together per 10,000 gallons
20ppm	12lbs
30ppm	10.5lbs
40ppm	9lbs
50ppm	seven.5lbs
60ppm	6lbs
70ppm	4.5lbs
80ppm	3lbs
90ppm	1.5lbs
100ppm or above	Practise not add any

Baking soda puddle calculator/nautical chart

The tabular array above will give you an idea of the number of pounds of baking soda to employ to raise the alkalinity in your pool. You volition need to know the volume of water in your pool – if you are not sure then it can be quite piece of cake to summate.

Your pool's book is something you will need to know for many things in pool maintenance and then information technology is worth calculating now:

For an oblong pool with a constant depth it is easy. But multiply the width by the length and then by the depth (in feet) to give the cubic feet of water. You then multiply this figure by 7.5 to give the volume in gallons.

If your oblong pool has a shallow and a deep end then use an average depth (maybe mid-fashion between the 2 depths.

Circular pools, oval pools, kidney pools and other shapes make information technology more complicated. Rather than plough this into a mathematics post, I suggest you look on your jail cell phone for an app that volition help you summate the volume of a pool. There are plenty there to cull from.

You should avoid adding a large amount of baking soda to the water of your swimming puddle all at once, as this will probably effect in cloudy water which volition accept a while to clear upward.

Arm and Hammer Baking Soda – purchase on Amazon

2 13.5 Pound Bags of Pool Cleaner Arm and Hammer Baking Soda

How oft should you put baking soda in your pool?

There is no difficult and fast rule regarding how frequently you should use baking soda in your pool. Just utilize it as necessary to maintain the correct pH levels and puddle water alkalinity levels subsequently testing your pool'southward water.

You will probably demand to use it more frequently during pinnacle swimming flavor when your pool gets used most oftentimes and less and so during the off-season.

Does baking soda raise pH?

Baking soda will raise the pH in a pool, assuming that the current pH of the water is lower than viii. However, it will also increase the total alkalinity so you need to check these levels earlier you use it to ensure that the total alkalinity is too low.

To heighten the pH without increasing the total alkalinity you lot would normally use soda ash (sodium carbonate) instead of baking soda as this has a much higher pH and then information technology will increase the pH without increasing the total alkalinity as quickly.

Pool Maintenance Course

When I first bought my house with a swimming pool, I knew nothing near cleaning and maintaining it. I was recommended Swim University'due south Pool Care Handbook and video grade and then I bought it and have never regretted it.

It was probably the best coin I spent that year as I take saved thousands past doing information technology myself.

Best fourth dimension of twenty-four hour period to add blistering soda to a pool

Bluntly information technology doesn't make too much divergence what time of 24-hour interval (or night) you add baking soda to your pool. It will piece of work just as hands if added in the forenoon or afternoon equally it will in the evening.

The just thing I would say is to add it when the pool pump will be running for some hours afterward to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed throughout the puddle.

cloudy pool water — Too much blistering soda can give you lot cloudy puddle water

What if y'all add too much baking soda to puddle

If your pool water is hard then adding an excessive corporeality of baking soda can crusade a build up of calcium which can lead to cloudy pool water every bit well as scaling around the border of the pool and on other pool equipment. You will accept to apply a pool castor to remove it (actually make it dissolve in the h2o again rather than remove it).

Since the pH of blistering soda is around 8.3 on the pH scale then it cannot increase the pH level in the puddle above this, no matter how much more baking soda you put in. As you add baking soda the pH and alkalinity levels will increment until the pH reaches viii.3 after which alkalinity levels will go on to increment but the pH will stay at 8.three.

Every bit an bated, soda ash, the other chemical used to increase the pH in pool water, has a much college pH of around 11.5. So adding besides much of this can significantly raise the pH.

FAQs

Is baking soda safe to use in pools?

Since baking soda is used in food and even in toothpaste it can be generally considered to exist prophylactic. When calculation information technology to a puddle on a windy day and so simply make certain it doesn't blow in your face or eyes.

Will baking soda kill algae?

Baking soda will not really kill algae. Having said that, using baking soda to maintain the correct pH in the pool will help to foreclose algae growth in the first place.

Can baking soda lower pH in a pool?

Although it isn't a method that would be recommended (as there are better ways) if you had a very high pH (ie 9 or over) then, every bit the pH of blistering soda is around 8, adding it would aid reduce the pH downward towards 8. It would exist better if you were to add muriatic acid instead.

Can I employ baking soda if my pool is cloudy?

You can utilise blistering soda if your swimming pool is cloudy as part of the solution to articulate the water. Getting the correct balance between pH and alkalinity earlier adding chlorine will assist speed up recovery from cloudy water.

Can you swim subsequently adding blistering soda to a puddle?

Since baking soda is not a harmful chemical it would be safe to swim straight away after adding information technology to your pool, provided the other readings in your puddle are ok.

Is Alkalinity Up the same equally baking soda?

Alkalinity Up is 100% sodium bicarbonate, and so yes, it is exactly the aforementioned as baking soda.

Will baking soda lower chlorine level in pool?

Using baking soda will not actually lower your pool'south chlorine level. Yet, using information technology to ensure your pool has the correct pH level volition help the chlorine to piece of work more effectively at sanitizing your pool's h2o past killing leaner and other contaminants.