The health of your pool water is largely dependent on the pH level of your pool.
When your pool water pH is balanced, it will help prevent the pool water from burning the skin of the swimmers and it will also enhance tight-fitting protection in your pool for the pool walls and floors.
Meanwhile, a healthy swimming pool should have a balanced pH level of about 7.4 to about 7.8. But what happens when your swimming pool water pH level is too low? Well you need to raise the pool ph fast.
But then how do you know the right quantity of soda ash to add to your pool? If you have a 5,000 gallon size pool, then you should add just one pound of soda ash to the pool to help raise the pH.
In this article, we have come up with a complete guide to help balance the pH level of your pool.
Table of Contents
Can Soda Ash Raise The pH Of Your Pool?
You need to test the pH level of your pool before adding any chemical like soda ash to it. Because it may be that, your pool pH level is balanced or too high and it will be unnecessary to add soda ash to it.
So get a testing kit for your pool. If you don’t have the testing kit then you should get one or, if you’ve had the testing kit for over a year then you need to replace it with another.
When you notice from the test kit, that the pH level has dropped lower than 7.4, then you will need to add soda ash.
To add your soda ash to the pool, start from the deepest end of the pool all the way to the shallow part of the pool. Meanwhile, keep your pool’s filter running while adding soda ash.
This will help the soda ash to be evenly distributed throughout your pool. This means that the soda ash won’t clog one area of the pool. Rather, it would read evenly ensuring that the whole pool benefits.
If the pool water is cloudy does it mean that the soda ash was too much?
No. Sometimes, if you have just added the soda ash to the pool, the pool water will turn cloudy for a period of 1-2 days.
After this period, the cloudiness will clear off and you will have crystal clear pool water. However, if you don’t notice any of these changes, then it means that you have put in too much soda ash. But you still need to test it again to be sure that the pH level is still low.
What Happens When The Pool’s Alkalinity Is Affected?
The pool’s alkalinity may be affected even after adding the soda ash. If the alkalinity of the pool is low, the pH level of the pool will fluctuate.
Try using the pool’s test kit to check if the alkalinity is too low. The alkalinity level of your pool should at least be between 80 to 150ppm. If it is lower than 80, that means it is too low.
How Can You Raise Your Pool’s Alkalinity Level?
Once you have tested the pool’s alkalinity level and it turns out to be low, then you will need to add some pounds of baking soda. Since your pool size is about 5,000 gallons of water, then you should add about 1 pound of baking soda to your pool.
Turn on the pool pump as you put in baking soda. The pool pump will enable the baking soda to spread evenly in the pool. Return after an hour to test your pool’s alkalinity again. Although baking soda increases the alkalinity of the pool and also raises the pH level of your pool.
But you have to be careful not to add too much baking soda to your pool otherwise, it will destroy the work of the soda ash. This is because soda ash is known to increase the alkalinity in your pool.
If you are in doubt about adding baking soda, then you should keep adding soda ash until the alkalinity level of the pool returns to normal. See Other Methods
What Is Soda Ash?
You can also call it sodium carbonate. Or preferably known as sodium salt. It can be seen naturally in some regions, and it can also be extracted from some rare mineral deposits like trona ore.
This soda ash or sodium salt can also be seen in some of the ashes of certain plants. Overall, it can be extracted also from sodium chloride which can be gotten through limestone.
Soda ash is non-toxic, quite odorless, and it’s also in a white powdered form. It easily absorbs moisture and is a natural alkaline product as well.
Asides From Raising pH Levels In Pools, What Else Is Soda Ash Used For?
Many years ago, soda ash was used in making bread, glass, and other products. However, times have changed and today, soda ash is used to make a range of different products that you would be amazed to find out.
For instance, baking soda and baking powder are both manufactured from soda ash. This means a lot of kitchen owners have an atom of soda ash in their kitchens!
It is amazing how little the soda ash looks, yet significant in its impact on lives and even our pool. Soda ash is used in the production of glass containers. And also anything that has to do with the insulation of fiberglass, etc. What about chemicals? Soda ash is used as food preservatives and even sweetness.
A baker never forgets the potency of the soda ash. Soda ash is sometimes used as an abrasive to make some toothpaste and as a kind of softener for dishwashing soaps and other detergents used within the home.
Soda ash or Sodium carbonate has an environmental impact as well. It can be used to treat the pH and alkalinity of your pool and even lakes! So if your pool has been affected by acid rain, which has plummeted its pH and alkaline level, then the soda ash can help in balancing the pH and alkalinity of the pool or lake.
Also in the agricultural sector, soda ash is used as a kind of natural fertilizer for plants. Soda ash can also help in purifying the air that is coming out of chemical and power plant exhaust that may form harmful chemical compounds later.
In the industrial/manufacturing sector, soda ash is recognized as a highly soluble substance that is used in the manufacture of dyes and most coloring agents that you see in enamel and even the petrochemical industries. Soda ash is used in manufacturing glues, sealants, and paper manufacturing as well.
It also helps to remove any form of phosphate and sulfur from ores both ferrous and non-ferrous ores. When you go to a spa, soda ash is commonly used as an addition to spa treatments reducing the acidity in the water.
How Is Soda Ash Produced; That Still Makes It Healthy For Use?
Soda ash is not just derived in its raw form and then used for all purposes just like that. Soda ash is used in three categories which makes it easy to use.
For instance; there is the light soda ash. That means at this stage, the purification and processing are done on a lighter model to retain some certain qualities and that is why the light soda ash is often used as an acidity regulator.
The soda ash is also processed to a medium grade. In this stage, the soda ash is processed not as light as in the first stage. And that is why medium-grade soda ash is used in your household detergents and dishwashing soap.
Finally, the dense soda ash grade is the process that is done heavily it is usually the last stage of the soda ash processing. And that is why the result in this stage, is used for industrial and manufacturing purposes.
Can You Safely Rely On Soda Ash For Your Pool pH?
Totally! Is your pool pH too low? Use the right quantity of soda ash to raise the pH level. Is the alkalinity of your pool’s pH too low? Use the right quantity of soda ash to raise it and get it balanced.
What if you don’t have soda ash?
If you don’t have soda ash then you can always get one from the grocery store. Or better still, if you have baking soda in your kitchen, you can still use that but you may need to double the quantity of baking soda you are using for your pool.
Final Thoughts
Soda ash can raise the pH of your pool. Some of the pHs increased you get from the pool store, already have some soda ash embedded as an ingredient.
And since you have soda ash available at home, then you should consider using it as an alternative to your pH increase. Soda ash is affordable and totally safe for your pools.
