Summer in Texas is all about getting wet and staying cool which means spending a lot of time by the swimming pool. However, it also means you need to start worrying about maintaining proper calcium hardness (also water hardness) levels in your pool. You’ve probably heard your plumber mention the term “calcium hardness” but never took the time to find out what it meant. Don’t be swayed by the technical terms – simply put, calcium hardness refers to the mineral content in your swimming pool. The ideal range for calcium hardness is 150 to 400 ppm but your goal should be to fall somewhere in the middle.
Low calcium hardness levels in most cases will lead to corrosive water, which will cause your plumbing to rust and oxidize quickly (while abnormally high levels cause scale formation on pool surfaces). In either instance the result is costly repairs that may prevent you from fully utilizing your pool this summer. As always Premier Pools & Spas has you covered. If you want to find out how to avoid this, stick around!
Testing The Calcium Hardness Levels in Your Texas Pool
You need to conduct a calcium hardness test to ensure that your pool in Texas has the right levels. The good news is that you will not need to conduct the test as often as a standard water chemistry test used to determine the total alkalinity or PH of your pool. Generally, it’s only required that you conduct the test once every other week, depending on how often you refill your pool and the overall quality of water in Texas. You can find out more about performing a calcium hardness test here.
Balancing Your Swimming Pool Water Hardness
There are some measures that you can follow in order to correct the calcium hardness levels in your swimming pool in Texas. First, you’ll want to ensure that the swimming pool is cleaned properly to remove any contaminants before performing the test. Next, you’ll want to ensure that the water chemistry is “balanced” –meaning it has the correct pH and total alkalinity levels. This is primarily because chemicals used to balance pH and alkalinity can affect the calcium hardness levels of the water.
Rising Calcium Hardness Levels in Your Pool
In most cases it will be easier for you to increase the calcium hardness levels in your Texas pool than lower it. If the test shows the levels to be too low then all you need to do is add calcium chloride to the water. All the information you need should be on the packaging of the calcium chloride. Be sure to follow it carefully when trying to increase the calcium hardness levels in your pool.
Reducing Calcium Hardness Levels
The simplest way to reduce the calcium hardness of your pool is to drain out some of the water in the pool then replace it with fresh water, assuming the water in your area has a naturally high mineral content. Remove one-quarter of the water from your Texas swimming pool, then replace it by filling it up with a hose.
While maintaining the calcium hardness levels of a pool may seem difficult, this should not discourage you from getting your own swimming pool for the summer. In most cases this will be the most difficult thing about owning a pool but its relatively easy for you to get the hang of it. To make things easier, the team at PPS, will not only install your swimming pool but we’re also willing to address any questions that you may have about proper pool care. Check out our Texas Pool Builders.
