Pool Water Chemistry 101

Maintaining the right chemistry in your pool water could be the most important job you’ll have as a pool owner. Not only it's crucial in keeping your pool clean and healthy, it's also important that you always consult the pool manufacturers guide to ensure your warranty is not voided because of poor water balance.

We know how daunting and convoluted these pool chemicals can seem in the beginning, but once you understand the reasons behind it you’ll see Pool water chemistry is actually quite simple – it’s basically a balancing act of regular treatment.

You are effectively trying to keep your water chemistry stable at all times, either in regular calculated doses or by monitoring a level and balancing it. If your water is not balanced it will either become corrosive or form stains and scale. Both are bad for you, your pool equipment and the surface of your pool. And every time someone swims, they leave behind body oils, hair, dead skin, shampoo...etc. The only thing keeping those contaminants from turning your pool into a black lagoon is a sanitiser, and in order for the sanitiser to work, other water attributes must be balanced: pH, alkalinity, and calcium hardness. (Credit: Swim University)

Let’s take a look at the essential chemicals for keeping your pool in tip-top condition: