pH Balance

pH Balance

Proper water balance is essential to clear, sanitary and comfortable pool water.
Factors such as Total Alkalinity and Calcium Hardness help determine the overall balance of the water.
However, pH is the most important factor in water balance and is also most likely to show significant change from day to day.

What is pH?

pH is a measure of the relative acidity and alkalinity of water. The pH scale runs from the highly acid range of 0 to the highly alkaline range of 14. A pH of 7 is considered neutral. The ideal and most comfortable range for pool water pH is between 7.2 and 7.7

pH values of some common substances

pH Scale	pH values of some common substances	Base
14.0
13.5	household lye
12.6	bleach
12.0
11.5	ammonia
11.0
10.2	milk of magnesia
10.0
9.3	borax
9.0
8.4	baking soda
8.0	sea water
7.4	blood
7.0	distilled water	Neutral
6.7	milk	Acid
6.2	corn
6.0
5.0	boric acid
4.2	orange juice
4.0	wine & beer
3.0	apples
2.8	vinegar
2.2	lemon juice
2.0
1.0
0.3	battery acid
0.0	hydrochloric acid