4 Ways to Lower Pool pH Without Chemicals

Maintaining the proper chemistry in your pool is essential to ensure that everyone has a positive swimming experience. Levels of pH range from 0 to 14, with 0 being acidic and 14 being basic or alkaline. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), the optimal pool pH is between 7.2 and 7.8. Water with a low pH could damage the metal parts in your pool — and if the pH is too high, the water could cause skin and eye irritation. Water with low pH can also stifle the effects of chlorine, meaning you'll have to buy more to keep your pool properly chlorinated. While there are several chemical products on the market to lower pH levels in your pool, you may decide to attempt to lower your pH naturally. There are a few different ways you can accomplish this.

If you want to avoid using chemicals in your pool, install a distilled water system. This is especially helpful if your area has naturally hard water, or more alkaline water. Distilled water has a neutral pH of 7, so a distilled water system will be able to pump in distilled water to naturally lower the pH in your pool without forcing you to use chemicals. Use pH test strips regularly to determine whether or not you need to use the system.

Even small organic objects, like leaves, can effect your pool's pH. Use a pool skimmer to clean any floating dirt and debris from the surface of the water. Once a week, vacuum your pool to get rid of all sunken debris. You should also keep your pool filtration system clean at all times to prevent debris buildup. If you don't have time in your busy schedule to clean your pool, consider hiring a pool maintenance company to take care of the cleaning for you.

If you're trying to lower your pool's pH without using chemicals, the solution may be just to leave it alone to lower naturally on its own. Over time, minerals that lower pH will build up to naturally lower pH levels. Keep track of your pool's pH by testing it daily, and only change your pool's water when it's lower or higher than the recommended pH of 7.2.

Heating the pool may naturally lower the pH over time. This is because as the temperature of water increases, so does its solubility rating, meaning that it can dissolve natural substances like calcium carbonate. Because calcium carbonate increases the acidity of water and lowers pH level, heating your pool to dissolve it will actively lower the pH level. Remember to continually use test strips to keep an eye on pH levels. Turn off the heater if the pH starts to dip too low.