WATER ANALYSIS

WHY SHOULD YOU GET YOUR POOL AND HOT TUB WATER TESTED

One of the most important things you can do for your pool or hot tub is to test your water. Regular water testing allows you to see how your “water balance” changes over time.

Water balance is the relationship between different chemical measurements in your pool or hot tub water. It is based around the fact that water dissolves and holds minerals until it becomes saturated and cannot hold any more. We will refer to this as the water’s “saturation point”.

Water that is below the saturation point is corrosive. It tries to saturate itself by dissolving everything it comes in contact with.

Water that is above the saturation point is scale forming. It can’t hold all of the minerals that are dissolved in it. These excess minerals group together and form scale on any surfaces within the water.

Water that is well balanced is neither corrosive nor scale forming. This is the water that you want in your pool or hot tub!

WHAT CAUSES WATER BALANCE TO CHANGE?

Simply put, almost everything that goes into a hot tub or pool affects its balance. Weather, chemicals, bathers, fill water and even dirt brought in by the wind can affect water balance.

Each of these elements have their own pH and alkalinity levels. These levels then interact with, and change, the pH and alkalinity of the pool or hot tub water. For example, rain water is typically acidic, causing pool water to become corrosive. For this reason, pool owners should pay special attention to their pH and alkalinity after big rain storms.

HOW OFTEN SHOULD I GET MY WATER PROFESSIONALLY TESTED?

If everything looks good on your home tests, we recommend getting your hot tub or pool water professionally tested at least once per month. Professional water tests are more accurate and thorough than home tests and can give you a much more complete picture of the overall health of your pool or hot tub water.

If you encounter problems such as consistently low pH, cloudy water or green water, get your water professionally tested as soon as possible. These problems will only get worse with time and are much easier to fix if dealt with quickly.

HOME WATER TESTING TIPS

• Test the water while it is circulating. There can be slight differences in the balance of still water. Circulating the water evens out these differences and gives you a better idea of the overall balance of the water.
• Take your sample from water that is 12”-18” below the surface (about elbow deep). Water at the surface interacts with air, changing its balance.
• Check the expiration date on your reagents. Reagents generally have a shelf life of around 1 year. The older a reagent gets, the less it will change color. Expired reagents will therefore always display low level readings.