How to Test Pool Water
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Keeping the water clean, clear and ready for swimmers is one of the most important aspects of swimming pool maintenance. Testing pool water allows you to monitor chlorine and pH levels (and often total alkalinity and hardness as well) and lets you know if adjustments should be made.
While testing the water in your swimming pool at home isn’t all that difficult, you do need to become familiar with the various tools you will need and how to use them. Below you will learn how to test pool water to keep your home pool safe and ready to use.
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When to test your pool and what to look out for
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Before you learn how to test your pool water at home, it’s important to understand what you’re looking for when testing. Pool test kits measure free chlorine (chlorine in the water that has yet to combine with pollutant molecules) and pH, and some also check calcium hardness or total alkalinity. Keeping these levels in balance will help prevent cloudy pool water. It also helps ensure the water doesn’t irritate swimmers’ skin or eyes and prevents your pool from turning green.
In most cases, you should aim to test your chlorine and pH levels at least 2 or 3 times a week. You should also test pH and chlorine after a downpour, if there have been a number of swimmers in the pool recently, after adding water to raise the water level, or if you see signs that something is wrong – such as: B. cloudy water or color changes. If pH has not changed, total alkalinity should be checked weekly. If the pH has changed, check it at every pH test. Calcium hardness, on the other hand, only requires a monthly check.
Below are the ideal ranges for free chlorine, pH, total alkalinity and calcium hardness. Remember that the ideal free chlorine level should be higher than the combined chlorine level to ensure effective disinfection occurs.
- Free chlorine: 1.0 to 4.0ppm
- PH value: 7.2 to 7.6
- Total Alkalinity: 80 to 120ppm
- Calcium Hardness: 175 to 275ppm
Pool test kits vs. pool test strips
Either pool test kits or pool test strips can be used to test pool water. There are pros and cons to each option to consider.
Pool test strips are the easiest way to test pool water. After taking a sample of the pool water and dipping the test strip into the water, the strip will change color for you to compare with the marking on the test strip vial. However, there are some disadvantages to using pool test strips. Each strip can only be used once, so you’ll need to buy replacements more often. In addition, test strip results are usually not as accurate as those you get with a pool test kit.
Pool test kits, also known as liquid test kits or reagent test kits, take a little longer to use but are more accurate than test strips. Using these kits involves collecting a sample of water and adding drops of various reagents to determine chlorine and pH levels. There are two different types of reagent test kits: orthotolidine (OTO) and N,N-diethyl-p-phenylenediamine (DPD). DPD test kits can test both free and total chlorine, while OTO test kits only measure total chlorine.
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How to test a pool with test strips
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As explained above, using test strips is the easiest method to test pool water, although this method is generally less accurate than . Read on to learn how to use test strips to check pool water for balanced chemical levels.
DELIVERIES
– Pool test strips
STEP 1: Wash and dry your hands before removing a test strip from its packaging.
Before testing the water with a test strip, wash your hands with hand soap to remove any dirt and dry them completely. Then remove a test strip from the bottle. Cap the bottle tightly to protect the remaining strips from contamination.
STEP 2: Immerse the test strip in the water for 15 seconds.
Step away from the jets or skimmer – the middle of the pool is ideal – and dip the test strip at least 18 inches below the water surface (about your elbow). Hold the strip under water for 15 seconds or the time specified for your pool test strips.
STEP 3: Remove the test strip from the water and compare the colors to the chart provided.
Pull the test strip out of the water. Compare the colors on the strip for each test parameter with the chart on the bottle or package. Record the results so you can refer to them and monitor changes in values between tests.
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How to test a pool with a liquid test kit
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If you are looking for the best way to test pool water, using a liquid test kit is recommended. These test kits provide the most accurate readings. And while they can be a little more complicated to use than using test strips, they’re still relatively easy to use. The following general instructions are based on most standard pool test kits, but carefully read and follow your specific product’s instructions.
DELIVERIES
– Pool test kit
STEP 1: Remove the cap from each tube and rinse the inside.
Remove the caps covering each tube in the pool test kit. Then flush the tubing to remove any contaminants.
STEP 2: Collect water samples away from pool skimmers or jets.
Go to an area of the pool away from the skimmers or jets. Turn the tubes upside down and submerge them about 18 inches below the surface of the water before pulling them out of the water again.
STEP 3: Add reagents to samples according to manufacturer’s instructions.
Follow the manufacturer’s instructions to add the appropriate reagents to each tube. For most test kits, the tube on the left measures chlorine and the tube on the right measures pH.
STEP 4: Close the tubes, shake gently and record the readings.
Replace the caps on each tube to seal them. Gently shake or swirl the reagents with the water to fully combine the different liquids. Compare the color of the water to the colors on the sides of each tube and record the readings. Placing a piece of white paper behind the tubes will make it easier to compare the colors.
Final Thoughts
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Testing your pool water at home is an essential part of in-ground and above-ground pool maintenance. Pool test kits and test strips allow you to monitor key pool chemistry levels so you know if the chlorine or pH needs to be adjusted. Following the steps outlined above should help you understand how to test pool water using your preferred method – either a pool test kit or test strips.
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