Okay, you’ve dipped your strip. Now you’re staring at four different colored squares and panicking. That’s normal. The pH square is usually the second one. It will be yellow, green, or purple. Yellow means your pool is too acidic. Purple means you’ve accidentally made the ocean. Green is good.
Beginner's Guide to Pool Water Testing
Here’s a surprising fact: your pool water is basically a weak acid or base, and the difference between a pH of 7.0 and 8.0 is literally ten times more alkaline. That means moving from “okay” to “yikes” is a tenfold chemical explosion. No wonder your swimsuit turned tie-dye.
If the pH is too low (under 7.2), you need soda ash or a pH increaser. If it’s too high (over 7.8), you need muriatic acid. Yes, that’s the same stuff used to etch concrete. Don’t drink it. Don’t let your cat drink it. Just pour it in slowly near the return jets while the pump runs.
The Bleach Bomb Surprise
Here’s where it gets hilarious: chlorine is a savage beast. If your pH is too high, chlorine becomes almost useless. It’s like hiring a security guard who’s asleep. Your pool could grow a beard of algae and the chlorine won’t even sneeze. Always fix pH first, then shock. Otherwise, you’re just pouring money into a watery black hole.
And for the love of all that is blue, never mix chemicals. I once saw a guy pour acid and chlorine into the same bucket. It created a gas cloud that smelled like a science experiment from hell. His pool turned green from pure embarrassment.
Ph Level Pool Tester at Conrad Martinez blog
