- Is The pH in your pool? too low? Low pH means your water is acidic, and acidic water can corrode your pool equipment, wear down your liner, erode metal and concrete,, and prevent your sanitizer from working properly. Luckily, there are three easy ways to bring up your pH levels, pH Increaser, soda ash, or aerating your water. But Some of these options are cheaper than others, and only one of them won't affect your other levels. So Here's a quick guide on how to raise your pH.

Let's dive in. Real Quick, if you want more help taking care of your pool, be sure to grab our free pool care cheat sheet at Swimuniversity.com/cheatsheet. It's totally free and will help keep your pool clean and clear throughout the year. First, what causes low pH? Everything That enters your pool has the potential to affect your pH, rain, dirt, debris, even swimmers themselves.

Low pH happens naturally after having a lot of people in your pool. Your levels can also drop after a heavy rainstorm, especially if it's acidic rain. Because pH is so volatile, it's important to regularly test your pool water. Your pH should be between 7.4 and 7.6.

Your pH Levels also go hand in hand with total alkalinity.. Total Alkalinity is what keeps your pH level stable. Without Alkalinity as a buffer, your pH would wildly fluctuate. So Keeping your total alkalinity in range is important to help balance the pH in your water.

Okay, here's how to raise your pH. Adding pH Increaser To your water is a quick, easy way to raise your levels, and it's easy to find at most pool stores. But The cheaper alternative is soda ash. Soda ash and pH Increaser have the same active ingredient, sodium carbonate,, but you can often find soda ash for much cheaper at your local home improvement store..

It's the same chemical just packaged differently. So Here's how to raise your pH levels with soda Ash. Keep In mind that while soda ash raises your pH levels,, it also slightly increases your alkalinity. It's not drastic, but if your alkalinity is already really high, you may want to skip to the next method..

As A general rule,: if you have a 10,000 gallon pool,, adding six ounces of soda ash will raise your pH by 0.2, and your total alkalinity will go up by around five parts per million.. So If you have a 20,000 gallon pool and you need to raise your pH from 7.0 to 7.4, you'll need to add 24 ounces of soda ash. Now, when adding soda ash to your water,, make sure your pump and filter are running so that the chemical is mixed into the pool water properly, and add a small amount of the chemical right into the water. Be Sure to spread it around as much as possible, and don't add too much all at once.

You Can always add more later. And Don't pour it directly in front of your skimmer,. otherwise, it'll get sucked into your filtration system, and it won't rebalance your water. Let The chemical dissolve in the pool and circulate for at least 20 minutes, and then retest your water before adding more.

And What about baking soda? Can You use that to raise your pH? Baking Soda, aka sodium bicarbonate, is sold in pool stores as Alkalinity Increaser. Adding Baking soda to your water will definitely raise your pH, but it will also significantly raise your alkalinity more than soda ash.. So If you don't want to drastically bring up your total alkalinity as well,, use soda ash. or pH Increaser.

However, There is one method that will raise your pH without impacting your alkalinity levels at all, and that's aeration.. If You need to raise your pH levels in your pool without raising your total alkalinity,. aeration is the only way to do it. Aeration is the act of adding air to your water with a fountain, water feature, or dedicated pool aerator..

This increases oxygen, off gases carbon dioxide from the water, and removes carbonic acid, and that will raise your pH without raising your total alkalinity. If You don't already have water features or you want more control over your aeration,. you can get a dedicated pool aerator. These are installed in your pool's deck or coping and attached to the return line or pool pump.

It is possible to overaerate your water. To Test the effects of aeration, test your pH, and run your aerator or water features. Then Take a reading one and two days later. If your pH has risen dramatically.

With all the other levels equal,, you might be over aerating your water. And If you accidentally raise your pH too high too quickly,, be sure to check out our other video on bringing your levels back down with pH Decreaser or muriatic acid. If You need more help with pool maintenance, grab our free Pool Care cheat sheet at Swimuniversity.com/cheatsheet. And If you found this video helpful,, leave a comment, hit the Like button, and subscribe for more pool maintenance tutorials throughout the season.

That's it.! Thanks Again and happy swimming.