Chlorine is necessary for keeping your water clean for swimming and creating the ideal functioning environment for your robotic pool cleaner. Most pool owners are aware of some common chemicals, such as chlorine or muriatic acid; however, many question what role baking soda plays in pool chemistry. The first question that commonly comes up is, does baking soda raise alkalinity?
In this article, we will discuss how baking soda affects pool alkalinity, why managing alkalinity levels is essential for pool health, and how you can keep your pool in peak condition with a robotic pool cleaner such as a Beatbot AquaSense Pro.
What Is Alkalinity in Your Pool Water?
Now before we jump into whether baking soda can reduce the pool alkalinity, let’s first cover what alkalinity is and why you should care about it while maintaining your pool. In pool water, alkalinity is the measure of its ability to resist pH changes. So, it buffers lotus pool water, which increases the pH, and minimizes its increase (this is crucial because the increase of pH can lead to many problems: corrosion, scaling, poor sanitizer performance, etc.) Pool alkalinity should usually be between 80 and 120 ppm (parts per million).
If your alkalinity is too high or low, this can impact your pool cleaning robot’s functionality and can cause less-than-ideal body conditions such as cloudy water or skin irritation.
You have to support it with enough bicarbonate and other compounds.
Why would you add sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) to a pool that you need to lower the alkalinity on? Indeed, baking soda is frequently used to treat low levels of total alkalinity in pool water. If your pool has low alkalinity and you want to slow the rate of change of pH or protect your pool’s surfaces from acid, baking soda is an excellent, safe option.
But it’s important to point out that baking soda will not reduce alkalinity. And if your pool’s alkalinity is already through the roof, adding baking soda can actually exacerbate the problem. This will raise the alkalinity even higher, and potentially the pH, making things very difficult to maintain.
What Is Alkalinity High?
High pool alkalinity can create a range of problems for you and your swimmers, and even the performance of your robotic pool cleaner:
High pH Levels
When you have high alkalinity, the pH in your pool can also be elevated. When the pH is high, a number of issues can arise; water can become cloudy, chlorine may be less effective and the swimmers can experience skin or eye irritation. Moreover, high pH levels prevent the pool from being adequately sanitized, allowing bacteria to grow.
Scaling and Staining
High alkalinity can result in calcium scale buildup on pool surfaces, tiles, and equipment. This can hinder the movement of your pool robot cleaner and decrease its efficiency. Scale buildup is even a hindrance for your very own pool vacuum robot since it can dwindle down on your suction power and increase cleaning times.
Cloudy Water
Cloudy water is usually caused by high pH and high alkalinity. If your pool tends to get cloudy (due to the factors above), this can prevent your robotic pool cleaner from effectively cleaning your pool as the cleaner may struggle to properly filter the water. The cleaner can also be affected by suspended particulate matter in the water, clogging it or overwhelming it.
Corrosion of Pool Equipment
High Alkalinity can cause scaling > and corrosion of pool equipment like skimmers > robot pool vacuums> and swimming pool robot cleaners. Over time, this can harm parts of your pool system, which results in expensive repairs and replacements.
Pool Alkalinity Reduction: Methods to Follow
If the alkalinity in your pool is too high, baking soda isn’t your answer. You have to use muriatic acid or sodium bisulfate instead to bring alkalinity down.
Muriatic Acid
The most effective method on how to lower alkalinity in a pool is to use muriatic acid. Slowly lowering your alkalinity levels into the target range is as simple as adding a proper amount of muriatic acid. Add it slowly, though, and take care, to prevent large pops in pH. Retest the water after allowing chemicals to circulate after adding the acid.
Sodium Bisulfate
Another option to reduce alkalinity is sodium bisulfate or dry acid. It functions like muriatic acid and lowers pH and alkalinity levels. Although it’s safer to work with than muriatic acid, you still should wear gloves and goggles when working with the chemical.
Dilution
If your alkalinity is really high, you may have to partially drain the pool and refill it with fresh water. This will dilute the super-high alkalinity and reset the pool’s balance.
How to Keep Your Alkalinity in Balance for Your Pool Cleaner
Maintaining appropriate alkalinity levels is essential for your robotic pool cleaner to function properly. High alkalinity can lead to cloudy water, scaling, and ineffective chlorine levels, all of which can diminish the cleaning capabilities of your pool cleaning robot.
For instance, the Beatbot AquaSense Pro is made for efficiently cleaning the pools, but when the water is unbalanced with higher alkalinity levels, the cleaner may face the issues of cloudiness or scale on its wheels or brushes. Likewise, a pool vacuum robot may not be able to achieve a good suction if scale builds up in the filtration system or on the pool’s surface.
In Summary, maintaining a good chemical balance is key not only to your pool health but also to your robotic pool cleaners’ health.
Conclusion
The general, and most important point is – baking soda does a good job of raising the alkalinity in a pool, but it will not lower it. If the alkalinity of your pool is elevated too high, you have to add acids, such as muriatic acid or sodium bisulfate, to put it back in the ideal scope. Proper management of alkalinity, however, is a primary factor for clean, safe water and the smooth functioning of a robotic pool cleaner.
Maintaining balanced alkalinity in your pool will help your pool cleaning robot function most effectively and give you a sparkling clean pool with low maintenance effort.
