When you want to learn how to soften pool water, there are numerous steps. Do you know if your local water company or well supplies you with hard or soft water? It is essential to find out because hard water can adversely affect your appliances, plumbing, and swimming pool.
“Hard water” refers to water containing a high level of mineral content, such as calcium and magnesium. Well water typically has more mineral content than public-supplied water from a city water treatment plant because it absorbs the rainwater that passes through gypsum and limestone-based surfaces.
Once rainwater passes through mineral-based surfaces, it contains higher levels of magnesium and calcium. This hard water seeps into the groundwater of your well, which you use to bathe or fill up your swimming pool in the backyard.
The Effects of Hard Water on Hair and Skin
Hard water can cause mild to severe irritation to your hair and skin. People who regularly shower or bathe using well water will know this feeling very well. If you have sensitive skin, the effects of hard water can cause further damage.
Here are the common effects of applying hard water to hair and skin:
- Skin and Scalp Dryness: The minerals in hard water can produce a layer or coating over the skin and scalp. If you try to put a moisturizer or shampoo over these areas, the mineral-based layer will block the moisturizing agents from reaching the skin.
- Poor Hair Quality: Scalp dryness eventually leads to dullness, thinning, and hair loss.
- Itchiness: Your skin and scalp will feel itchier than usual.
- Blemishes: Excessive dryness and itchiness could cause visible blemishes on your skin and scalp.
You are more likely to develop these symptoms in a swimming pool of hard water because your entire head and body become submerged in it. For this reason, you must soften your pool water to ensure your hair and skin stay healthy and protected.
How to Soften the Water in Your Swimming Pool
Whether you have experienced any symptoms of hard water or not, you should take the appropriate steps to ensure your pool water is soft before your hair and skin suffer the consequences.
Below are the five primary steps involved in softening water in a swimming pool:
1. Measure the Hardness Level of the Pool Water
The first step is to discover if your swimming pool has hard water. Measuring the water’s hardness level requires using a hardness test kit. Each strip has a colored square on the end. Take a test strip and dip the end in your pool water for a couple of seconds.
You should see the square change to a different color. Take the strip out of the water and carefully examine the new color. Compare it to the color code displayed on the test kit container to see what the new color indicates about your pool water.
Healthy pool water should have a hardness level of between 175 and 225 ppm (parts per million) if you have vinyl or fiberglass lining on your pool. But if your pool contains plaster or concrete material, the best hardness level would be between 200 and 275 ppm.
A pool water hardness level over 300 ppm is too high in all circumstances. If your test strip gave you a reading exceeding 300 ppm, you should soften the water in your swimming pool before using it again.
2. Replace Some of the Hard Water with Soft Water
Before you add water-softening chemicals to your pool water, there may be an easier and less expensive method for softening the water. It all depends on whether you have a reliable source of soft water that you can add to your pool.
First, use the pool pump to drain a couple of inches of water from your swimming pool. Measure the water level on the side of the pool to determine when you have accomplished this task.
Next, use a standard garden hose to add fresh water from your soft water source to the remaining pool water. If you do not have a soft water source, install a home water softener system to soften the water in your pipes before it comes out of the hose.
The objective is to replace the hard pool water you removed with soft water and to ensure the pool water level is back to its previous level. Replacing your hard water with softer water can take quite a while, so you must remain patient in the process. A standard pool takes 24-48 hours to be full from completely empty.
3. Wait 8 to 12 Hours and Test the Water
Use the pool pump to circulate the pool water for the next 8 to 12 hours. That should be enough time for the new soft water to mix and merge with the remaining hard water. Hopefully, it will lower the hardness of the pool water to the appropriate level.
After 8 to 12 hours, use another test strip to measure the hardness level again. If it is still over 300 ppm or the desired level for your pool, the next step is to add a chemical water softener. Otherwise, you can stop here if the hardness level is ideal.
4. Adding a Chemical Water Softening Agent
Purchase a chemical water softener from your local pool supply store or online. Read the product instructions to determine how much chemical water softener needs to be added to a pool of your size.
Take a five-gallon capacity bucket and fill it halfway with your pool water. Now, add some of the chemical water softener to the bucket of pool water. The instructions will tell you how much softener to add based on your pool size.
Mix around the chemical softener with the pool water in the bucket until they are blended well. Afterward, pour the solution from the bucket into the swimming pool.
5. Wait 24 Hours and Test the Water
Turn on the pool pump to circulate the pool water again. Leave it circulating for the next 24 hours to give the solution enough time to mix into all the pool water.
After 24 hours, use a new test strip to measure the water’s hardness level. The hardness level should have decreased since the last time you measured it. But if it is still not at the desired level, repeat the previous step by adding more chemical water softener to the pool.
Conclusion
Learning how to soften your pool water to the appropriate hardness levels may take some time. Just have patience and think of each step as a learning experience. Eventually, softening your pool water will get easier as you continue practicing.