A swimming pool is surely enough to provide an entertaining spot for everyone. That is why investing your money in a swimming pool is never a bad idea.
But, you have to be ready to deal with numbers of regular maintenance once you include a swimming pool as an addition to the feature of your house. From daily to yearly maintenance, all of the steps are definitely necessary to keep the pool look adorable and feel comfortable at the same time.
If you don’t maintain it regularly – even as simple as skimming the debris – you will have to face the worse problems and the cloudy pool is one of the common cases that can happen. Cloudy pool water can be caused by several factors like low chlorine level, imbalanced pH and alkalinity level, clogged filter, and algae invasion. Of course, a cloudy pool doesn’t only look nasty buy unsafe to swim to as well.
When you experience cloudy pool water, you have to solve it as soon as possible. Luckily, if the problem caused by the pH and alkalinity level which is not in an ideal range, you can fix it with household stuff that you got in your kitchen.
(You may also like: 9 Easy Steps on How to Acid Wash a Pool All by Yourself)
Yes, it’s baking soda. This kitchen’s must-have ingredient can surprisingly help the cloudy water problem. Wanna know how? Well, just keep scrolling to find out the tutorial on How to Clear a Cloudy Pool with Baking Soda below.
How to Clear a Cloudy Pool with Baking Soda
At first, you may wonder, how does baking soda can handle such a serious issue like cloudy pool water? The answer is, baking soda – also known as sodium bicarbonate – contains a pH of 8.3 along with the bicarbonate ions. In short, when those things contact with water, they can balance the pH and alkalinity level.
Prepare these supplies:
- Pool water tester kit or strips
- Baking soda
- Clean water
- Bucket
- Wood bar
- Protective gear (rubber gloves, dust mask, and eye goggles)
You just need to simply prepare those supplies for this effort to solve cloudy pool water.
Test the Water
As mentioned above, baking soda can only help to clear the cloudy water problem when it’s caused by imbalanced pH and alkalinity level. Therefore, before you purchase some pounds of baking soda, make sure you check the root of the problem at first.
- Use pool water tester strip or kit to check the level of pH and alkalinity of your pool water.
- When they are below the ideal range, then you can continue to the next step.
Measure the Amount
You will need to do some math for this step since you may add too much baking soda which can worsen the problem. The amount of baking soda that you need depends on two factors which are the level of the pH and alkalinity and the size of your swimming pool.
- The rule of thumb is 1.25 pounds of baking soda can work to raise the alkalinity level of 10,000 gallons of water by 10ppm.
- Use the calculation of your pool volume and the level of alkalinity to determine the amount of baking soda that you need. For instance, you will need 3 to 4 pounds of baking soda when the pH level is below 7.2 for a 10,000-gallon swimming pool.
Add the Baking Soda
Now, it’s time to add the baking soda to the swimming pool. Be careful about pouring it into the water, you may need to avoid doing the step in a windy day.
- You can either sprinkle the baking soda to the swimming pool in a circular motion so it can spread evenly or pour directly into the skimmer.
- Keep the water moving to evenly spread the baking soda and prevent cloudiness.
- Let it dissolve completely in the water for about 6 to 10 hours.
(Recommended to read: How to Backwash a Pool Tutorial with Only 3 Quick Simple Steps)
Retest the Water
After you are sure enough that the baking soda has dissolved well in your pool water, you can retest the water again.
- Get your pool water tester kit or strip again.
- Check the alkalinity and pH level of the pool water.
- If you have to add more baking soda, do not add more than 2.5 pounds of it in one day. Wait until the next day to add more baking soda to the water.
Try now!
So those are the steps that you can follow if you want to use baking soda to clear the cloudy pool water. Keep in mind that this is a quick effort that you can try in an attempt to solve the problem. The most important thing is that you have to know the cause of the problem so you can really benefit from the material.
Baking soda has been known for helping the cloudy pool water by a lot of homeowners. This kitchen’s stuff can be one of the solutions to try when you are facing the problem. It’s a practical and affordable option that you can do all by yourself.
(Check this out: How to Raise Free Chlorine in Pool Tutorial with Only 4 Quick Steps)
Adding the baking soda is safe for your swimming pool. As the natural material, it won’t harm both the people who use the pool or the pool itself.
However, you have to add the right amount of baking soda since it can raise the alkalinity level of the water. High alkalinity or pH level can cause calcium build-up which damages the pool construction and clogs the filter. That is why you have to carefully measure the amount of baking soda that you add to your pool water to avoid causing the worse problems.
In conclusion, adding baking soda is always a worth-to-consider idea to clear the cloudy pool water. You don’t have to spend a lot to purchase some pounds of baking soda and you can finish the job all by yourself. It’s a cheap and practical solution to keep in mind if only you do it right!
