If you have a swimming pool you are going to need to test for calcium hardness. Calcium hardness might not be as big as a test as chlorine, pH, Cyanuric Acid (CYA) and others but it should be tested from time to time. Calcium hardness is in abundance in our tap water. In the Orange County area, calcium comes out of the tap at 300 parts per million (ppm) and higher. Since it’s moderately hard coming out of the tap it can cause damage to your pool. Pool water needs some calcium but not as much as our tap produces. Typically, pools want 200-400 ppm. The challenge is what happens when it’s higher than 400ppm? To put it simply, it can cause thousands of dollars in damage to your pool and we want to inform you on how you can prevent it.
For the integrity of your interior finish, swimming pools need some calcium. Unfortunately, in our are they have too much. As pool water evaporates, calcium remains in solution and builds up in concentration. When calcium rises it causes the following issues:
- Scaling on your tile
- Scaling of your interior finish
- Scaling your filtration equipment
- Scaling of spillways and decorative water features
High calcium levels can also build up in your plumbing too. When this happens, filtration is compromised. That’s why you’re going to want to test for calcium hardness regularly. First, we recommend taking a sample into a pool store or purchasing Taylor Technologies K-1722 Drop Test. This is by far the most accurate way to test for calcium hardness. It will give you the accuracy you need and the ability to know what is going on with your chemistry. Please note, when your calcium levels climb above 600ppm scaling will occur. If you have spillways and decorative water features it will happen sooner. This is something you will want to prevent because if heavy scaling occurs it can be expensive to remove.
That’s why we recommend removing/lowering your calcium hardness in your pool every two years. This might need to be sooner if you own a salt chlorinator. By choosing Pool Water Recycling to lower your calcium, we guarantee you the best water quality. We use Reverse Osmosis (RO) filtration to lower calcium hardness. It retains 85% of the existing water in your pool and provides you with drinking quality water to swim in. This filtration is safe for residential and commercial swimming pools. It can be performed year round and doesn’t expose the interior finish.
We highly recommend purchasing this test kit and checking your water from time to time. You will want to prevent calcium scaling before it starts that’s why using our filtration will give you water that can lower your chances of calcium scaling. It will also prolong the lifespan of your investment and trust us when we say it’s a lot more fun to swim in.
Remember, take your water into a pool store or test it yourself regularly. Don’t let calcium hardness levels rise because when you do, your stress levels will rise too. If you should have any questions about our service or the effects of calcium on your pool, contact us today!
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