Klean-Strip Safer Muriatic acid?

[cfroehl1]

Ok, so I am way ahead of myself because I am so new to doing anything right with my pool, but I am thinking about the whole borates thing. I was trying to find out how much the MA is and when I went to Lowes online, they were advertising Klean-Strip Safer Muriatic acid. http://www.lowes.com/ProductDisplay?par ... &cId=PDIO1
Very limited info, so I couldn't really figure out if it would do the job that it needs to do for pool purposes. Basically, I'm trying to figure out how much this procedure will cost me, and I want to make sure I'm using the right products... Any thoughts?

 

[257WbyMag]

I wouldn't use it for your pool. One of the problems with the so-called "safer" versions of muriatic acid is that we can't know for certain exactly what is all in there. There are probably some buffers in the mix that make it fume less than full strength 31.45% HCl but we don't know what those buffers are and therefore, we don't know what effects they might have on our water chemistry.

Sometimes you can pull an MSDS and get some information there. The problem with that though is that the MSDS typically only includes those ingredients that are directly harmful and the other inert stuff is left out. It is these inert items that are the mystery.

 

[JasonLion]

They don't even list the strength/concentration of muriatic acid that it is equivalent to! At least Acid Magic does that. The MSDS hints that it is noticeably weaker than 31.45%.

 

[cfroehl1]

I wouldn't use it for your pool. One of the problems with the so-called "safer" versions of muriatic acid is that we can't know for certain exactly what is all in there. There are probably some buffers in the mix that make it fume less than full strength 31.45% HCl but we don't know what those buffers are and therefore, we don't know what effects they might have on our water chemistry.

Somehow, I knew you were going to say that... Just needed confirmation...

Have you bought the muriatic acid? How dangerous is it--my mom wigged out when I mentioned using it in the pool. Tried to explain to her but I didn't do a very good job, and somehow she wasn't getting it that the Borax and the MA together would balance each other out... She's a pool owner, and I got, "You don't know what that's going to do to your liner! What about the kids???" :blah: :blah: :blah: She thinks I'm nuts for trying the bleach as well. Have to get her to visit this site.

 

[257WbyMag]

The main danger from muriatic acid is to your eyes. Wearing protection for your eyes is a very good idea. If it gets on your skin, just wash it off quickly. You won't want to breathe the fumes as they are strikingly sharp. Just be careful with it and don't splash it.

 

[cfroehl1]

Thanks for the tips! I am waiting for my test kit to arrive (should be here tomorrow) because I want to get my CA and FC in the right place before I go ahead with the other... Right now I'm using the strips and both FC and CA are barely registering, so I have to get that stuff rolling first I think.

 

[svenpup]

If you want to do borates and avoid the muriatic acid, just order boric acid which is "plug & play". It is a little more expensive but I thought it was worth it.

When I add muriatic acid for my bi-weekly pH adjustment dilute the 2 cups of MA I need in a five gallon bucket about 2/3 full of pool water. Then I carefully pour the bucket into the pool. This way you are putting ~1.5% MA into the pool.

 

[geekgranny]

If you want to do borates and avoid the muriatic acid, just order boric acid which is "plug & play". It is a little more expensive but I thought it was worth it.

When I add muriatic acid for my bi-weekly pH adjustment dilute the 2 cups of MA I need in a five gallon bucket about 2/3 full of pool water. Then I carefully pour the bucket into the pool. This way you are putting ~1.5% MA into the pool.

I do same thing but can manage a smaller bucket better, like 2-3 gal. I like to use a bucket that has a sturdy handle, too. Older buckets get brittle with age.

gg=alice