Boric Acid the easy way

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With shipping through Amazon I paid about $80 for a 55lbs pail. I only needed 40lbs to treat 16,000 gal.

I believe you can order direct from Duda Diesel for less

Use PoolMath to calculate your borate need.

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You can buy boric acid in small quantities (it's usually sold as a granular powder, not a liquid).

The other method would be to use Borax and muriatic acid. Borax is sodium tetraborate dihydrate which is alkaline and will raise your spa water pH. So you first add acid to lower the pH, then borax to add borates.

20 Mule Team Borax can be found in the laundry product section of any major supermarket chain or big box store (Target and Walmart).


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You buy it by weight and 25 ounces is about 1-1/2 pounds so you could buy a 1 pound bag and an 8 ounce bag or buy two 1-pound bags and use the extra in the future to make up for water dilution. You can get boric acid from DudaDiesel or from The Chemistry Store.

If you use 20 Mule Team Borax and acid instead, you split up the dosages because if you add all the acid at once first your pH would crash (since the acid would consume 109 ppm of TA) possibly seriously damaging your spa shell and metal components. If you instead were to add all the borax at once first, your pH would rise a lot likely causing calcium carbonate scaling. So to prevent this, only add no more than half of the acid followed by half of the Borax, back and forth. If your TA is already low at around 50 ppm, then split into one-quarter quantities. It's because of this extra work that boric acid is easier.
 
So, I guess it's time to resurrect an old thread. While unpacking from our most recent move, I have discovered another source for boric acid. It's called roach and ant killer by PIC. Says it's 99% boric acid and 1% inert. Would this be the same as the stuff from Duda? Seems like a silly question, boric acid is boric acid, I just wonder about the 1% unknown stuff.
 
I did the same thing a few weeks back. Ordered from Duda and threw it in. I didn't notice any immediate results until than the water feeling more silky. But last night out by the pool, with the pumps and features off and no wind...you would have thought there was no water in the pool. I am truly amazed at how it looks. I highly suggest during the boric acid route...it is sooooo each. And you won't have a million (okay 8-10) bottles of MA to need to rebalance. Tossed in the boric acid, brushed a bit to stir it around...no noticeable affect on pH and only knocked my TA down 10.

I definitely recommend this route for people wanting to do borates.
 
bobodaclown said:
The boric acid from dudadiesel is 99.9% Boric Acid. Duda Diesel Material Safety Data Sheets and Standard Certificate of Analysis

The pic brand is significantly less: Orthoboric Acic 64% Other Ingredients 36% http://www.biconet.com/crawlers/roachKiller.html
Click to expand...

Interesting. On the package it says 99% Guess there are different strengths out there. But more important is the price. Can get a 1 lb. package of 99% for $2 at Doller General. Since we are all about suggesting alternative sources for chemicals this might be one to add to the boric acid list...
 

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I already linked to DudaDiesel which sells boric acid for $13.75 for 5 pounds with free shipping so that is $2.75 per pound. $44.95 for 25 pounds again with free shipping is $1.80 per pound.

If Zap-A-Roach says it's 100% boric acid, then that would work, but this sounds like much smaller quantities and a price that isn't better than DudaDiesel in quantity.
 
I like being able to walk into a store a mile or so from home and get what I need. Others might feel the same way. Having to wait for stuff online, adds a cost that's hard to define but is real to me.
So $2.50 a lb at DG is cheaper in my book. As long as it's the same stuff.
 
One problem you can run across with ant/roach killer products is that they will be very fine powders meant for dusting entryways and such. These types of insecticides will also contain anti-caking agents so that they are free flowing as well as many containing diatomaceous earth (DE) to act as an abrasive which removes the waxy coating from the insect's exoskeleton. Without the waxy coating, the insect dessicates from water loss.

And here's the kicker - DE (uncalcined) and some anti-caking agents are not considered hazardous (in fact, uncalcined DE is a food additive), and therefore are not reportable in the MSDS. That is why they can say it's 100% boric acid powder even though it might be 60% boric acid and 40% other inert ingredients.


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