Calcium Hardness & Ice Melt

[Winger 03]

Winter here on the east coast making it a great time ot pick up some ice melt to use to up the CH in my pool this spring.

Quick question - the ice melt I am seeing is a mixture of Calcium Chloride, Magnesium Chloride, and Sodium Chloride. Is this OK to use or should I seek all Calcium Chloride pellets?

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Winter here on the east coast making it a great time ot pick up some ice melt to use to up the CH in my pool this spring.

Quick question - the ice melt I am seeing is a mixture of Calcium Chloride, Magnesium Chloride, and Sodium Chloride. Is this OK to use or should I seek all Calcium Chloride pellets?

You really want pure calcium chloride if possible. The other chlorides won’t do any harm but you’ll have to guesstimate a bit on the amount to add. Just make sure the stuff doesn’t contain a lot of dirt, some ice melts add sand to the mix to improve grip. You could predissolve it on a bucket first to see if any impurities settle out.

 

[IMissNimoy]

I was going to suggest purchasing this but noticed the price has jumped significantly. I purchased the same for $24 in October '18. It's good clean stuff. I wonder why the dramatic jump?

Amazon.com : Puri Tech Pool Chemicals 25 lb Calcium Hardness Increaser Plus for Swimming Pools & Spas Increases Calcium Hardness Levels Prevents Staining on Surfaces : Garden & Outdoor

Amazon.com : Puri Tech Pool Chemicals 25 lb Calcium Hardness Increaser Plus for Swimming Pools & Spas Increases Calcium Hardness Levels Prevents Staining on Surfaces : Garden & Outdoor

www.amazon.com

 

[Winger 03]

You really want pure calcium chloride if possible. The other chlorides won’t do any harm but you’ll have to guesstimate a bit on the amount to add. Just make sure the stuff doesn’t contain a lot of dirt, some ice melts add sand to the mix to improve grip. You could predissolve it on a bucket first to see if any impurities settle out.

Thanks Matt - so you are saying that the other chlorides will not increase the hardness at all but will do no harm - I guess that is OK in a pinch. I'll keep looking as I am about town.

 

[jseyfert3]

They do that mix because calcium chloride is expensive and most people won't want to buy it.

You should be able to find pure calcium chloride somewhere though, cause it has the lowest overall melting temp.

I maintain two buckets of ice melt at my house. Regular sodium chloride for temps above zero, and pure calcium chloride for when it goes lower and there's ice on walkways.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Thanks Matt - so you are saying that the other chlorides will not increase the hardness at all but will do no harm - I guess that is OK in a pinch. I'll keep looking as I am about town.

Magnesium will increase your GENERAL hardness number (magnesium + calcium hardness). But, because magnesium compounds don’t generally scale out of solution until the pH get really high, it doesn’t matter much. I wouldn’t call it totally benign but I wouldn’t lose sleep over it.

 

[Winger 03]

This is all great info, thanks so much!