My water seems to be too drying.

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Shelley N

Shelley N

0
May 1, 2007
199
Denver, Colorado
This is our 2nd year with a 15 x 30 AGP. We're strictly BBBrs.

This year our PH is higher than last (I actually had to add Borax regularly to keep it up last year). It is very steady--around 7.6-7.8, depending on which eye I use to look at the results, time of day, and wind direction 8). My problem is my skin feels very dried out after a swim. (1) Is it true this can be a side effect of high PH?

I got some Muriatic Acid Tuesday and added 2 cups which took it to 7.4, and left town for a few days. I did not test for ALK. I wondered if I had overdone it until I tested today and it's back to it's 7.7!

A large difference between last year and this is a large construction project 150 yards away that's imported massive amounts of fill dirt from what smells like a feed lot (PU) :roll: . I am constantly vacuuming silt (mixed with who knows what) off the bottom of the pool, very unlike last year. (2) Am I getting "natural" Borax from the construction project? We live in Colorado and I believe our soil is Alkaline, maybe 8.5?

Finally, (3) what can I do to make the water feel less drying to my skin?

Our numbers are:

FC - 4.5
CC - 0
CYA 25-27ish (thought I'd play with this low this year...now I'm following the high CYA thread and may adjust)
PH - 7.7
ALK - 110
CAL - 60
Denver, CO
84 degrees
10,997 gal AGP
Sand filter
 
To address they dryness:

your FC could come down a smidge, as you are near the top of the range...

Another thing you could do, if you are game, is add some salt. you can search here for testimonies, and also at the PoolForum. Start with a couple of 40# bags of solar salt (like for water softeners... 99% pure), which will get you in the vicinity of 1000ppm. You can always add more if you are not seeing the benefits.
 
Thanks for the reply Mermaid.

I LOVE the salt idea, however, our pool is an above ground, and I'm hesitant about splashing salt water over the pump and filter, not to mention the flowers.

Regarding the CL, I've been keeping it at the upper end due to all the "stuff" that's been ending up in the pool on a daily basis from the dirty dirt. Do you think that could be my drying problem and it's not the PH?
 
I understand your hesitation. There are some here with salted AGP's that could add insight. I was curious at one point about putting a SWG on an AGP, but (not opening a can of worms here...) was concerned about the corrosion issue also. I think if you are diligent about rinsing, there should be no trouble.

As far as the dirt and the pH... I have not heard about higher pH drying your skin, but then again, there is a lot I have not heard! So I would be blaming the CL regardless! (though I totally understand your reasoning for running it a bit higher)

Sorry I cannot be of more assistance!
 
No, the return is aimed truly laterally and does a wonderful job of circulating the water, but no aeration. Just how much aeration is needed? Me and the kids splash around a couple times a day, but it's not for more than 10 minutes at a time usually.
 
The Mermaid Queen said:
To address they dryness:

your FC could come down a smidge, as you are near the top of the range...

Another thing you could do, if you are game, is add some salt. you can search here for testimonies, and also at the PoolForum. Start with a couple of 40# bags of solar salt (like for water softeners... 99% pure), which will get you in the vicinity of 1000ppm. You can always add more if you are not seeing the benefits.
Click to expand...

I too have an awful time with my skin drying out. I have such sensitive skin that I even gets hives occasionally after swimming. One time, right after we got our pool, I added 2 bags of Solar Salt and noticed a BIG difference. I stopped at Lowes today and bought 4 more bags. Do you know if you can add TOO much? (We do NOT have a SWG...we use the BBB method)
 
NicInNC, yes, you can add too much.

You do not need to go all the way to SWG levels to get all the benefits. My non- SWG IG pool currently has 1800 ppm, and I couldn't imagine the water feeling any better.

I'd recommend starting at 1000 ppm, then going up in 250 ppm increments from there, slowly, and monitoring water feel. You can do this with the aqua check white test strips, which have a reputation for being accurate.
 
Rangeball said:
NicInNC, yes, you can add too much.

You do not need to go all the way to SWG levels to get all the benefits. My non- SWG IG pool currently has 1800 ppm, and I couldn't imagine the water feeling any better.

I'd recommend starting at 1000 ppm, then going up in 250 ppm increments from there, slowly, and monitoring water feel. You can do this with the aqua check white test strips, which have a reputation for being accurate.
Click to expand...

What am I looking for when I use the test strips? Am I looking at the chlorine levels? I didn't know that strips tested for salt.
 

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I would think the low Ca would not cause it... makes your water more like actual softened water if it has a low Cal/Mag content. Some people's skin is just more prone to drying, like if they have dry skin to begin with. Me, I could sit in a vat of bleach and still not get dry skin. :roll:
 
I've got a 15x30 above ground and no swg. I put 4 bags of solar salt in last year and added another
2 bags this year and my wife and I love it.... I can't imagine going without it in the pool... I can taste
the salt slightly, no dry skin or hair and no red or burning eyes. I was reluctant to try it at first because
of the corrosion factor but I havent noticed any at all! Even where my waste hose runs, It has not even
killed the grass... Just my opinion!

Todd
 
Shelley N said:
This is our 2nd year with a 15 x 30 AGP. We're strictly BBBrs.

This year our PH is higher than last (I actually had to add Borax regularly to keep it up last year). It is very steady--around 7.6-7.8, depending on which eye I use to look at the results, time of day, and wind direction 8). My problem is my skin feels very dried out after a swim. (1) Is it true this can be a side effect of high PH?
Click to expand...


Yes, too high a Ph can cause skin irritation. I know that some people state that the ideal Ph range can run up to 7.8. But I've found (on my skin anyway) that I've gotten skin irritation in the 7.7,7.8 range. I've also noticed my water starts to get a little cloudy at 7.7.



Shelley N said:
I got some Muriatic Acid Tuesday and added 2 cups which took it to 7.4, and left town for a few days. I did not test for ALK. I wondered if I had overdone it until I tested today and it's back to it's 7.7!
Click to expand...

If the Ph is raising back up that quick I would think you've got something going on. It may be unknown right now...But something has got to be causing the fast rise. (have you still got this problem?)

Shelley N said:
A large difference between last year and this is a large construction project 150 yards away that's imported massive amounts of fill dirt from what smells like a feed lot (PU) :roll: . I am constantly vacuuming silt (mixed with who knows what) off the bottom of the pool, very unlike last year. (2) Am I getting "natural" Borax from the construction project? We live in Colorado and I believe our soil is Alkaline, maybe 8.5?
Click to expand...

This sounds like it could be a possible cause. I would venture near the site in question and grab a soil sample to test the Ph. You can get a DIY self soil test kit or check with some of the local businesses in your area to check the Ph for you.

Shelley N said:
Finally, (3) what can I do to make the water feel less drying to my skin?

Our numbers are:

FC - 4.5
CC - 0
CYA 25-27ish (thought I'd play with this low this year...now I'm following the high CYA thread and may adjust)
PH - 7.7
ALK - 110
CAL - 60
Denver, CO
84 degrees
10,997 gal AGP
Sand filter
Click to expand...

I would lower the Ph...but this problem seems to shoot back up fairly quick. So I'd check with some of the others here to find out if there is any possible draw back to using muriatic acid on a semi-regular basis (if this is in fact what you'll have to do for the remainder of the construction project).

I wonder if you could benefit from the Ph buffering qualities of Borax?

You could also try adding solar salt to your pool as well. Some find that it helps the skin, hair and eyes feel better, myself included.


take care,
dan
 
Now this is quite interesting, adding solar salt to above ground pool. I have very sensitive skin as well and I already have little skin bump irriation. As you may have seen from other posts of mine, I am having some issues with high CYA and Alkalinity. Maybe I'm allergic to my bathing suit as this seems to be the part of the skin that is most affected.

Perhaps salt would be helpful, So, then do you just dump some in? How much for 7600 gallons and would this be compatible with our nature 2 gizmo...........i know I was poolstored this year _ i'm working on it with the help of all you lovely folks!
 
In 7600 gallons I would try between one and two 40 lb bags of salt. You can just dump it in, though it is good to spread it around a bit with a brush so it doesn't all pile in one place. It should all disolve fairly quickly, if it doesn't a bit more brushing around should take care of it.
 
2-40 lb bags of solar salt (from lowe's, home depot) will give your pool 1300 ppm salt, which should give you the silky feel of salt. If I were you, I would dump 1 40 lb bag in then see how you like that, then go from there.
 
The bleachcal program has salt calculations in it as well as bleach calcs.


You can order some salt test strips to first get your baseline salt level in your pool water...and then test again after you your salt. In a 7600gallon pool 40lbs of salt will increase your salt levels by 631ppm.

You'll want to look for 99.8 course solar salt, with no additives. I dumped my bags in one at a time about 2 foot from the discharge. Then I just aimed the discharge down on top of the salt and almost all of it mixed up in ten minutes or so.

dan
 
I still have the fast PH rise problem. I added 8 oz. of acid yesterday morning that got it down to 7.4 but by evening it was already up to around 7.5 maybe even. I was shocked. Like I said, last year was full of adding Borax every now and again to keep it down. Much prefer that to adding acid.
 
Since you are not using an acidic source of chlorine (i.e. you are on BBB), you can lower your TA level more. With your lower CYA, you can lower your TA down even to 60, though try out 80 or 70 first to see if it makes a difference. It will likely reduce the amount of acid you need to add but may only have a small effect on the rate of pH rise.

In addition to lowering TA, you can add 30-50 ppm Borates to the pool which will reduce the rate of pH rise (but not change the amount of acid that needs to be added). So combining the lower TA with the Borates, you should see a reduction in both the amount of acid you need to add and in the rate of pH rise.

Does your pool have any water aeration features? If so, then they could be contributing to the rise in pH and you can turn off such features to see if it makes a difference (though doing the above TA/Borates should let you use those features in the future).

Richard
 

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