Going to try to add borates

[Charlize]

hi,

I want to add borates to our pool. Today i received a delivery from the chemical shop, and among other things i received boric acid. it is powder, contents says 100% boric acid, but under it says there is some boric oxide. Does this sound ok to use? I can take a pic of the label if it is not clear from my description what is inside.

 

[chem geek]

If it's mostly boric acid, then that is fine to use. A small amount of boric oxide in it is OK. It will somewhat lower the pH if you add enough to get to 50 ppm (perhaps lowering the pH from 7.5 to 7.2, depending on your TA level).

 

[Charlize]

ok, great. Are there any precautions i need to make when handling boric acid, fumes, irritation etc?

 

[JasonLion]

Boric acid is reasonably safe. I wear gloves when handling it, but even that isn't really necessary. You want to keep the undissolved powder away from pets. Pets are more sensitive to borates than people are.

 

[lbridges]

Boric acid is reasonably safe. ... Pets are more sensitive to borates than people are.

Not to mention insects.

Once upon a time... I lived in an inner city apartment that had some sort of undisclosed, but previous agreed to, shared use clause with the local roach population.

Raid and the other bug killers slowed them down a bit so you could hit 'em with a shoe, but that's about all. Since I was young and more than a little foolish, we also occasionally (and for fun) used butane lighters and cheapo hairspray as a flamethrower on the little critters.

Then a kind old lady (my Great Aunt Jennette if you must know) told me to use a boric acid/powdered sugar mix (roughly 50/50). I sprinkled the mix in heating ducts, back corners of closets/pantry, etc. Roaches checked out in short order. Good ole Auntie knew her stuff.

 

[polyvue]

Not to mention insects. [...]

Here's 5 Virtual Dollars and an Internet beer for your trouble... great story!

 

[Woodberg]

I've been thinking about adding borates to our pool also. Is there an optimal time of year to start the process or does it even matter?

 

[JasonLion]

You want the pump working when adding borates, so don't add while winterized. Other than that, it doesn't make a large difference when you add borates. If you lower the water level for the winter, there is a small advantage to adding borates in the spring shortly after opening. That way you get the most use out of them before lowering the water level for the next winter, and thus losing some of the borates you added.

 

[Charlize]

report:

i added 10kg of boric acid. tested after a few hours, borate level 30. ph went up a lot. added 1,5l of MA over a few days. now at 7,5. all is looking good. water feels nice, and is clean.

 

[chem geek]

Thanks for the report. That's really odd about the pH rising from boric acid. Normally, it would drop somewhat. Perhaps it was a mix of boric acid and borax. Really strange.

 

[Charlize]

yes, i thought it would drop a bit myself. i should say that it was the gardener that added the boric acid while i was away for a few days. when i got back, the ph was around 8. he said he hadnt added anything else. the swg could be the reason, i guess. but its a bit strange too, that it would rise so much just because of the swg.

 

[Brentr]

Thanks for the report. That's really odd about the pH rising from boric acid. Normally, it would drop somewhat. Perhaps it was a mix of boric acid and borax. Really strange.

I too just switched to borates (Team Mule 20)this past weekend and my pH went up from 7.5 to 7.8 . I adjusted it back to 7.5 by adding muratic acid.
No swimming as it is too cold and I have not noticed any water color change however the pool has been kept up to TFP specs
48 hrs later the pH drifted back up to 7.8 so I again adjusted it back to 7.5 . I am runnning the SWG and the FC is about 8. Would this cause the pH to drift upwards??
Borates test out at 50

 

[polyvue]

I too just switched to borates (Team Mule 20)this past weekend and my pH went up from 7.5 to 7.8 . I adjusted it back to 7.5 by adding muratic acid. No swimming as it is too cold and I have not noticed any water color change however the pool has been kept up to TFP specs. 48 hrs later the pH drifted back up to 7.8 so I again adjusted it back to 7.5 . I am runnning the SWG and the FC is about 8. Would this cause the pH to drift upwards?? Borates test out at 50

Hi Brent,

Not the chlorine, but the SWG could be a contributing factor. I just noticed you have the same over-sized chlorinator that I have. The TCELL-15 is promoted for pools <= 40K gallons; it's almost too much cell for your pool (mine, too) and so you should consider setting the percentage lower. It doesn't need to work that hard in the winter to sustain sufficient chlorine, especially with no one swimming right now.

If you added borax (not boric acid) to your pool the pH rise is quite expected. Did you happen to read through the thread discussing how to apply it? It must be incredibly basic to require the acid that is called for in that procedure. So, the fact that your pH is continuing to rise 48 hrs later isn't surprising. If you have a water feature running along with the pump, disable it for a few days. I doubt that you'll have to purposefully aerate to increase pH, but don't press your luck by adding too much acid at one time. At 50 ppm, you're done adding borax.

I understand that the administrators of this forum put $1000 each into a cash fund each year and award the proceeds to anyone who adds borax to their pool and successfully resists coming on the forum to announce that their pool is “sparkling.” To my knowledge, they’ve never had to pay out. Good luck in the contest.

Greg

 

[Brentr]

I too just switched to borates (Team Mule 20)this past weekend and my pH went up from 7.5 to 7.8 . I adjusted it back to 7.5 by adding muriatic acid. No swimming as it is too cold and I have not noticed any water color change however the pool has been kept up to TFP specs. 48 hrs later the pH drifted back up to 7.8 so I again adjusted it back to 7.5 . I am running the SWG and the FC is about 8. Would this cause the pH to drift upwards?? Borates test out at 50

Hi Brent,

Not the chlorine, but the SWG could be a contributing factor. I just noticed you have the same over-sized chlorinator that I have. The TCELL-15 is promoted for pools <= 40K gallons; it's almost too much cell for your pool (mine, too) and so you should consider setting the percentage lower. It doesn't need to work that hard in the winter to sustain sufficient chlorine, especially with no one swimming right now.

If you added borax (not boric acid) to your pool the pH rise is quite expected. Did you happen to read through the thread discussing how to apply it? It must be incredibly basic to require the acid that is called for in that procedure. So, the fact that your pH is continuing to rise 48 hrs later isn't surprising. If you have a water feature running along with the pump, disable it for a few days. I doubt that you'll have to purposefully aerate to increase pH, but don't press your luck by adding too much acid at one time. At 50 ppm, you're done adding borax.

I understand that the administrators of this forum put $1000 each into a cash fund each year and award the proceeds to anyone who adds borax to their pool and successfully resists coming on the forum to announce that their pool is “sparkling.” To my knowledge, they’ve never had to pay out. Good luck in the contest.

Greg

The pool is only 6 mths new and the plaster is still curing so this could be a contributer of the pH rising. I have noticed that the Ph was getting more stable prior to adding borax :-D