Opening Muriatic Acid Bottles

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M

mrafal

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LifeTime Supporter
Nov 2, 2007
69
Austin, TX
I've been lurking since last year when I purchased my home which had a pool. Reading the considerable knowledge base on this forum has been a real education and my pool is doing extremely well as a result.

I had the pool re-plastered over the winter and as a result I am pouring in lots of muriatic acid to keep the pH in check.

I'm sure someone has a fabulous trick to easily and safely open the muriatic acid bottles. Every brand I have tried comes with a seal under the cap that I find difficult to open. The best I have done is to punch a hole with a screwdriver and use pliers to pull it off. It just doesn't seem it should be so hard. I wash off the tools right away, but I am sure I am damaging them.

What do others do?

Thanks -- Marc
 
I put on a rubber glove (the disposable kind), use a wooden shish kabob skewer to punch a few holes in the liner, then use the gloved hand to remove the liner and rinse everything in the pool.
 
I use a plastic knife from Wendy's. Has a fairly sharp point, and won't react if I get MA on it. Dunk it in the pool when I'm done.
 
I just lay the bottle on it's side with the opening pointing in the general direction of the pool, take a running jump and STOMP on it! BTW, I'm going through shoes and pants an a pretty rapid rate, is there a forum to discuss that?



Actually I find all the gloves and goggles and hazmat suits pretty funny. I just use a pocket knife to cut open the seal, pull it off with my bare hands and throw it out. I wash my hands when I'm done but that's about it... of course I'm only able to find the 15% acid around me so it's half as strong as what most of you are probably using.
 
Thanks for all the replies everyone.

Now I'm thinking about adding borax to slow the pH rise. The combination of new plaster and the aeration from the spa spillover has me adding acid almost daily.


Cheers all,
Marc
 
I switched to the pH Adjuster from HASA which use dry acid. I too have a new pool and had to add a little acid daily. I still have a few bottles left. I do the same as above, poke a hole then pull out. It's interesting to open a bottle when it's a bit humid out.
 

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EskimoPie said:
Actually I find all the gloves and goggles and hazmat suits pretty funny. I just use a pocket knife to cut open the seal, pull it off with my bare hands and throw it out. I wash my hands when I'm done but that's about it... of course I'm only able to find the 15% acid around me so it's half as strong as what most of you are probably using.
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Same here, real men don't need no stinkin gloves. :-D

Actually it is a little bit of a concern. If you are right next to the pool how much can you hurt if you get a drop or two on your hands and just rinse it off right away? I cut mine with an old knife and rinse all of it in the pool knife, hand and the seal.

I will admit I didn't know about the fumes and opened my first a few weeks ago down wind. NEVER again will that happen wow.
 
If any one is interested, those fumes are hydrogen chloride gas. Once they react with moisture (such as in your nose and lungs) they from hydrochloric acid once again. (I am sure you are all aware that muriactic acid is just a name for 31% or less hydrochloric acid and that when dry acid is dissolved in water it does form sulfuric acid. :shock: )
 
so, what are you saying bear...... :)


I just take the cap off, and find a small pointy rock in the landscaping that surrounds the pool to pop the seal off and then rinse my hand in the water in case anything got on me. Then, I'll slowly pour it in around the edge of the pool by the different returns. I'll make one full pass around the pool with the jug spreading it out as much to help it dilute.

If your careful, there's not a lot of danger in it and you have 10s of 1000's of gallons to rinse off any that may get on you, just go slow, be careful and watch out for the fumes. I still have my 10 fingers and not any new ones growing yet, so I think I'm still okay at this point.
 
sefrlw said:
Please don't take my man comment as a lack of respect! I agree totally with the bear be careful. I wish I new about the fumes the first time!
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I didn't. I am probably one of the biggest 'cutups' among the mods except perhaps for the mermaid queen. Just read some of the stickies I wrote to get an idea of my twisted sense of humor! :rockon: :whip: :goodjob:
 
I also use a sharp and pointy rocky to open it. Once the opening is started, I can pull it off by hand. I do wear PVC gloves and chemical handling goggles. Wash with soap and water when I am done.

Anybody know why the label on the acid bottles reads that it is for use in pools and RVs? What would you need HCl for an RV for?

Craig
 

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