Handling of Muriatic Acid

[gorocket1981]

Hello,

Following many comments on the forum, I finally decided that I would try Muriatic Acid to take care of the pH of my pool instead of using the Dry Acid that add sulfates.

I purchased a gallon tonight and I will let it outside in another container as recommended.

How are you handling it to put it in the pool? Are you wearing gloves and mask when handling it? How do you proceed to avoid splashing of Muriatic Acid when adding in the pool? I suppose that it is no good if it splash drops on the skin or other surfaces than in the water?

What are your tricks to handle it with safety and without issues?

Also, during the winter, if some remains in the gallon, I suppose that I will need to store it in the house to avoid freezing?

Thanks!

 

[mknauss]

I use safety glasses. I do not use any other PPE. I dip the bottle in the pool water then set it on the pool deck. Open the bottle and as I have a small pool, I pour into a 2 cup plastic measure with the bottle and measure at pool surface. I only add 8 oz at a time. I dip the acid bottle back into the pool and then set on the deck. Pour the acid out of the measure slowly at the return flow into the pool. Close the acid bottle.

Many folks add enough that they do not measure. If you can eyeball how much acid you need you can just set the bottle at water level and pour out of it.

Do realize the fumes are strong. Always best to use any wind to keep if from your breathing area.

I do not believe the acid will freeze. But then again, I live in the desert. So others can advise you on that.

 

[gorocket1981]

OK. Thanks. Lets see other's advice also then.

I forgot to ask another question in my initial post. How much time to wait after adding acid to the pool before it is safe to swim? Is it like 12 hours?

 

[mknauss]

With pump running, 15 minutes. If you brush the area, less than that.

 

[Richard320]

I wear glasses, so I don't wear goggles or any special gear at all. I have learned the hard way not to wear any clothes I value when working on the pool, but that's the extent of my preparations.

I also learned the hard way to move around the pool to where I can stand upwind. Those fumes will take your breath away! I generally just eyeball the amount since my plastic cup got brittle and broke. But when I did use a cup, I just leaned out over and measured over the pool in case I slopped any.

I add it to the return stream. By the time the jug is put away and/or the measuring cup is rinsed, I'm ready to go in. It's spread out enough.

Freezing is not a concern where I live. Frost isn't even common! I have no idea about winter storage.

 

[IceShadow]

Freezing point of MA is -50°F per google. I would not store it indoors or in a garage around metal.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

People often lump all acids together as "dangerous" to get on your skin but that is an oversimplification and not true in all circumstances. If you were to splash concentrated muriatic acid on your skin, it will not harm you. You simply take a deep breath, remain calm, place whatever is in your hands down on the deck and then wash off the area of you skin affected either in the pool water or under a stream of water in a sink. It will not instantly burn skin and takes quite a while before you will be in any danger. The point is - remain calm whenever you are dealing with chemicals whether it is an acid, base, bleach, whatever. Yes, the fumes are fairly noxious but those too are relatively harmless. Your nose is incredibly sensitive chemical detector and the odor threshold for MA is incredibly low compared to the concentration of fumes needed to cause harm. People also wrongly think that because they smelled the muriatic acid, they have harmed themselves. Not true at all. Again, simply remain calm, and move the bottle or your head away from the wind. MA has a very pungent odor like a mixture of vinegar & mustard but much more concentrated. It will make your eyes water and cause you to gasp a little for air or breathe out forcefully as that is the natural way your body deals with such odors. You won't die!

Not all acids are created equal. Sulfuric acid is very dangerous to your skin because the hydrogen sulfate ion (HSO4-) is incredibly hygroscopic (absorbs water) and has a very high heat of hydration. So sulfuric acid will literally draw all the water out of a skin cell and the heat of that reaction is high enough to cause a burn. Nitric acid (HNO3) is a powerful oxidizer and an acid. It causes skin burns because of the -OH group that the acid's structure has. The -OH group deprotonates (takes hydrogen atom away from) most organic compounds and leaves behind the NO2- group in it's place, that is called nitration (nitroglycerin is formed that way). So being a strong acid and a strong oxidizer makes nitric acid dangerous. Hydrofluoric acid (HF) is dangerous because of the fluorine atom (F-) is a very electronegative ion and it will want to react with just about anything it comes into contact with. HF will not burn your skin nor would you feel it if it did get on you. However, getting a few square inches of skin splashed with concentrated HF would be lethal - the HF will get into the skin, destroy bone tissue and sequester enough calcium ions to cause a person to go into cardiac arrest.

Muriatic acid is hydrochloric acid, or HCl. It is a strong mineral acid because it provides hydrogen atoms when dissolved in water. However, the counter ion is chloride (Cl-). And chloride is....well....salt. Chloride is not particularly harmful to your skin in any way so it doesn't represent an issue. The hydrogen atoms provided by the acid are what make it acidic, but your skin pretty much blocks them and so they can't do much harm in a short period of time. This is why MA is not really as dangerous as other acids although it is just as acidic or more so.

The concept of acidity is a bit oversimplified and leads to all sorts of myths and urban legend about how dangerous something is....

 

[Rocket J Squirrel]

Good TED Talk, @JoyfulNoise .

What I've wondered is why both MA & LC gallon jugs have vented caps. There must be a good reason, but I can't figure it out.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Good TED Talk, @JoyfulNoise .

What I've wondered is why both MA & LC gallon jugs have vented caps. There must be a good reason, but I can't figure it out.

It’s for safety. When sodium hypochlorite decomposes, one of the reaction pathways is the formation of oxygen gas. If the bottle was capped, it would eventually swell and possibly burst.

I’m not 100% sure all MA bottles are vented. My refillable jugs are not. But, if a manufacturer chooses to use vented caps, then it’s almost always a safety issue - they don’t want the jugs to swell and possibly break open or leak.

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

It will stain concrete (ask me how I know). I follow Marty's method. I float the bottle and measuring cup in the water and dispense. I rinse the cup out well, then cap the bottle and rinse it before I remove it from the pool.

 

[PoolGate]

I just dump it near the deep end return with no special ppe either. I pour it slowly as not to splash it. I don't measure as i have a good handle on how much i need. Keep in mind muriatic in your pool is a consumable and you'll probably need to add it on a regular basis. I add it 1 to 2 times per week. I buy 8 gallons to use during the pool season.

 

[Puertex]

Hello,

Following many comments on the forum, I finally decided that I would try Muriatic Acid to take care of the pH of my pool instead of using the Dry Acid that add sulfates.

I purchased a gallon tonight and I will let it outside in another container as recommended.

How are you handling it to put it in the pool? Are you wearing gloves and mask when handling it? How do you proceed to avoid splashing of Muriatic Acid when adding in the pool? I suppose that it is no good if it splash drops on the skin or other surfaces than in the water?

What are your tricks to handle it with safety and without issues?

Also, during the winter, if some remains in the gallon, I suppose that I will need to store it in the house to avoid freezing?

Thanks!

I have used MA for 4 years.
My eyes are sensitive to the fumes even when pouring in the open and using safety glasses.
Based on feedback from pool veterans here, I guess it depends on your specific sensitivity to the chemicals used.
Its bad enough for me that if I don't use goggles, I have to use an eyewash solution afterwards to stop the burning sensation on my eyelids.
I am over 65 so my sensitivity to chemicals may have increased over the years.
That's my 15 cents.

Puertex

 

[gorocket1981]

Thanks everybody for your information and comments. As always, it is greatly appreciated.

@JoyfulNoise Thanks for the detailed explanations. It is always interesting and helps understand better.

For storage, if I store it outside in a 5 gallons plastic bucket with a lid do you think it is fine?

It will stain concrete (ask me how I know). I follow Marty's method. I float the bottle and measuring cup in the water and dispense. I rinse the cup out well, then cap the bottle and rinse it before I remove it from the pool.

I am a curious person... If a drop from the bottle falls on the concrete, it will stain forever even if you immediately rinse? What about your concrete?

 

[mknauss]

For storage, if I store it outside in a 5 gallons plastic bucket with a lid do you think it is fine?

Yes

I am a curious person... If a drop from the bottle falls on the concrete, it will stain forever even if you immediately rinse? What about your concrete?

It will leave a very clean spot. Will fade over time.

 

[PoolGate]

Thanks everybody for your information and comments. As always, it is greatly appreciated.

@JoyfulNoise Thanks for the detailed explanations. It is always interesting and helps understand better.

For storage, if I store it outside in a 5 gallons plastic bucket with a lid do you think it is fine?




I am a curious person... If a drop from the bottle falls on the concrete, it will stain forever even if you immediately rinse? What about your concrete?

I am curious how you get it from the 5 gallon bucket to the pool. I use the 1 gallon bottle it comes in which has a handle and is designed to pour. I would think just using like a Homer bucket would be messy. Are you transferring the acid from the bucket to another container before adding to the pool?

 

[mknauss]

I am curious how you get it from the 5 gallon bucket to the pool.

The one gallon container of MA is stored in the plastic bucket to protect it from the sun.

 

[Richard320]

I am curious how you get it from the 5 gallon bucket to the pool. I use the 1 gallon bottle it comes in which has a handle and is designed to pour. I would think just using like a Homer bucket would be messy. Are you transferring the acid from the bucket to another container before adding to the pool?

I believe he meant store the jug in the bucket as secondary containment.

 

[Richard320]

I am a curious person... If a drop from the bottle falls on the concrete, it will stain forever even if you immediately rinse? What about your concrete?

It will foam up and eat the top layer off the concrete, leaving a clean white patch that will eventually age and blend in after a year or two. Just setting the jug down will leave a ring if there's any acid on the bottom from dribbles.

 

[gorocket1981]

Thanks again!

I am curious how you get it from the 5 gallon bucket to the pool. I use the 1 gallon bottle it comes in which has a handle and is designed to pour. I would think just using like a Homer bucket would be messy. Are you transferring the acid from the bucket to another container before adding to the pool?

As others suggested, I want to store the one gallon of MA in the bigger plastic bucket as many people are doing but I don’t have a big trash container. I wanted to confirm that putting the one gallon of MA in the 5 gallons plastic bucket to store outside would be fine.

I want to reduce the not needed manipulations so I won’t transfer the MA between container. And you are right, handling a 5 gallons container would clearly lead to a big mess.

I could have buy a quart of MA instead for easier manipulation but prices are almost the same.

 

[tiride]

Can you pour it slowly into the return vs just outside the return?