How to Test Your Pool Water
Testing your Swimming Pool water regularly is not only vital to your own health, but to your equipment as well. Unbalanced water can lead to corrosion and deterioration of your heat exchanger and/or other swimming pool hardware which can be very expensive to fix. I learned this lesson the painful way, when I had to replace a heat exchanger last June for $750.00. Since I paid a swimming pool guy to regularly come and take care of the pool, I knew nothing about testing my own water. I learned from another expert that putting Chlorine tablets in the strainer was not a good idea, and most likely led to the corrosion of the heat exchanger. I decided right then, that I was going to take matters into my own hands and learn how to take care of my own pool. I learned that the secret to keeping your pool water healthy year round is a little education and the proper pool testing kits. Over the summer as I became more familiar with the many different types of pool testing methods, I decided it is helpful to have a couple of different types of kits. The test strips make testing quick and easy, but not quite as accurate as the liquid test kits which take more time. There are really three common ways of testing your pool chemistry:
Pool Testing Strips
Pool testing strips are the quickest and most convenient way to test your pool. The test takes 10-15 seconds, and another 30 seconds to a minute for you to analyze the results and record them if you wish.
Liquid Testing Kits
Liquid test kits are not as fast and convenient as testing strips, but they are generally more reliable and complete in how they are used. Liquid test kits involve filling a sample of water into a test tube, then using chemical and titration agents to measure a change in colors. A different method is used depending the test you are doing: Free Chlorine, Total Chlorine, Total Hardness, PH Balance and CYA (Stabilizer), and Total Alkalinity.
Digital Test Kits
The aim of digital test kits is take the guesswork out of analyzing the results. PH Balance, Chlorine, Alkalinity, etc., are displayed to you via a digital number.