Podcast – Boron in Swimming Pools
Today, we’re going to look at the use of boron or borax in keeping swimming pools clean. Swimming pools are a great way to get in some exercise and have fun with friends and family. But the pools also require maintenance and keeping your swimming pool clean might seem like a daunting task as maintaining a pool is not easy but with the application of boric acid and sodium borates, can become much easier.
Boric acid and sodium borates are commonly used as pH buffers in swimming pools and spas as they help increase the capacity of the water to resist changes in pH levels. However, the application of borax does require routine maintenance by an experienced swimming pool professional,who knows how to maintain proper levels of both chemicals. So that the benefits last longer.
Swimming pool chemistry is the relationship between different chemical measurements in swimming pools as the pH levels need to be balanced for optimum performance and safety.
By a balanced pool, we mean the proper level of pH with completely checked alkalinity and calcium hardness to provide a safe water environment for people to swim in. The advised values are a pH of 7.2 to 7.8. total alkalinity of 80 – 120 parts per million, calcium hardness of 180 to 220 parts per million, and cyanuric acid a stabilizer of 30 to 50 parts per million.
You should understand what type of swimming pool chemical is best suited for your own pool so you can keep the water levels at an appropriate level and make the levels safer for everyone.
If you have a swimming pool, the chances are that it has an automatic swimming pool maintenance system in place to maintain the water chemistry levels. For example, removing phosphates from the swimming pool is often part of this system. Phosphates enter into your swimming pools, for instance, from the person swimming in the pool or from the swimming pool chemical that is used under the swimming pool.
And this may result in the need to remove phosphates and other minerals from your pool to maintain the pH levels. A typical way of removing phosphates would involve adding swimming pool chemicals. You would need to know what type of phosphate and borrowed swim pool chemical is best for your pool.
As for boron’s role in cleaning your pool, boric acid and sodium borate are compounds from boron and are the chemicals used for the cleaning.
Also borates are highly recommended for pools according to pool chemistry. Some advantages of these compounds of boron are: they are cheaper than traditional chemical treatments like chlorine. They can be mixed with water to higher concentration, which saves time on mixing and prevent splashing of unmeasured chemicals.
They are known to have applications, including inhibiting algae growth, and reducing corrosion, and can be directly applied to swimming pool services for killing bacteria. The borax used in swimming pools is also not harmful to humans and animals or plants in the measures provided.
Neither does it cause skin irritation adding is a one-time thing that does not decompose, get used up or expire. It’s only lowered by water in concentration.
Why are boron compounds a better option than other elements like chlorine? Traditional methods include the use of baking soda, sodium bicarbonate, and soda ash, sodium carbonate. to maintain the pH of pools. these are the typical chemicals used by pool owners. These chemicals help in raising the pH of the pool. increasing the alkalinity often leading to a fluctuation in the pH levels, which actually defeats the purpose of adding chemicals to stabilize the water. On the other hand, boron compounds are tremendously effective at stabilizing, alkalinity, and acting as pH buffers.
Although boron can be toxic at higher concentrations. Keep the levels below 400 parts per million. And there’ll be no harm. Any more than that could result in boric acidosis, which is a condition where borates accumulate in the body disrupt boron levels. So, what does borax do to a cloudy pool? Well, borax is the most common compound of boron and acts as an active buffer for swimming pools by stabilizing the chemicals used for making the pools safe. It increases the alkalinity by increasing the pH and maintaining an enticingly blue swimming pool.
Borax certainly helps in clearing cloudy pools and stabilizes the pool’s water making it clearer the total alkalinity. The other byproducts are inhibition of growth of microorganisms and it makes it safer to swim with a lower risk of infection from germs or bacteria. If the pool has good water circulation, it only takes 30 minutes to make the pool safe for swimming and a device called a pool calculator can be used for this.
Finally, for those of us lucky enough to have a swimming pool in the garden, Borax is used as a cleaner in pools. It can help stabilize alkalinity and work as a pH buffer. It also softens water, reduces the need for chlorination and inhibits any algae formation.
And that’s all from Borates more information on boron and borates, forget to check our website. borates.today and our YouTube channel and podcasts. Thanks for listening.
