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Household Chemicals For Pool Maintenance

For pool maintenance, you can use these generic household chemicals to replace most of the pool store ones.

  • Baking soda is the same thing as pool store total alkalinity increaser (sodium bicarbonate or the more proper sodium hydrogen carbonate). 1.5 lbs per 10,000 gallons of pool water will increase total alkalinity by 10ppm.
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  • Household bleach (sodium hypochlorite) can be used to shock the pool. This is especially important if you don't want to deal with calcium precipitation (especially in hard water). 1/2 gallon of household bleach (non scented) per 10,000 gallons of pool water will increase the chlorine level by 5ppm.
  • Muriatic acid can be used to lower the total alkalinity of a pool. You can find this in almost all hardware stores and it's sold as a cleaner. 1.3 pints per 10,000 gallons of pool water will decrease the total alkalinity by 10ppm.
  • Borax (yes, the stuff in the green box in the laundry isle) can be used to buffer the pH and raise it. 1/2 cup per 10,000 gallons will increase your pH. How much depends on quite a few factors so you will have to adjust according to the results you receive in your particular pool.
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By Robert Joanis

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By Lynda (Guest Post)
May 27, 20071 found this helpful

Hm-m-m-mmmm. This reminds me of my neighbor a block away who is renting a house/pool, on low buget and whose husband died mysteriously at an early age. The pool pump/filter is broken so they just add whatever chemicals they can to the pool, not knowing what's what. It's critical that anyone trying to do their own pool service know how to use and to buy a water PH tester, then keep it up.
Also, Muriatic Acid and Common Bleach can truly burn the eyes, skin so BE CAREFUL, BE CAREFUL....
My mother had a pool for 20 yrs. and every single pool maintenance person began to have eye problems, left and was promptly replaced by some unsuspecting young person, and the same story

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repeated itself. It's terribly dangerous, especially if the pool is located in full sun and in the SOUTH or
TEXAS. Use EXTREME CAUTION and do your homework. God bless and keep you. : )

 
July 29, 20170 found this helpful

I drain my pool is it okay if I use Comet to scrub it with with water and a broom

 
July 29, 20170 found this helpful

What can i use to clean it with home cleaner

 
June 7, 20070 found this helpful

Very true. Pool maintenance can be hazardous if caution is not taken when dealing with caustic or oxidation chemicals. However, following the precautions right on the label of the products is enough to keep one safe.

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Not sure what the problem was about the eye problems, but I've never encountered them nor heard of such.

 
By regina frohn (Guest Post)
June 11, 20070 found this helpful

help....we are new to all this and are spending $$$$ on chemicals and still getting cloudy and green/yellow water....we have shocked it , algae it and scrubbed it...help...next I am going to drain it and plant flowers....

 
By Ronnie in NJ (Guest Post)
August 24, 20080 found this helpful

I have a high end pool store a 1/2 mile from the house I moved into in 2005. I spent hundreds trying to get the water to read right on their "computer". One day I came home and it was green, I almost lost my mind!

I came across a similar pool site that gave the same suggestions, along with the "technical" reasons why it was o.k.

I am happy to say, my pool has never looked better! Water is crystal clear, stubborn black mold on the liner is completely gone and I have not used algicide once this summer.

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Takes some experimenting with amounts for your pool. I have a 20 * 40, liner pool and I usually only put a half bag baking soda (from BJ's) or 1/2 box Borax (make sure it is 20 mule and not detergent!!!!)

Also, my father has been maintaining their 16*32 liner pool for YEARS with just liquid clorine & algecide.

Pool places want to sell chemicals and promote the hype. This stuff truly works!

 
May 17, 20170 found this helpful

Hi I have a 18,000 gal inground pool do I just add it in my pool or do I mix it first in a bucket and how much do I use of each

 
May 17, 20170 found this helpful

Hi I have a 18,000 gal inground pool do I mix everything in a bucket first or dump it in my pool and how much do I use

 
May 27, 20142 found this helpful

I have had an above ground pool for 12 years now and last year was the first year I had no problems with my pool water. I have always relied on the pool places to help me with the balancing of my pool and every year spend between 500 & 800. We have hard water, sulfur in our water and live in the country surrounded by fields. Weve always had algae problems etc. Last year I used bleach, borax, & baking soda and spent less than 250.00.

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My pool even looked great when we opened it up just a week ago. Household products are not any more harmful to our bodies than the pool chemicals. If anything they are safer not worse. Fisrt key step is alkalinity balance, if your alkalinity is off you will waste your bleach. The only pool chemical I use is the stuff to lower PH because its stronger than the muriatic acid found in the cleaning isle of hardware stores. and less corrosive on my pools hardware. Good luck with your pools this year.

 
Anonymous
May 16, 20170 found this helpful

I have a pool that has 1400 gallons of water.. how much bleach, Borax, and baking soda should I use to start out?

 
May 17, 20170 found this helpful

Do I mix everything in a bucket first or add it to the pool directly

 
April 20, 20170 found this helpful

thanks for the information I went to Leslie's to test my water (pool was green) they quoted me a whole expensive treatment

After checking your web site I just went to the Dollar store and bought 4 gallons on chlorine bleach (no scents added)

Cleaned the three cartridges and programmed the filter to run for 12 hours, poured all four gallons and the next morning NO MORE GREEN

It's still cloudy but I saved over $130 dollars for the treatment

Ph is good I'll just keep running the filter and maybe clean the cartridges again today

Thanks for your information

 
March 29, 20180 found this helpful

Hi, Thanks for your great tips.
What about increasing stabilizer to the pool? Any household products would do it or what to buy? Thank you so much

 

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