Balance safety and fun with balanced pool water

Why should you test and balance your pool water 2x weekly?

Proper testing and balancing means that you can enjoy brilliantly clear pool water that is safe for your family to swim in. Balanced pool water protects pool surfaces and equipment and is gentler on hair and skin during your time spent swimming.

What does pool water testing check for?

If you’re wondering what pool water testing does, the HTH™ Pool Care 6-Way Test Strips and the HTH™ Pool Care 6-Way Test Kit help you check for:

1. Free available chlorine (FAC): This is the amount of “good” chlorine still available to kill bacteria and algae and should stay between 1 and 4 ppm.
2. Bromine: The alternative sanitizer to chlorine, often preferred for spas and indoor pools. By sticking between 3 and 5 ppm, you help avoid pool water damage and skin and eye irritation while still killing bacteria.
3. Total alkalinity (TA): By keeping your pool water's TA levels between 80 and 120 ppm, you can help prevent pH levels from fluctuating. Alkalinity that’s too high or too low reduces chlorine's effectiveness, damages pool surfaces and causes cloudy pool water.
4. pH: pH is how acidic or basic (alkaline) your pool water is. Pool water below 7.2 is too acidic and can result in corrosive water. Pool water above 7.8 reduces the effectiveness of chlorine and can cause cloudy water.
5. Total hardness (TH): This tests calcium hardness in your pool water. It’s important to keep at 180 to 220 ppm to protect pool surfaces and equipment and minimize foaming.
6. Cyanuric acid (CYA): Sunlight slowly degrades chlorine, but CYA helps prevent that. Keep CYA levels between 20 and 25 ppm to keep chlorine strong and active in your pool water.

HTH™ offers options to test for these 6 key areas. Simply text your results, or use our app to get personalized solutions!