Low PH problem

[john1261]

Ben,

I have added 6 boxes of Borax 2 each hour and retested. The PH is now a little darker yellow but still not showing any red. Still less than 7.2. Do I ignore that for now and start adding chlorine? When do I know that I can proceed with whatever is next? Pool water is still clear.

[aylad]

Getting your pH up above 7.0 is critical--keep working with the Borax until the pH comes up--then start working on the chlorine (and I would stop using any trichlor or other stabilized chlorine, and switch to bleach!).

[john1261]

I have already added 12 gallons of bleach to the pool and have the chlorine in the orange tinted yellow range. How do I test PH at that level?

[Watermom]

How do I test PH at that level?

In a nutshell, you can't. That is why it is always a good idea to adjust pH before you shock a pool.

[PoolDoc]

It's not super accurate, but you can get a fair idea of your pH by buying some DISTILLED water in the bottled water section at Walmart, and diluting a pool water sample 1:1 with distilled water. (Fill a 1 cup measure with 1/2 cup of POOL water & 1/2 cup of DISTILLED water, & mix) Test the DILUTED pool sample. It's will be accurate enough to let you tell if have gotten in the 7 - 8 range.