Problems with high pH

[marciastz]

I'm also having high PH. Its hard for me to tell for sure but I think its higher than 7.8. I tried MA but only put about 1/2 of what the acid demand chart said. I like to do things slowly and make sure. Alk 90, CYA 38, PH 78 +?, total chlorine 4. I have used only bleach for chlorinating for years now, but someone gave me 2 gallons of a liquid pool chlorine and I used some of that when I opened the pool. Wondering if that raised my PH???

[PoolDoc]

I broke your post into a new thread.

Bleach will temporarily raise the pH slightly, but the eventual effect is neutral. However, pool chlorine (10+% bleach) that's been stored for a year is mostly just salt and a bit of a caustic soda with very little chlorine left. Using enough OLD bleach to affect chlorine levels very possibly will raise pH.

Regardless, do two things:

1. Validate your pH test by adding up to 5 drops of acid demand reagent to the pH test mix. It should turn orange. If not, get a new kit. (Not sure how you did your acid demand test, so you may ALREADY have done this!)

2. Once you are sure you are getting valid pH readings, continue adding small DAILY doses of acid till your pH is in range.

And . . . in the future, use OLD bleach to clean your sidewalk or toilet.

Good luck!