Is Water Hardness Important In A Vinyl Pool

Free chlorine should be in the 1 0 2 0 range.

Is water hardness important in a vinyl pool.

Adding calcium increaser or replacing some pool water with softer water are the corrective actions for these two situations respectively. Both surfaces are impacted identically to a plaster pool with one exception. When water is too hard white scale forms. Keep your pool clean.

If a vinyl liner s calcium level is too low this soft water situation could lead to foaming and other water problems and can harm the vinyl. Calcium for a liner pool can be a bit lower than a plaster pool in the range of 150 250 ppm. Testing every week every two weeks at most will help you stay on top of things. Calcium hardness is the measure of how hard or soft your pool water is and measures how much calcium is dissolved in your pool water.

It also produces itchy skin. Hardness on the other hand is a measure of the calcium and magnesium in the water. Neither vinyl nor fiberglass has available calcium to donate to the water like a plaster pool. That is to say in calcium deficient water a plaster surface gives up necessary surface calcium to attain equilibrium with the water causing premature surface failure.

I explain calcium hardness in more detail in our swimming pool glossary. If calcium hardness goes above 400 ppm you will likely see a white flaky crust on the liner and pool equipment. To keep pool water balanced calcium hardness is one of the most important levels to maintain. A hardness of 10 is fine in a plastic pool.

In general the whole saturation index thing the pool industry has wasted so much paper on doesn t apply to most pools. Hardness at any level is only an issue in a plastic pool pvc pipes vinyl liner polymer pump if it s high. This is especially important if your water source is hard. When maintained at proper levels pool water resists a change in ph.

With sufficient levels of calcium dissolved the aggressive nature of water is tamed and will help prevent the leaching out of certain substances in pool equipment. Keeping a close eye on your pool chemistry will help you prevent problems related to calcium hardness and a lot of other things as well.