See What You See and Not What You Want to See

by Felicia A. Williams

While I was in the process of lowering the pH on the pool, I tested the water every two hours after adding pH Decrease. I could have sworn that my water pH levels were nearing the target zone because every time I looked at the colors on the testing kit, it seemed to get closer to the ideal light tangerine color.

After all, I put 6 pounds of pH Decrease in the pool. It must be getting close to ideal pH. I was getting excited until I asked other family members to look at the test results. Each one of them told me that I was not as close as I thought I was.

Thinking that those family members needed glasses, I decided to test the pool's alkalinity (that’s something that I don’t understand as yet, but since alkalinity and pH go hand in hand I decided to use a different test with different, more pronounced colors). Unfortunately, testing the alkalinity only confirmed what my family was telling me. The pool’s pH level was nowhere near where it needed to be.

The alkalinity test told me that I needed to add a lot more acid to the water to bring the pH down (just a clue: alkalinity should be anywhere between 80 and 100 ppm...my pool alkalinity was 220 ppm). UGH! So, back to square one. I’m adding acid every two hours and having my family tell me how close I am. Between my family’s input and the alkalinity test, I’ll eventually get it right.

Moral of the story, it takes a village to raise a pool (or to lower pH in my case).

About the Author: Felicia Williams is a wife, mother and grandmother who likes to write about a host of topics.

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Last Modified: 24 March 2020