How to Accurately Test Your Pool Water

Testing your water is a very important part of being an above ground pool owner. You want to have clear, sparkling clean pool water that you can be proud of. To achieve this you need to pay close attention to your chemical levels. The 3 main chemical levels you should be testing for are chlorine, pH and alkalinity. You should check them every couple of days using test strips, digital chemistry testers, or liquid test kits. This isn’t a difficult task and will save you money if you do it correctly and often. Correcting a pool’s chemistry that has not been properly balanced means buying/adding more chemicals and more time and effort from you. This is why you want to pay close attention to the water.

Using Test Strips to Test Your Pool Water

The most common way for above ground pool owners to test their water would be by using test strips. The Pool Check 3-in-1 test kit will let you determine your pool’s chlorine, pH and alkalinity levels. These are the 3 most important chemical levels that you need to pay attention to.

How to use the Pool Check 3-in-1 Text Kit

• To use the test strips simply dip one strip in the water for 5 seconds with a gentle back and forth motion.
• Remove the strip and shake once, briskly, to remove excess water. (You should notice a color-matching chart on the label of the bottle)
• Wait about 15 seconds and then match pH, Free Chlorine, and Total Alkalinity, in this order, to that color chart. (Try and complete the color matching within 30 seconds)
  

Using a Digital Test Kit to Test Your Pool Water

Using the Solaxx SafeDip digital chemistry tester would be the easiest and most accurate way to test your pool water. Fill the bottom 1/3 of the sample cup with the water sample. Make sure to collect the water at least 1.5” from the surface. The other option is to submerse the probes directly into the water sample.

How to use the Solaxx SafeDip Digital Chemistry Tester

• Press the on/off button. The most recent measurement will always appear along with the disk icon.
  
• Remove the sleeve and attach it to holding area. Immerse the SafeDip probe in the water sample. Make sure the probes are completely submersed.
  
• Press the START button to begin a new measurement.
  
• During the new measurement, the hourglass will blink before all stabilized parameters are achieved.
  
• When measurement is finished, a beep will be heard and newest data will be displayed. The data will be saved in the memory until the next measurement. Only the latest measurement is stored and all prior measurements are discarded.
  

Using a Liquid Test Kit to Test Your Pool Water

The HydroTools Deluxe Dual Chlorine & pH Liquid Test Kit uses different solutions that you must add to a sample of the pool water to check the chemical levels.

HydroTools Deluxe Dual Chlorine & pH Liquid Test Kit – Chlorine Test

• Fill the small tube to mark with pool water.
  
• Add five drops of ORTHOTOLIDINE Chlorine Test Solution.
  
• Place cap on tube and invert several times to mix.
  
• To obtain chlorine reading, match the colors within 10 seconds. The result is read in parts per million (ppm). A continuous development of color indicates combined chlorine. The reading at 5 minutes will give total combined chlorine. A large difference between readings indicates a need for superchlorination.

HydroTools Deluxe Dual Chlorine & pH Liquid Test Kit – pH Test

• Fill large tube with pool water to the upper mark.
  
• Add 5 drops of PHENOL RED pH Test Solution.
  
• Cover test cell and mix solution.
  
• Compare the color with the pH color standards. Matching colors indicate the pH of your pool water.