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    POOL CHEMICALS for BEGINNERS: How to Test and Balance Water | Swim University



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    Need help understanding pool chemicals? Not quite sure how to actually test and balance your water? Knowing what to test and when can save you from big pool problems in the future. So here’s a quick guide on how to test and balance your pool chemicals.

    ⏰ Timestamps:
    00:00 – Pool Chemicals for Beginners
    00:46 – Water Testing 101
    01:09 – How to Collect a Water Sample
    01:50 – How to Read Test Strips
    03:57 – What Pool Chemicals You Need
    04:27 – How to Add Chemicals to Your Pool
    04:54 – Right Order to Add Chemicals

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    Swim University has made swimming pool and hot tub care easy for more than 10 million homeowners. And each year, we continue to help more people with water chemistry, cleaning, and troubleshooting. We know taking care of a swimming pool or spa can be difficult. And it’s hard to find a trusted source of information. We get it! This is the reason we created Swim University.

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    33 Comments

    6. @marcodanieleisachi8652 on

      Hi man, you have all my respect for giving ur time to actually explain those things to us, but i have a slightly little problem in my pool, i have checked my clorine and ph levels and fixed them , and then i added floc , and everything went greate ,i vacuumed it all and stiil has a green color ,it looks like it s clean but it s green clean,i really need your help, should the alkalinity be the problem here? I have to mention that i tooked the water from a swamp and it was brown at the beggining

    7. @nunya6379 on

      All my readings are where they need to be my pump & sand filter are working fine but my water is still cloudy & I’ve been using cal hypo & liquid shock what do you recommend?

    8. @user-sd8tv6tq3c on

      hoping you'll respond to this…bought 2 different stick cheeks…chlorines are good…I shocked…ph alkalinity and stabilizer sr
      trips stat are yellow… please help

    9. @sundarsundar1555 on

      Hlo sir gd eveng
      Sir one doubt
      Example:- water color green is there
      Pool capacity 11lakhs how much will adding for calcium hypochloride & sodium hypochloride

    11. @denisemeikel3932 on

      Good info, but I'm an absolute beginner so how do I know how much of each chemical to add? Also, I have a swim spa so do I follow pool guidelines or your hot tub guidelines? Thanks.

    12. @FoxFire-pt4dl on

      I'm new to pools and i am working at a hotel which has a hot tub 2,500 gallons. It closes at 11pm and reppens at 8am. My issue is when i would come back from the weekend my Monday was spent dealing with a spa that was cloudy and had no chlorine. The reason i suspected was because night shift would leave the feeder valve cranked all the way up for my two days off. My supervisor is not happy with this and has instructed me to add more tricoor tabs to the feeder. At first it was 3 tabs, now he wants 6 tabs in the feeder. I think this is causing a higher concentration into the spa. We use a leslies test kit and i noticed my alkalinity test was turning funky colors and I re-did the FC/TC and it was super high. What setting and tablet size, would work best and how do i convince my supervisor?

    14. @papi.tate_ on

      All of my levels are great on the test strip other than the chlorine levels. I have 3 tablets in a floater and when I test the water, my levels are still showing at 0. Do I need to shock my pool again?

    15. @kaylynnepruett7015 on

      We just set up our above ground pool. We have had the filter on and started circulating some chlorine tablets. Right now the free chlorine is low, the alkalinity it High and pH low. Should we just shock it to get more chlorine and lower the alkalinity? Then fix the pH?

    16. @anonymousf454 on

      Oh man, I bought a small 10'×6'×24" pool and thought it was gonna be easy to maintain and cheap. Goodness, I had no Idea I needed so many things to keep this little thing up. Water was crystal clear for the first week. Started geting a little cloudy, so I bought some 1 inch chlorine tablets and some baking soda. I put in one tablet and a hand full of baking soda. Now my pool water is yellow😂😂😂. I dont know what to do….This is well water, so i read it could be the metal in the water but Idk.

    17. @coleenequintana3550 on

      Oh o wish I watched this first before adding shock to my pool. It was filled freshly and I added shock, if I go do the step by step said in the video will that be okay? Or do I have to dilute this shock first? I’d hate to have a cloudy pool. (It’s just a small above ground pool) pls help 🙁

    18. @dan9002 on

      I have found that the test strips work easier. So far my hardness, free chlorine and total chlorine is high but the rest reads OK.
      This year I cut back a lot of trees and bushes so organic debris doesn't get in the pool.

      So far this spring I have not shocked it to get ready for the summer swim.
      Should I always shock the pool before getting it ready?

      Thank you, North Texas

    21. @ladycaruso on

      Thanks for the informative video! 👍👍. Do I need to worry about CYA? I have an above ground pool, but I keep it covered with solar cover and a tarp when not in use. Thank you!!

    22. @DannyAranda-xc6vb on

      PH 7 is neutral and the Chlorine is actually really grrrrreeeeaaaaaattttt to dry out your teenage dream pimples. California Ladies are Undprgettable.🎉🎉🎉🎉❤❤❤❤😮😮😮😊😊😊😊

    23. @bigbroexplore on

      Thanks mate for the informative video. I look after 2 pools a 25m pool and 50m pool olympic standard. I have been facing problems with a strong stain greenish algae on the side of the pool. I tried to brush it off but didn't work. Any suggestions?
      Thanks once again 👌🙏

    24. @Kaylene__ on

      Where does Algaecide fit into that proper order you listed? I have yellowish green silt/powder substance at the bottom of the pool that keeps coming back. Sometimes clear or whiteish grey

    26. @johncarlos2010 on

      I have a question for you . When I do the test with the Stripe and the messures are not consistent with the normal color that they are in range, how do I know how much do I have to put chemicals in the water?

    28. @MiguelAlvarezAdams on

      I have a 14tf pool in my garage, I try to mantain it as clean as possible but everytime i check for chlorine Im low😢 I shock it with a 1/4 of 1 pound bag of clorox shock from walmart. My pool is 3500 gallons. Should I throw the whole bag or just get a floter with a chlorine tablet? I will appreciate the advice pls

    29. @codegeek-il5fm on

      Helpful but not quite for total beginners. For example, you talked about adding chemicals based on test results but you didn't mention how much to add ? How do we determine that based on test results ?

    30. @jessicapowell2953 on

      Chemical Chemical is driving me crazy. I have a better undestanding however, If after balancing the pool, how long do I need to wait to test again? If my free chlorine is low as well, How long do need to wait to shock? What confused me the most is the order of chemical, how much and how long to wait between adding the next chemical. I purchased your Pool Maint for Beginners and I don't feel i go what i need. Everything, pretty much the same in your free videos.

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