Total Alkalinity. Alkalinity is what neutralizes the acids in your swimming pool water, and alkalinity that’s too high or too low can lead to a wide range of issues, from minor skin irritation to algae growth and cloudy water. Alkalinity also directly affects your pool water’s pH: If your pool’s total alkalinity is too high, your pH will be too high. Alternatively, if your total alkalinity is too low, your pH will also be too low. Total alkalinity is usually measured in parts per million (PPM). Ideally, you want a total alkalinity of around of 100 PPM.

To reduce your swimming pool water’s total alkalinity, you can add muriatic acid or a dry pH increaser (preferred). Add an alkalinity increaser to raise total alkalinity.

KNOW THE LINGO: PARTS PER MILLION

Parts per million – often abbreviated as PPM – is a unit of measurement that tells you how much of a particular substance – such as a chemical or mineral — is present in water.

Stabilizer. Available in liquid or powdered form, pool stabilizer helps preserve the chlorine levels in your pool protect them from the breakdown effects of sunlight. When your stabilizer level is low, you’ll use a lot more chlorine. When it’s high, you may need to dilute your pool water to bring it back into the ideal 40 to 100 PPM range.

A STABILIZER BY ANY OTHER NAME…

Pool water stabilizer is also known as conditioner or the more scientific-sounding cyanuric acid. No matter what you call it, though, it’s important not to add too much (overdoing it can make your chlorine less effective).

Total Dissolved Solids (TDS). This term is a catch-all that includes everything from naturally occurring minerals to debris and dust to organ buildup that occurs from everyday use. compounds. As your swimming pool water evaporates, leaving behind concentrated, hard-to-remove TDS deposits – which, in turn, can make pool chemicals less effective and create stains. If you have 3000 PPM or more of TDS, you may need to drain some water and add fresh water.