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Muriatic acid can be used to lower your pool’s alkalinity, lower your pH, and keep your pool filters and surfaces clean. But adding an acid to your pool can be dangerous if it’s not done safely.
Creators & Guests
What is Pool School?
A podcast for pool owners covering pool maintenance and water chemistry.
Everyone. And welcome to Pool School by Swim University, where we help you keep your pool clean and clear all year. My name is Matt, and I'm the founder of swimuniversity iversity.com. And on this episode, we're talking about how to use muriatic acid in your pool. Let's dive in.
Matt Giovanisci:Real quick. If you want more help taking care of your pool, be sure to grab our free pool care cheat sheet at swimu.com/cheat. Murianic acid can be used to lower your pool's alkalinity, lower your pH, and keep your pool filters and surfaces clean. But adding an acid to your pool can be dangerous if it's not done safely. So how should you use muriatic acid, and how much should you add to your water to balance your pool's pH and alkalinity?
Matt Giovanisci:Well, first, what is muriatic acid used for in pools? Well, 1, I said it brings down high alkalinity and a high pH. Adding muriatic acid to your water will lower the total alkalinity and the pH in your pool. Just keep in mind that they may decrease at different rates. And while this is really effective at bringing down these levels, pH Decreaser or dry acid are a much safer they're much safer to handle compared to muriatic acid, which is a liquid.
Matt Giovanisci:Number 2 is that it cleans cartridge filters and DE grids. If you have a cartridge filter, you can use muriatic acid to deep clean the filter medium and remove residue that builds up inside the pleats. It's also very effective at cleaning calcium scale deposits and just DE cake on DE filter grids and fingers, cause there's 2 types. Number 3 is that it removes pool stain surfaces or pool surface stains. Excuse me.
Matt Giovanisci:Muriatic acid can remove rust stains off your pool surfaces. It can clean the grout between your swimming pool tile, and it can resurface your concrete pool deck. However, it can be too harsh on surfaces because muriatic acid can cause corrosion and discolor your plaster. So be sure to spot test it on a smaller pool surface first. Okay.
Matt Giovanisci:So how do you handle muriatic acid safely? Well, because it's a liquid acid, it's incredibly important to follow some safety measures and always use precaution and common sense and read any instructions before handling. So number 1 is you wanna wear face and skin protection. This includes acid resistant gloves, a respirator, safety goggles, and an acid resistant apron and clothing that covers any exposed skin. Think Walter White.
Matt Giovanisci:Don't inhale the fumes from the muriatic acid. Don't do that either. Number 2 is dilute your muriatic acid in water. This means adding muriatic acid slowly and carefully into a bucket that's already full of water. Never add water after the acid because it could kick up the acid onto you.
Matt Giovanisci:And always use an acid resistant plastic container. Number 3 is you're gonna rinse muriatic acid. You're gonna rinse the bucket after you after you use the muriatic acid, and do not use it for any other pool chemicals. Make it market. This is my muriatic acid bucket.
Matt Giovanisci:Because if you don't, you could cause a chemical reaction or an explosion. Number 4 is you wanna store muriatic acid in the container that it came in, and always keep it away from other acids and pool chemicals, and never mix chemicals together, period. Number 5 is avoid splashing because you don't wanna let any acid splash out of the bucket and onto surfaces, clothing, or you. Keep a hose or water source nearby in case this does happen. Okay.
Matt Giovanisci:So here's how to use muriatic acid to lower your pH and your alkalinity. So before you start mixing up pool chemicals, you need to get the right safety gear like we mentioned before. So you'll need a 5 gallon bucket and a stirring stick. Finally, make sure that you're using pool grade muriatic acid. Step number 1 is you're gonna test your pool.
Matt Giovanisci:You wanna test and balance your alkalinity and your pH. Lowering these levels with muriatic acid is best done in stages, So plan to retest your water throughout the process. Step number 2 is you wanna calculate how much muriatic acid to add. Here's some easy calculations based on your pool's volume. So you can always add more acid later.
Matt Giovanisci:So start by adding a quart to a half gallon of muriatic acid at a time, and use less if you have a much smaller pool. Step number 3 is you wanna add muriatic acid to the pool. So first, you wanna turn off your pump and wait until the water stops moving completely, And turn off any water features, including aerators, fountains, all those things, slides, since this will also raise your pH levels. Aeration raises your pH levels. Next, you're gonna put on your safety gear.
Matt Giovanisci:You're gonna dilute that muriatic acid in a bucket of water. The ideal ratio is about 10 to 1, so 10 parts of water to 1 part of muriatic acid, but always follow the manufacturer's instructions on the muriatic acid that you have. And you wanna start by adding water to an acid resistant bucket, then you're gonna add the appropriate ratio of acid. And remember to always add water to the bucket first, not the acid. If you fill up your 5 gallon bucket halfway with water with a quart of mauritic acid, that would make it around 10 to 1 a 10 to 1 ratio.
Matt Giovanisci:Then you wanna start by pure You wanna start by pouring the muriatic acid mixture into the deep end of your pool, if you have one, and then walking around the perimeter. And be sure to always walk away as you pour pure there I go again. Walk away as you pour it, so that you don't inhale the fumes. Step number 4 is you wanna let the muriatic acid circulate. Now is the time you turn on your pool pump and let it run for at least five hours before testing your alkalinity and pH again.
Matt Giovanisci:If you have a multi port valve on your filter, set it to circulate or recirculate. This will help the muriatic acid to mix in. Muriatic acid will eat into your pool floor if you leave it to settle. If you don't circulate it with your filter, you'll need to constantly brush the pool floor to prevent the acid from doing any damage. Step number 5 is, of course, you're gonna retest your pool water in about 5 hours.
Matt Giovanisci:You should notice a difference in the pH and alkalinity, and if there's if it still needs lowering, you can just add another dose of muriatic acid. Keep testing and adding muriatic acid in doses of a half gallon or less, repeating as many times as necessary to get the pH and alkalinity down. It's not unusual that it takes a couple doses. So step number 6 is to aerate your pool if necessary. If your pH dipped too low in the process, but your alkalinity is now within range, you can just aerate the water.
Matt Giovanisci:So adding air is a natural way to raise your pH without having to use chemicals. Now to aerate, turn your if you don't have a say, like a feature, you can turn your return jets upward and turn your pump on the highest setting. And, of course, you can turn on any water features you have as well, like an aerator or a fountain or a water slide, anything like that. Then you wanna check your pH again in another day to see if it's risen up to the normal levels. If the pH still needs to be increased significantly, you can just add a pH increaser.
Matt Giovanisci:Just be sure to add little bits at a time. But what if your pH is still high after adding muriatic acid? If the muriatic acid brings your alkalinity levels down, but your pH is still high, say above 8, then you just keep adding rounds of acid. Your alkalinity may drop below its normal range, but it should eventually rise over time. Or you can just add alkalinity increaser or baking soda to bring it back up.
Matt Giovanisci:So just keep in mind that raising alkalinity can slightly raise your pH again too. Finally, here's how to clean your filters with muriatic acid. You you wanna use a 20 to 1 ratio of water to muriatic acid to clean your cartridges or your DE filter grids or fingers. And be sure to follow all the safety tips we mentioned before. Okay?
Matt Giovanisci:Regardless of what type of filter you have, the process is pretty much the same. You wanna remove the cartridge or the manifold from your filter, whichever you have, then you wanna use a spray nozzle to get off anything, you know, just a spray nozzle on your garden hose. Spray it down. Make sure you get in between the pleats. Try to get it as clean as humanly possible with just water.
Matt Giovanisci:Then you're gonna fill a large acid proof bucket with water. And if you have a really big DE filter, you can get a, like, an acid proof Rubbermaid trash bin, like that that large, one with a lid preferably. And then you wanna add the correct ratio of murinic acid. And you wanna make sure that the cartridges or the grids or fingers or whatever you have is completely submerged, and you wanna let this soak overnight. And then, of course, after you're done, pull it out, make sure you get all the safety gear on, and rinse it thoroughly with a garden hose.
Matt Giovanisci:Return the cartridges to your filter system, and you're good to go. That's it. So that's how you use muriatic acid in your pool. Now remember, if you need more help with pool maintenance, grab our free pool care cheat sheet at swimuniversity.com/cheatsheetorswimu.com/cheatsheet. And if you found this episode helpful, subscribe for more pool maintenance tips on your favorite podcasting app.
Matt Giovanisci:And when you do, please leave us a review. Your support will help more pool owners like you find this show. That's it. Thanks again, and happy swimming.