Regardless of where you live or what kind of pool you own, you’re going to have to test your swimming pool water chemistry. Testing your pool helps keep the water safe from viruses, bacteria, and algae and ensures chemical levels are safe and comfortable for swimmers.
Firstly, to test your pool water, you’re going to need pool water test strips. You can also use liquid test kits, but strips are typically more accurate and easier to use.
These strips determine chemical levels of substances in your pool such as chlorine, bromine, pH, alkalinity, and cyanuric acid. Read about the basics of these pool water chemicals.
To use the test strips, dip them into your pool water and remove immediately. Hold the test strip level for about 15 seconds, and then the colors should appear for each chemical value. You can then compare the colors with the included chart on the bottle of the strips. Generally, darker colors will mean a higher presence and lighter will mean a lesser presence of the chemical.
Liquid test kits provide a challenge due to the possibility for human error. When reviewing your results for a liquid test kit, use a white background in natural lighting for the most accurate readings.
We recommend testing at least once a week, but test more frequently if you’ve been recently adding chemicals to the water or are using the pool daily. You can always take water samples to a pool store to have it professionally tested.
Always ensure your test strips/kits are before the expiration date—after expiration, they will not give proper results.
Try using our Pool Calculator app as you test and maintain your pool water. For more information on how to care for your pool, visit our pool maintenance section.
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Maintaining both pH and total alkalinity in your swimming pool is important for keeping your pool properly sanitized and non-corrosive. Total alkalinity is to pH what cyanuric acid is to free chlorine. Total alkalinity stabilizes pH levels. The ideal pool pH level is 7.4 to 7.6. The ideal total alkalinity level is 80 to 120 ppm.
The Association of Pool and Spa Professionals recommends free chlorine levels for both swimming pools and hot tubs be kept between 2.0 and 4.0 ppm. However, the Center for Disease Control recommends free chlorine stay above 1 ppm in pools and 3 ppm in hot tubs.