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Boron in Swimming Pools
20th October 2022 • Borates Today • Brendan McMahon
00:00:00 00:06:21

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Today, we will look at the use of boron or borax in keeping swimming pools clean.

Swimming pools are a great way to exercise and have fun with friends and family. But the pools also require maintenance, and keeping your swimming pool clean might seem like a daunting task as maintaining a pool is not easy, but with the application of boric acid and sodium borates, it can become much easier.

Transcripts

Brendan:

Welcome back to the Borates Today podcast.

Brendan:

Each week we cover news on boron and borates that's relevant to the

Brendan:

industry and timely with a range of topics, including the latest

Brendan:

industry news, we answer questions about the key players in the sector.

Brendan:

What are the trends driving demand and supply for boron?

Brendan:

the science behind boron?

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Who's doing valuable research into new boron applications and benefits?

Brendan:

How does boron help in decarbonisation, in advanced energy.

Brendan:

In food security, and in nutrition?

Brendan:

So don't forget to check out boron applications and benefits

on our website:

borates.today

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Today, we're going to look at the use of boron or

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borax in keeping swimming pools clean.

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Swimming pools are a great way to get in some exercise and have

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fun with friends and family.

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But the pools also require maintenance and keeping your swimming pool clean

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might seem like a daunting task as maintaining a pool is not easy but

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with the application of boric acid and sodium borates, can become much easier.

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Boric acid and sodium borates are commonly used as pH buffers in swimming pools and

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spas as they help increase the capacity of the water to resist changes in pH levels.

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However, the application of borax does require routine maintenance

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by an experienced swimming pool professional ,who knows how to maintain

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proper levels of both chemicals.

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So that the benefits last longer.

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Swimming pool chemistry is the relationship between different chemical

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measurements in swimming pools as the pH levels need to be balanced

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for optimum performance and safety.

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By the balanced pool, we mean the proper level of pH with completely

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checked alkalinity and calcium hardness to provide a safe water

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environment for people to swim in.

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The advised values are a pH of 7.2 to 7.8.

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total alkalinity of 80 - 120 parts per million, calcium hardness of 180 to 220

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parts per million and cyaneuric acid a stabilizer of 30 to 50 parts per million.

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You should understand what type of swimming pool chemical is best suited

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for your own pool so you can keep the water levels at an appropriate level

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and make the levels safer for everyone.

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If you have a swimming pool, the chances are that it has an automatic swimming

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pool maintenance system in place to maintain the water chemistry levels.

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For example, removing phosphates from the swimming pool is

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often part of this system.

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Phosphates enter into your swimming pools, for instance, from the

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person swimming in the pool or from the swimming pool chemical that

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is used under the swimming pool.

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And this may result in the need to remove phosphates and other minerals

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from your pool maintain the pH levels.

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A typical way of removing phosphates would involve adding swimming pool chemicals.

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You would need to know what type of phosphate and borrowed swim pool

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chemical is best for your pool.

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As for boron's role in cleaning your pool, boric acid and sodium borate

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are compounds from boron and are htechemicals used for the cleaning.

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Also borates are highly recommended for pools according to pool chemistry.

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Some advantages of these compounds of boron are: they

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are cheaper than traditional chemical treatments like chlorine.

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They can be mixed with water to higher concentration, which

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saves time on mixing and prevent splashing of unmeasured chemicals.

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They are known to have applications, including inhibiting algae growth,

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reducing corrosion, and can be directly applied to swimming pool

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services for killing bacteria.

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The borax used in swimming pools is also not harmful to humans and animals

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or plants in the measures provided.

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Neither does it cause skin irritation adding is a one-time thing does not

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decompose, get used up or expire.

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It's only lowered by water in concentration.

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Why are boron compounds a better option than other elements like chlorine?

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Traditional methods include the use of baking soda, sodium bicarbonate

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and soda ash, sodium carbonate.

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to maintain the pH of pools.

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these are the typical chemicals used by pool owners.

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These chemicals help in raising the pH of the pool.

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increasing the alkalinity often leading to a fluctuation in the pH levels,

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which actually defeats the purpose of adding chemicals to stabilize the water.

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On the other hand, boron compounds are tremendously effective at stabilizing,

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alkalinity and acting as pH buffers.

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Although boron can be toxic at higher concentrations.

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Keep the levels below 400 parts per million.

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And there'll be no harm.

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Any more than that could result in boric acidosis, which is a

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condition where borates accumulate in the body disrupt boron levels.

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So, what does borax do to a cloudy pool?

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Well, borax is the most common compound of boron and acts as an active buffer

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for swimming pools by stabilizing the chemicals used for making the pools safe.

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It increases the alkalinity by increasing the pH and maintaining

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an enticingly blue swimming pool.

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Borax certainly helps in clearing cloudy pools and stabilizes the pool's water

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making it clearer the total alkalinity.

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The other byproducts are inhibition of growth of microorganismsand it makes

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it safer to swim with a lower risk of infection from germs or bacteria.

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If the pool has good water circulation, it only takes 30 minutes to make the pool

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safe for swimming and a device called a pool calculator can be used for this.

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Finally, for those of us lucky enough to have a swimming pool in the garden,

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Borax is used as a cleaner in pools.

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It can help stabilize alkalinity and work as a pH buffer.

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It also softens water, reduces the need for chlorination and

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inhibits any algae formation.

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And that's all from Borates more information on boron and borates,

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forget to check our website.

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borates.today and our YouTube channel and podcasts.

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