Can baking soda be used instead of soda ash in a salt water a pool?

Answer 1

Yep! Baking Soda is Sodium Bicarbonate. It's the same stuff as "Alkalinity UP" but much cheaper. If you get the bags of it at a warehouse store, instructions for use in a pool will be on the back. New pool owner here. I had the same question, and given that the pool is a captive body of water, came to the conclusion that one simply cannot substitute Baking Soda (Sodium BiCarbonate) for a PH increaser (i.e. Sodium Carbonate) without fully understanding what affect the chemical structure difference between the two will have on the water. I enclose here some info on the chemical makeup of the two: Sodium carbonate, chemical formula Na2CO3 is less acidic, than sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), whose chemical formula is NaHCO3.

Answer 2

No. Use hydrochloric acid to reduce pH. Baking soda primarily raises alkalinity, but slightly raises the pH as well. Pour acid into deep end of pool. Take care not to splash on your clothes, skin or in your eyes.

Answer 3

Some have stated Baking Soda can be used as a replacement to Soda Ash, for increasing the PH of the pool, but Soda Ash (sodium carbonate) has a different chemical makeup than Baking Soda (sodium bicarbonate). I do not know what long term affect continued use of this chemical difference will have on the pool water.

Baking soda should be used if your total alkalinity is a great deal below 80 ppm of the 80 to 120 ppm range. Example: alkalinity at 40 ppm - at that level you may want to add about 2 cups of Baking soda - the goal is to try to raise the level slowly to within the 60 to 70 mark. Once those levels are reached you may want to wait for several hrs. to see if they stabilize there. If not then just a little more should be added t creep it into the required range. Test the next day to see if there are any corrections to your chemistry to be made.

Sosa Ash should be used when you pH is below 6.8 or lower to 7.0. Soda ash in small amounts will raise the level of an acidic pool getting you out of the danger zone.

Corrosive water, low pH or low Total Alkalinity, will cause components to leech out of the plaster. 80ppm is the absolute minimum, 100-140 if isocyanurate chemicals are used...trichlor or dichlor tablets or powder. To get a true adjusted Total Alkalinity number you must know what your cyanuric acid (conditioner) level is. Subtract one third of your cyanuric acid level from your Total Alkalinity number and that will be your true T/A. EX. T/A is 100, cyanuric acid is at 90. One third of 90 is 30, subtract from T/A 100 and your true number is 70ppm....too low. Add enough baking soda to get to 100ppm.

Answer 4

If you have a green pool the first thing you'll want to do is balance the water. If that means adding bi carb then do. Next make sure the pool has chlorine and shock. Add an algaecied and circulate. Clean the filters. Start over

Answer 5

never heard of putting baking soda in a pool

Answer 6

No, so don't try or you will end up very thirsty.

Answer 7

Baking soda will raise alkalinity alone, if you need to raise ph soda ash is much more effective.