Corrosive Pool Water

Corrosive pool water is a condition that is generally caused by low pH levels, causing a variety of pool problems, including corroded metal pool equipment, copper heat exchangers, etching in masonry, vinyl liner wrinkles and eye irritation.

Corrosive pool water conditions can be controlled or avoided altogether by maintaining a balance among calcium hardness, total alkalinity and pH.  Corrosive conditions can increase dramatically with the heat in the pool, making copper heat exchanges likely to corrode if not careful with water conditions.  Another way that corrosive conditions can possibly be created is by two dissimilar metals being next to each other in a salt chlorine generated swimming pool, such as a piece of pool equipment (a ladder, or ring around an underwater pool light) being stainless steel and the screws being made of brass.  Most newer pool equipment manufacturers account for the fact that their pool equipment may be going into a pool sanitized with salt generated chlorine, and manufacture all of their products with similar metals.  If your pool water is discolored, it may be caused by corrosive water conditions corroding pool equipment and dissolving the metals into the water.