The Benefits of Borates

There are many glamorous aspects of pool ownership, but it’s safe to say that regular water care is not one of them. Handling your maintenance responsibilities so you can swim in sparkling clean water whenever you want is a fantastic tradeoff, but you’re probably still happy to learn that there are ways to help make your pool care job easier.

One method for lightening your pool maintenance load involves using borates. Adding borates to your pool comes with a long list of benefits. One of the best among them is a reduction in the amount of pool water care you’ll need to do. If that sounds enticing to you, take a look at this quick guide for everything you need to know about borates.

What Are Borates?

Borates are naturally occurring minerals that have a long list of useful applications in everything from cosmetics to construction. As you now know, they can also be incredibly useful in your swimming pool, thanks in part to their ability to naturally manage water chemistry.

Advantages of Using Borates in Your Pool

There are many great reasons to use borates in your swimming pool. Below are some of the biggest benefits.

Maintains pH Level

Maintaining the right pH level is crucial for your pool water. If the pH is too low, corrosion can occur. And if it’s too high, your pool sanitizer will become less effective.

Borates are known as a “pH buffer,” which means they can help to keep your pool’s pH level from getting too low or too high. That means less pool care for you and less money spent on pool care chemicals.

Prevents Algae Growth

The right combination of sun exposure, rain, and temperature spikes can result in algae growth in your pool. Once you’ve got enough algae in there, it can be a hassle to get rid of. This translates to more work, more money spent, and less time swimming for you.

You can work to avoid algae growth by keeping your water balanced at all times. However, if you’re looking for some extra protection, borates are the answer. They interfere with the processes that result in algae growth.

As a result, borates help keep your pool sparkling blue instead of murky green. This can remove a lot of burden from you and keep you from spending extra money on pool shock, algaecide, and more.

Helps Your Pool Run More Efficiently

Borates keep your pool water carefully pH-balanced and algae-free. In turn, you’ll find that there are a lot fewer chemicals wasted and a lot less energy burned in maintaining clean and clear water.

You will need less chlorine, pH-balancing chemicals, and algaecide when you turn to borates. Additionally, your filtration system will have an easier workload, lowering your energy bills on top of reducing your tab with the pool supply store.

Prevents Corrosion and More

An added benefit of keeping your pH levels perpetually balanced with borates is that you can avoid the corrosion that can occur when your levels drop too far — not to mention the dried-out skin and irritated eyes that a low pH level can cause.

Improves Water Quality

Borates won’t just keep your pool water chemically balanced; they’ll also make it softer, smoother, clearer, and more sparkly than ever before. While maintaining pH levels and avoiding algae growth are the more practical advantages of borates, this advantage is easily the most luxurious of all. Once you dive in, you may never want to get out.

One-Time Use

Perhaps the most amazing thing about borates is that you don’t need to add them to your pool on a regular basis. They only require a one-time application; once you put them in your pool the first time, you don’t have to worry about reapplying them until you go to replace the water.

This means that you won’t be replacing the task of adding chemicals to your pool with the task of adding borates. Also, you won’t be replacing the cost of restocking those chemicals with the cost of restocking borates.

Keep Your Pool Crystal Clear With Performance Pools

If you’d like to learn more about borates, or you need help keeping your pool water well-balanced and sparkling clean, contact Performance Pools today, and we’ll be happy to answer all of your questions.