Pool Chemistry Test Kits

We, as pool operators and property managers, have a lot we are responsible for.

One of the many things could include a swimming pool and/or spa. You may also have a splash pad, fountains, or a water slide. According to the local health agency, these all need to be tested and have the chemicals balanced.

We do this not only because it is the law. The reason it is a law is to ensure the utmost safety for our bathers. Some agencies require only once-a-day testing, while for some, it may be as often as every hour! These results also have to be logged and kept for years. Training our staff can be a crucial aspect in making sure this gets done, especially if we have multiple properties and cannot be onsite at all times. We may also have other duties besides caring for the bodies of water and need to employ prudent time management.

There are different methods of testing your water and some include various types of pool chemistry test kits.

We will chat about them and the pros and cons of each.

Pool Chemistry Test Kits - Test Strips

While super easy to use, test strips are not allowed to be used to test your water at a commercial or public facility. But just for informational purposes, test strips work by inserting the strip into the water, shaking off the excess water, letting it sit for several seconds, and then comparing the color to a spectrum that comes on the bottle.

Because of the wideness of the interpretation of color, and the fact that you can not tell the precise reading would be my guess as to why they are not allowed. Sure, you may be able to see that your pH is in range, but is it a 7.4 or a 7.7? Do you see the issue? This is why we have to revert to other testing methods.

Pool Chemistry Test Kits - Liquid Reagents

Using a Pool Chemistry Test Kit with liquid reagents is probably the most popular way pool operators are testing their water. Depending on what size pool chemical test kit you get will determine how many fields you can test for.

Bigger is better when it comes to pool chemical test kits. For example, they make simple test kits that test for chlorine and pH only. But what about your alkalinity? One cannot get an accurate read on pH without knowing the alkalinity.

If our alkalinity is too low, it causes the pH to bounce around due to the fact that it is unstable. This is known as “pH bounce”. We would never want to dose our pool based on a pH reading alone. What about chlorine? Test kits that only have one bottle for chlorine are OTO test kits. These OTO tests only test for total chlorine.

Which is great to know, but if you have combined chlorine, also known as chloramines, your total chlorine may be completely useless. We, and the health department, are interested in our free chlorine as that is chlorine in its killing form. Why even bother with the total chlorine test? Because it will tell us if we have any chloramines. The difference between free chlorine and total chlorine will give you your combined chlorine. Any chloramines are no bueno. It is a non-killing form of chlorine and does nothing to sanitize your water and can create extremely hazardous conditions for swimmers and others that are around your pool.

Chloramines can also be irritating to bathers. They also give out a potent chlorine smell. If we have combined chlorine we need to oxidize, or “shock” the pool to free it up. This can be done with a chlorine shock if our total chlorine is low, or a non-chlorine shock if our total chlorine is high.

The Pool Shark H2O App allows you to enter your water chemical test findings and provides you with proper dosing. I mean really proper. Because it utilizes the Langelier Saturation Index (LSI) it will tell you if your water is neutral, scale-forming, or corrosive. With a 0 being neutral, we want to aim for 0.15 in either a positive or negative direction to stay in range. Unless you want to bust out your worksheets from your CPO class, having the App tell you your LSI reading is a huge time saver. We are also saving big money by not wasting chemicals unnecessarily.

Pool Chemistry Test Kits - Tablet Test Kits

While not as popular as the drop reagent testing kits, they are still a legal and adequate way to test your commercial swimming pool water. They are very similar to a reagent test kit because you are comparing the color to colors already on the decanted. Instead of reagents, they utilize tablets to test chlorine, pH, alkalinity, and more. There is no need to count drops. You just let the tablet dissolve in the decanter. They are usually only available in DPT test kits. The same issue goes that was mentioned above.

You’ll get more accurate results than with a test strip, sure, but again you are still testing for all the necessary fields. Some people find the tablets to be a pain in the rear and prefer the drop reagent kits. To each his own as long as you are testing as often as is required by law. You can still input your results into whatever device you have your Pool Shark H2O App programmed on.

Pool Chemistry Test Kits - Digital Water Test Devices

You can also buy a digital water-testing device. With chlorine, hardness, pH, and alkalinity constantly changing, we need to be able to see exactly what changes are happening and input the changes into our Pool Shark H2O App for accurate dosing instructions. Electronic pool testing supplies are now being offered and provide a very accurate and precise reading of your levels. This of course means you’ll want to get a reliable brand. The benefit of digital water testers is that you can get readings that liquid reagents cannot provide. Such fields include total dissolved solids (TDS), which are needed for the LSI. They can also check the salinity (salt level) in your pool.

They also test for ORP. In most cases, they are accurate +/- 1%. You’ll pay for this accuracy. Don’t forget to log your results in your Pool Shark H2O App. Not only does this App dose correctly, but it logs and stores your water test results. No more unused, misplaced, or wet old-fashioned paper logbooks. Think of how much storage space you will save! Not to mention being compliant with the health department. And you cover your rear if someone claims to have gotten ill from your facility. You can pull up with ease any previous water tests. Groovy, huh?

Pool Chemistry Test Kits - The LaMotte Spin Touch

Also a digital method, but with different instructions.

When you pair the LaMotte Spin Touch with your Pool Shark H2O App, you are doubling your ease and water testing productivity.

With the spin touch, you take a small syringe of sample water and inject it into a spin disc. The disc is then placed in the spin touch. In just 60 seconds, your water test results for up to 10 chemicals are sent to any devices the Pool Shark H2O app is on. This photometer utilizes colors to determine your reading, not unlike a reagent test. The good part is, it is all done digitally so you don’t have to risk color interpretation issues.

Even swimming pool supply stores are going the LaMotte Spin Touch route. It is fast, precise, and easy. Saving time is saving money. Not wasting chemicals is saving money. Having accurate results is saving money. Being compliant with the health department helps ensure your facility won’t be shut down which, you guessed it, saves money. Get with the times of modern technology. Save money and make our jobs easier? Test. Record. Comply with Pool Shark H2O. Where do I sign up?! See you poolside!