What Is Cyanuric Acid For Pools

Ideal cyanuric acid levels.

What is cyanuric acid for pools.

C hlorine is the most common pool chemical and is a pool disinfectant. And yet we encounter many people that are hesitant to drain or even dilute their pool to reduce cya levels. Less than 100 ppm you may find it more convenient to raise free chlorine than replace water. It is sold as a standalone product or can be purchased as a convenient additive to chlorine tablets.

They arrived at this number based on the assumption that children will likely swallow some water while swimming and if they ingest too much cya it can make them sick. A common pool service household name cyanuric acid is now in the toolbox of most residential and commercial pool service professionals who are servicing outdoor pools. Cyanuric acid is a stabilizing agent to assist chlorine in being effective. Cyanuric acid is used in swimming pools to lower the rate of photochemical reduction of chlorine hypochlorous acid and hypochlorite ion.

As long as your cyanuric acid is at a reasonable level e g. U se proper amounts of cyanuric acid according to your specific pool type. Cyanuric acid is a chemical that improves the longevity and effectiveness of chlorine in an outdoor pool. The cyanuric acid in your pool should be between 30 and 50 ppm although some find it more effective closer to 80 ppm.

Working almost like a sunblock for the chlorine it protects the chlorine from becoming diluted and helps keep your pool cleaner for longer. That s just a fancy way of saying it protects your pool s chlorine from the effects of sunlight. For example if your pool has a current cyanuric acid concentration of 80 ppm and you would like it to be 60 ppm then you would replace 25 of your pool s current water with fresh water. That s why minimal cya is orenda s fourth pillar of proactive pool care.

Cyanuric acid technically is an acid but is dissimilar to muriatic acid which the pool industry uses to manage and adjust pool ph levels. The world health organization recommends an upper limit of 100 parts per million ppm of cyanuric acid in a swimming pool. You can buy it by itself or as an additive that can be dropped into chlorine tablets. Hi gh cyanuric acid amounts in your pool are likely caused simply by applying too much of the chemical into the pool.

Keep in mind that the higher your cyanuric acid levels the weaker your chlorine becomes. High levels of cyanuric acid cya in pool water can cause issues.