Sodium bicarbonate doesn’t really clean the water in your pool, but helps maintain the pH of the water, thus keeping your pool healthy.

Keeping the water in your pool and spa balanced is an important indicator of maintaining your health, and the Swimming Pool Institute recommends that homeowners should specify a water pH of 7.2 to 7.8, with 7.4 to 7.6 being considered ideal.

In spa and pool water treatment, baking soda is instrumental in the removal of lead and copper from the water and in the regulation of ph and alkalinity.

Baking soda has a pH of 8.3, and the bicarbonate ions in baking soda act as a pH buffer. They have actually an adversely charged end, and a positively charged end. When either unfavorable or positive ions connect to these ends, they form a compound that becomes strong and settles out of the water. It’s called a “buffer” due to the fact that, with its negative and positive ends, it can either raise pH to 8.3, or lower pH to 8.3. To put it simply, it can function as either an acid or a base, depending on the environment it remains in, which makes it an excellent method to stabilize water and “buffer” it from fast modifications.

Simply put, using sodium bicarbonate is a simple and effective way to keep your pool neat and healthy so you don’t have to worry too much.