If you live in an area where calcium hardness coming out of your tap water is high, you're going to want to make sure you test your water on a regular basis to prevent excess calcium buildup in your swimming pool. In many areas including the Southwest United States, the water coming out of our tap is on average 400 parts per million. With that said, most recommendations for total calcium hardness in your swimming pool is between 200 - 400 parts per million (ppm). That means that in some areas of the country it comes out higher than what is recommended. The reason why testing it is so important is as water evaporates in your swimming pool the hardness minerals remain in solution and build up in concentration. The warning sign for this is scaling on your water tile line, the interior finish of the swimming pool, filtration equipment, spillways and water features. It looks like a white powder and is extremely difficult to remove after scaling occurs.

A general rule of thumb would be to change out the water in your swimming pool every two years to prevent this from happening but a do it yourself home test can also make sure you know exactly what is going on with the chemistry of the water in your pool. There are numerous different ways you can test for calcium hardness in your swimming pool but we highly recommend using the Taylor test kit drop test for the most accurate results. Balancing your swimming pool or spa chemicals is important in keeping your waters healthy and swimmers safe. The Taylor Technologies Test Kit Drop Test is extremely easy to use and tests for calcium hardness using 1 drop for each 10 ppm. With the drop method test, it is extremely accurate to get an exact number in ppm. Unfortunately, with test strips they make you match up colors and only measure in increments of 250, 500, 750 and 1000 ppm which means you can't get an exact number.

PST Pool Supplies sells the K-1722 drop test for hardness at an extremely fair price on our eCommerce site. We also sell a variety of other test kits including the following:

• Chlorine and pH
• Cyanuric acid (CYA)
• Total Dissolved Solids (TDS)
• Phosphates
• Copper
• Complete test kits
• So much more

For a complete listing of all of our test kits, CLICK HERE! If you should have any questions about test kits and why we recommend them, contact us today to learn more. 866-535-0899