pH Archives - Aquatic Facility Training and Consultants

Muriatic Acid Alternatives

Post author:Rudy
Post published:July 30, 2021
Post category:Water Chemistry

I guess we can add muriatic acid to the list of pool products that are becoming impossible to find this year. The truth is it's been kind of scarce for…

How Borates in Swimming Pools Buffer pH

Post author:Rudy
Post published:December 27, 2020
Post category:Water Chemistry Borates pH Adjustments

Borates in Swimming Pools This may very well be the 'New Craze' in swimming pool chemistry and probably comes as close to being the elusive 'Magic Pill' as anything. Though…

Lowering Total Alkalinity Without Affecting pH

Post author:Rudy
Post published:March 10, 2019
Post category:Lowering pH

[responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Male" buttontext="Listen to Post"] Can the Acid Slug Lower Total Alkalinity Without Affecting pH? The ability to control whether you lower Total Alkalinity or pH by…

How Strong is Pool Chlorine?

Post author:Rudy
Post published:September 17, 2018
Post category:Water Chemistry

How Strong is Pool Chlorine? Understanding Available Chlorine Content (ACC) in Pool Chemistry A Key Concept in Certified Pool Operator (CPO) Training One of the most misunderstood concepts in swimming…

Pool Service Software

Post author:Contributor
Post published:September 4, 2018
Post category:Sponsors

The Dirty Swimming Pool Water Epidemic Includes Your Pool - Yes, Yours! It’s the week before Memorial Day 2018, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention releases its latest…

pH Rise in Swimming Pools

Post author:Rudy
Post published:August 21, 2018
Post category:Science Fair Project Water Chemistry

Spas, Splash pads, and Waterpark rides... Why Aeration Causes pH Rise in Swimming Pools Ever wonder why the pH in certain pools always seems to run high, no matter how…

Liquid Chlorine pH

Post author:Contributor
Post published:June 27, 2018
Post category:Water Chemistry

Does Liquid Chlorine Raise pH? The Chemistry of Sodium Hypochlorite in Swimming Pools Rudy Stankowitz is a Certified Pool Operator (CPO) instructor, columnist for AQUA Magazine, and host of the…

Talking Pools Podcast

If you’ve ever stared at a test kit like it personally insulted your family… welcome home.

Talking Pools Podcast is the pool industry’s “pull up a chair” show—part shop talk, part field manual, part therapy session—built for people who actually live on pool decks: commercial operators, service techs, builders, facility managers, and anyone responsible for water that can’t afford to go sideways. The network was created to level up the pool industry with real-world conversations on water chemistry, filtration, troubleshooting, construction, safety, and the business side of keeping pools open and budgets intact.

Here’s the hook: it’s not theory-first. It’s experience-first—a roster of seasoned pros (with 250+ years of combined “been there, fixed that” wisdom) turning complicated problems into practical moves you can use the same day. And it’s not one voice, one vibe, one corner of the industry: it’s a network of shows designed to reflect how diverse this work really is—different regions, different specialties, different personalities.

Also worth saying out loud: women aren’t “special guests” here—they’re on the mic as hosts, from the beginning, with an intentionally balanced roster. That matters, because the best ideas in this industry don’t come from one lane—they come from the whole road.

If you want a podcast that can make you laugh and make you better at what you do—without pretending the job is easier than it is—Talking Pools is the one you queue up before the first stop, and keep on when the day starts getting weird.

Pool Pros text questions here

In this episode of Flock It Friday, Rudy Stankowitz revisits the topic of borates in swimming pools, exploring the chemistry behind them, the regulatory history, and why recent geopolitical tensions have brought boron compounds back into the conversation.

Recent instability in key shipping corridors such as the Strait of Hormuz, the Red Sea, and the Suez Canal has raised concerns about global freight movement. Since Turkey holds the world’s largest boron reserves and supplies a significant portion of the global market through its state-owned producer Eti Maden, disruptions in shipping routes could tighten the supply chain that delivers boric acid to the U.S. market. The chemistry itself hasn’t changed—the mines are still operating—but the logistics that move industrial minerals around the world can shift quickly.

Rudy then breaks down the science behind borates. In pool water, boron compounds typically exist as boric acid and borate ions, forming a secondary buffering system that helps resist pH drift, especially in pools with saltwater chlorine generators, where aeration accelerates carbon dioxide loss and causes pH to rise.

Most pools that use borates maintain concentrations between 30 and 50 ppm. Below that range the buffering effect becomes minimal, and above it there is little additional benefit. Once added, borates remain stable in the water and are only removed through dilution, splash-out, backwashing, or water replacement.

Borates are often described as algistatic, meaning they may inhibit algae growth, but they should not be considered a primary algaecide. Chlorine remains the primary sanitizer responsible for algae control.

The episode also touches on the regulatory evolution surrounding borates. Following the introduction of NSF/ANSI Standard 50 Annex R in 2015, many niche pool chemical additives—including borate products—were not pursued for certification under the updated framework. As a result, borates largely disappeared from modern certification listings, though they remain widely used in residential pools where certification is not required.

The bigger takeaway is that the chemistry hasn’t changed—but the systems that deliver pool chemicals have. In today’s global economy, the most complicated part of pool chemistry may not be the reactions happening in the water, but the international supply chains that bring those chemicals to the pool service professional.

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