Maintaining calcium hardness in your pool is one of the most important things in swimming pool maintenance.

So if you want to lower calcium hardness in a pool then it’s simple and easy.

It’s not rocket science to maintain the calcium hardness in your pool.

If you accidentally added more calcium to your swimming pool or your pool has high calcium hardness because of hard water then you need to lower the level.

Because high calcium hardness in your pool can cause cloudy water, rough surfaces, clogged filters, reduce air circulation and create white blotchy areas on the pool surface.

In this article, we will talk about how you can reduce or lower calcium hardness in a pool by using different ways.

Table Of Contents

Proven Way to Lower Calcium Hardness in a Pool

Follow these step-by-step processes for reducing the calcium hardness in your pool.

The main cause of increasing the calcium hardness in your pool is the hardness of the water.

Here are the steps to lower calcium hardness in your pool.

Also Read: Can You Shock Pool After Adding Calcium?

Step 1: Maintain the other Chemicals

Always, Always test all chemical balances before you do anything.

You need to make sure your pool has a balance of chlorine, alkalinity, and pH level of your pool water.

So before you do anything, make sure your pool has the balance of all chemicals.

Step 2: Test the Calcium Hardness In your Pool

Once you maintain the all other chemicals in your pool, after 24 hours you need to test the calcium hardness in your pool.

Here are some ideal levels of calcium hardness in these types of pools.

  1. Vinyl or Fiberglass Pool Must Have Calcium Hardness Between 175 to 225 ppm.
  2. Concrete and Plaster Pool Should Have Between 200 to 300 ppm.
  3. Saltwater Pools must have between 200 ppm to 400 ppm.

200 ppm is a good number to aim for every type of pool.

If you tested the calcium hardness of your pool and its higher than recommended levels then you need to lower the calcium hardness of your pool.

Step 3: Reduce or Lower Calcium Hardness In A Pool

There are main two proven ways to reduce or lower the calcium hardness in your pool.

Way 1: Use flocculant

This is the most effective method to lower the calcium hardness in your pool.

A flocculant will suck up all calcium particles in your pool and settle the particles into the bottom of the pool in clumps so you can vacuum out them later.

You can also filter them with a sand filter.

Way 2: Refill With Fresh Water

This is the natural and the best way to balance the calcium hardness in your pool.

If the calcium hardness of your pool has been increased then you can just drain all the water from your swimming pool,

And again refill with fresh local water supply.

But make sure your local water supply does not have high calcium in their water.

Step 4: Test Calcium Hardness Again

Now it’s time for you to check the calcium hardness of your pool again.

And if the calcium hardness of your pool is decreased too much then you can use calcium chloride.

But if you fill the water with new fresh water then there is a high chance that calcium hardness in your new fresh pool water must be balanced.

But you can test the calcium hardness of your pool water again to make sure everything is okay.

How to Test Calcium Hardness In a Pool

There are lots of ways to test the calcium hardness in your pool but test strips and liquid drop test kits are the most common ways to check the calcium hardness in a pool.

Using test strips is easy, effective, affordable, and straightforward.

Just dip the test strips into the pool elbow-deep then just check the color on the strips with the manufacturer’s chart.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Does rain lower calcium hardness in pool?

No, just rainwater can’t lower the calcium hardness in your pool.

Because even if rainwater is added to your pool water, the calcium remains the same in the pool water.

So rainwater is not the solution for reducing the calcium hardness in the pool.

You need to remove calcium hardness by using Flocculant or refill the entire water with fresh water for reducing the calcium hardness in your pool.

Does Adding Tap Water Lower Calcium Hardness in Pool?

Just Like Rain Water, adding tap water won’t reduce the calcium hardness of your pool.

You need to completely drain out the water and refill the pool with new fresh water.

Or you can use a flocculant and sand filter to reduce the calcium hardness in your swimming pool.

Will baking soda lower hardness in pool?

No, baking soda doesn’t lower the calcium hardness in your pool.

Baking soda can raise the pH and the alkalinity in your pool but it does not lower or higher the hardness in your swimming pool.

Will muriatic acid lower hardness in pool?

You can control the calcium hardness of your pool by increasing the alkalinity of the pool water by using muriatic acid.

But muriatic acid does not lower the hardness in your pool.

Muriatic acid is not the right solution to reduce the hardness of your pool water.