Pool Chemistry and Maintenance From a Backyard Pool Owner
Nadia Caldwell · September 2, 2026
I’ve been around pools across the Southwest for years, and I can tell you exactly which chemical problem makes pool owners want to pull their hair out: you test the pH, it reads low at 6.8, you add pH increaser, it climbs to 7.6, and two days later—boom—it’s back down at 7.0 again. So you … Read more
Nadia Caldwell · July 1, 2026
Two competing pieces of advice circulate constantly around pool decks and online forums, and they directly contradict each other. One says “pH drops naturally over time, so you shouldn’t add acid unless it gets above 8.0.” The other insists “high alkalinity causes everything, lower it first and pH will follow.” One of these is wrong … Read more
Nadia Caldwell · June 23, 2026
Across fifteen years of chasing pool chemistry around Arizona—one refrain surfaces with remarkable consistency from owners who maintain regular water chemistry testing. They tell me: “Nadia, my pool pH won’t stop climbing. I dose pH down, let it sit for a full day, run another test, and it’s back at 8.0. Feels like I’m flushing … Read more