Adding Borates to Your Pool with 20 Mule Team Borax (level of 30-50 ppm)

In this video I show you how to add Borates to your pool with 20 Mule Team Borax. After watching the video you will see if this is the way you want to do it or maybe you would rather buy a Borate product like PoolProof. In the latter case all you will need to do is basically pour the PoolProof in your pool and you are done.

Finding enough 20 Mule Team Borax can be a challenge. I went to three different Walmarts and found 3 boxes between them. I took a shot and stopped by my local Target and they had about 20 boxes -nice.

The first thing to do is get your Alkalinity to 80 ppm. I noticed that after adding all the Borax and Acid the Alkalinity only went up 10 ppm. Not a huge jump at all. That is good because after getting the Borate level to 50 ppm the pH and Alkalinity will be stable.

A good starting pH is 7.4 or even 7.2 since it will rise dramatically once you start to add the Borax. So take a week or two and get both your Alkalinity and pH in range.

This gave me about how much Borax to add. My pool is roughly 16,000 gallons. According to the chart I needed 12 boxes of Borax and almost 4 gallons of Acid.

I poured the Borax directly into the skimmer with the pool running. I prefer that method as it circulates it very quickly. the high pH will not damage your equipment. Right after adding 12 boxes I dumped in 2 gallons of acid and waited four hours. I retested and added 1.5 more gallons. I checked the pH again around 9 pm and found it to be about 7.6 - I called it a night.
The next day when I got home I checked the Borate levels. It was about 50 ppm or a little over - so the 12 boxes were right on the money. The pH was 7.4 - acceptable but a tad low. I probably could have just used 3 gallons of acid.

If you do this and the pH is under 7.0 - add another box of Borax to bring it up. That is the one problem with this method. Getting the pH back to 7.6 takes some practice. I've been working with pool chemistry a long time so I hit it pretty good on my first try. The alkalinity was 90 ppm. I expect now for the alkalinity a pH to stay about in that range as the Borates will stabilize both. That is why it is important to start with both in the range listed above. Adjusting the range afterwards is harder as the Borates absorb both the acid and base in the water. So get those numbers correct first (alkalinity 80 ppm and pH 7.4-7.6).

Was this difficult? Not really for me but I have a lot of experience. I was kinda cringing when I added 2 gallons of acid - not what I usually do at all. For a new pool owner or if you don't want to mess with all the adjusting of the pH I would recommend the easier method for you.

The benefits of a Borate level of 50 ppm are:
Stable pH and alkalinity
Less chlorine usage as the pH is stable
Softer and less irritating water
Borates inhibit algae growth so you probably won't get any algae in your pool
If you have a salt cell it will stay cleaner due to the stable pH
And last your pool water will sparkle like never before - watch the video at the 5:17 mark to see how my pool water sparkles when the Sun hits it. Amazing.

Total Costs: $50 for 14 boxes of Borax (I used 12 boxes). $17 for the Borate test strips and about $20.00 for the acid. Maybe add $15.00 for running my pool 24 hours.

A little over $100.00
If I used the PoolProof it would have been about $195.00. So about half the cost.

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Stuff I plugged in this video:

[thesunderidge]

So do I want Boric Acid or Borax. which do you recommend. Boric sound like the better product. Can you add Boric all at the same time like Borax? Skimmer or Cast across Pool? Thanks Videos are awesome.

[leebun]

Help! I have a chlorine pool. Current PH 6.5 and alkalinity 220. 17500gal volume

[magdarodriguez]

HELP

I have above ground pool so there's no individual skimmer like the one shown. there's a pump with a filter in it. Do I add it in there or directly in the pool?

[Rocket]

Hello, I re-plastered my pool about two months ago. Is it safe to add borates or should I wait? Thank you

[Artr]

I did this
I am in Florida.
It rains in the summer and my pool stays sparkling clean now.
Thanks for the advice.

[Paul-bozu]

So how do you get the boraxo to dissolve, I put a box of it in a bucket of hot water and it didn’t dissolve, so now what? Help

[paddle]

I used this borate method after some particularly heavy rainstorms in South Texas that caused my pH to drop to 6.8 and 30 alkalinity. No matter how much chlorine or algaecide I would add, the algae would start growing again the next day. It's been 2 weeks since I did the borax treatment with muriactic acid balance and the pool has never looked so crystal clear before. Not only is the algae not coming back but I notice that I don't have to use as much chlorine on a regular basis to keep the pool algae free. As a side benefit, my skin feels a lot softer coming out of the pool.

[zelli]

I read somewhere recently that borate or borax in the swimming pool. Water can be very dangerous for pets, like your dog and mine?

[peterlopez]

Where did you get that orange acid jug holder??

[archerscherer]

Can I add in skimmer if I have a cartridge filter?

[tweetiebird]

Everything i read about adding borax and how it controls high PH which I have stuggled with and go through dry acid like crazy and now to find out it also will lower how much liquid chlorine I have to add and buy means it will not only save me the frustration of trying to balance my pool but the chemical expense as well. I got black algae what a nightmare, had it chlorine, acid, presured washed, refilled and now it looks great and water is completely balanced, so now I'm thinking about adding the borax just concerned about my dog taking a drink from the pool and the borax harming her.

[Optix-Code]

Pool calculator line doesn't work no more

[danielbrothers]

Great Video Man.... we just ordered the strips from amazon and will be buying all our borax soda ash and M-Acid from walmarts ... and will be doing this special process to our 24 ft above ground pool.... can't wait.... you have been a blessing to us... keep it up... thanks... Jesus Bless you...from Me and She in South Carolina

[krehbein]

Good video. You kind of rushed it at the end describing how it changed the look of the water. Do you think it sparkles quite a bit more now? Do you think the hassle is worth the bennefits? Wonder how much borax you'll need to add throughout the year to maintain levels.

[luboxing]

Really love the video! My question is for non-salt water pool does the 30-50ppm still hold? I have read somewhere on Internet that only 20oz of Borax per 5000 gallons of water is needed to achieve the benefit.

[andrewgaffka]

Another awesome video! Looking forward to doing this on my pool to stabilize the ph. That was my least favorite byproduct of converting to salt. Most importantly, love the Dave Ramsey shout out! Also a huge fan and congratulations on being debt free. “Debt is dumb, cash is king and the paid off home mortgage has taken the place of the BMW as the status symbol of choice” 👑 😎👍🏼

[Theamzaningdreamteam]

can you add the borax to the pool if it’s green or should you wait until after you add the chlorine?

[SPL]

Achieving a Borate level of 50 ppm by adding boxes of 20 Mule Team Borax is not extremely difficult. Here is a video where I add 12 boxes and then bring the pH back down to the original reading. 

[Catchafire]

Thank you. I've learned a lot from your teachings. If I have a sand filter, do you suggest adding this to the skimmer? What if I added it directly to the pool? Thank you from New Jersey?

[avinash]

Thanks for this video and all the others ones. I have learnt everything about pool maintenance from watching your videos.

I am planning on using this method to introduce borates into the pool.

You removed your side suction automated vacuum, before starting the process. Does this process cause damage to the hoses and vacuum unit? Is it required to remove them?

Thank you again for uploading the educational videos.