What are the standard chemical levels recommended for maintaining water quality in pools?

The recommended standard chemical levels for maintaining water quality in pools focus on ensuring a balance that promotes swimmer comfort and maintains effective disinfection. Maintaining a pH level between 7.2 and 7.8 is ideal because this range maximizes chlorine effectiveness while minimizing skin and eye irritation for swimmers. A pH level below 7.2 can lead to corrosive conditions, which can damage pool surfaces and equipment and contribute to harmful irritants for users.

As for chlorine levels, maintaining a free chlorine concentration around 5 ppm helps ensure sufficient disinfection of the water, effectively eliminating harmful pathogens while remaining within a safe range for swimmers. This concentration strikes a balance between adequate sanitation and swimmer safety, preventing both contamination and discomfort.

Other options do not align with these recommended standards for pH or chlorine levels, indicating that either the pH is too low or too high, or the chlorine concentration is outside of the optimal range necessary to maintain a safe and healthy swimming environment.