What Are the Disadvantages of Muriatic Acid?

There are a variety of chemicals for pool maintenance, ranging from balancing the water, to checking pH levels, and ensuring cleanliness. The most widely used pool chemical is muriatic acid, also called hydrochloric acid. Although muriatic acid is very useful in lowering pool pH and eliminating cloudy pool water, it also has its disadvantages. In this blog post, we are going to discuss some limitations of using muriatic acid, and how robotics pool cleaners and other pool cleaning equipment can help you maintain your pool.

Why Is Muriatic Acid Used and What Is It?

But before we get into the disadvantages of muriatic acid in the pool, let’s take a good look at why this chemical is so widely used when it comes to the maintenance of the pool. Muriatic acid is the most commonly used acid among pool products, and it is mainly used to reduce pH and overall alkalinity levels in the pool water. Excessively alkaline water (high pH) means that your pool water will likely be cold to scale on the pool walls, cloudy water, and poor effectiveness of chlorine. Muriatic acid is used to adjust these levels and keep the pool water clean and safe for swimmers.

While effective, muriatic acid does have its disadvantages. The following are the disadvantages that you should keep in mind:

Corrosive Nature

However, Muriatic acid is very corrosive and can damage many surfaces. It can irreparably damage pool tiles, ladders, and other metal pool equipment when spilled or splashed. Excessive or incorrect use of muriatic acid can further break down the pool’s plaster or concrete, which will then require expensive repairs to fix. Preventing the Danger However, when using muriatic acid, you must be very careful and take it very seriously, and always wear protective equipment such as gloves and goggles.

The Solution: Robotic Cleaners for Your Pool

Using a robotic pool cleaner can help reduce the need for aggressive chemicals. The Beatbot AquaSense Pro and the Beatbot iSkim Ultra are just two devices that help to comb out the organic debris, thereby reducing the need to bump up chemicals every five minutes. These machines can scrub surfaces in the pool, which keeps the water cleaner longer, therefore requiring fewer chemicals like muriatic acid.

Safety Risks

Muriatic acid is highly corrosive and unsafe to use without exercising appropriate safety precautions. The fumes can cause burns to the eyes, nose, and throat, and direct contact with the skin can cause burns. Muriatic acid needs to be used in a well-ventilated space, so be sure to wear proper protective gear. Additionally, using muriatic acid in conjunction with other chemicals can cause hazardous reactions.

Safety Tip of the Week: Pool Vacuum Robots

When it comes to chemicals in pool cleaning, safety comes first. The Beatbot AquaSense, a swimming pool robot cleaner, helps reduce the intake of chemicals. They can help in maintaining your pool water better so that you do not need to add muriatic acid as frequently for PH balance.

Frequent Application

Another drawback of muriatic acid is that its impact tends to be short-lived. It can help to reduce the pH, but the effect will tend to be temporary, especially in pools that get a lot of rain exposure or heavy swimmer traffic. This also means that you might have to use muriatic acid more often than you’d want, which can be both expensive and very time-consuming.

Problem: Dirty Swimming Pool Water

A robot pool cleaner can help keep pool water cleaner because it can pick up debris that could throw pH levels off. Pool cleaning robots the likes of the Beatbot AquaSense can help keep your water cleaner for longer, which means fewer chemical adjustments need to be made.

Environmental Impact

However, if mishandled, the use of muriatic acid can also affect the community. If dumping excess acid into a pool or down the drains, it can lead to pollution. Muriatic acid may leach into water sources, posing a hazard to wildlife and ecosystems in the area. So we need to consider how we dispose of it and use the acid judiciously.

It wastes: Pool skimmers and robots.

Using a pool skimmer and also robot pool vacuums will help you keep your swimming pool clean & debris-free preventing over-reliance on harsh chemicals. For example, the Beatbot AquaSense Pro is a standard machine that not only cleans the pool effectively but also limits the use of aggressive chemicals.

Costly and Time-Consuming

Muriatic acid is pretty cheap as far as acid goes, but you’ll have to use it regularly to ensure the water stays in balance over time. Also, measuring out and applying the acid properly takes time. You’ll also need to test your pool water regularly to ensure the acid is having the desired effect. To have this ever-occurring need to test, apply and re-test can be a tedious and aggravating process.

Leveled UP: Port Cleaner Robots

Instead of simply depending on chemicals such as muriatic acid, it is possible to own a robotic pool cleaner that will simplify the maintenance process. Devices such as the Beatbot iSkim Ultra can eliminate debris and grime from the pool, so the water stays cleaner and there’s less need for ongoing adjustments to the pH levels. This significantly simplifies and reduces the need to use chemicals for swimming pool maintenance.

Risk of Over-Acidification

Even more dangerous than that is the over-acidification of the pool water when muriatic acid is added. Too much acid causes a drop in pH below the optimal range, which can cause a different set of problems. A low pH can irritate skin and eyes, corrupt pool equipment, and even hurt people. You have to keep an eye on the pH to ensure you’re not adding more acid than you need.

Using Robotics to Prevent Overall Chemical Weekends

To minimize overacidification, pairing robotic pool cleaners with a more regimented method of chemical management is recommended. For instance, pool robot cleaners (like the Beatbot AquaSense model) can minimize debris and indirectly stabilize pH levels. Cleaner pools require fewer chemicals and help maintain a balanced water environment.

Conclusion: Do You Want The Muriatic Acid?

Although muriatic acid can be effective for adjusting pH levels in pool water, it does have some disadvantages worth considering for pool owners. For some homeowners, the negatives outweigh the positives; it could cause corrosion to plaster and covers, safety hazards, environmental concerns, or the need for repeated application. In contrast, if it’s very likely to spend time maintaining your pool with chemicals, it might be worth looking into alternative ways of keeping it clean, such as using a robotic pool cleaner (e.g., Beatbot iSkim Ultra and Beatbot AquaSense Pro). These clever devices not only clean your pool but also keep the water cleaner and balanced, so you need less poop — I mean chemicals — such as muriatic acid.

Every swimming pool is unique and requires a tad bit of different care, but using a pool cleaning robot or robot pool vacuum as part of your swimming pool maintenance will help you experience a cleaner pool with fewer adjustments to chemistry—and more time enjoying it.