Once hardened, will borate dissolve?

[JimK]

I feel silly asking this, but here goes.

Today I wanted to raise my borate level a bit (I use tetraborate pentahydrate). It was a bit windy, so instead of broadcasting it per label instructions and having it blow around, I thought I would put it in a bucket and add pool water to pre dissolve it then pour it throughout the pool.

Well, some of it dissolved, but most of it solidified into a big borate rock! Is there a way to dissolve this "borate rock" so I can use it, or is it toast?

[waterbear]

Put it in the pool. It will eventually break up and dissolve.

[JimK]

Put it in the pool. It will eventually break up and dissolve.

Thanks. Will it hurt the vinyl liner if it sits there in direct contact for an extended period? Should I put it in a bucket, then put the bucket in the pool to avoid direct contact with the liner?

At least I'll know not to do that again, or at least add the borate powder slowly into the water and not the other way around......LOL.

[waterbear]

shouldn't hurt the liner but if you have any concerns just leave it in the bucket and sink it in the pool.

[CarlD]

if you break it up with your fingers you'll find it gets warm! Really freaky sensation, so dissolving must be exothermic (is that right?)

[JimK]

shouldn't hurt the liner but if you have any concerns just leave it in the bucket and sink it in the pool.

Thanks. I left it in the bucket just to be extra safe. Hopefully it won't take too long to dissolve (ruins the look of the pool with that bucket in there..LOL)

[JimK]

if you break it up with your fingers you'll find it gets warm! Really freaky sensation, so dissolving must be exothermic (is that right?)

LOL.....I tried breaking it up with my hands but it's too hard (or I'm just a weakling!).

[waterbear]

When it clumps like that you can break it up with a hammer and chisel or just let it dissolve. I once had a 45 lb bucket of Proteam Supreme Plus that had become a solid lump in the container. I had to break it up into chunks with a hammer and then put them in the pool. They all dissolved in about a day. I never noticed borax to be exothermic on dissolving but calcium chloride certainly is!

[JimK]

When it clumps like that you can break it up with a hammer and chisel or just let it dissolve. I once had a 45 lb bucket of Proteam Supreme Plus that had become a solid lump in the container. I had to break it up into chunks with a hammer and then put them in the pool. They all dissolved in about a day. I never noticed borax to be exothermic on dissolving but calcium chloride certainly is!

If there's still a big chunk undissolved tomorrow, I'll take a hammer to it to speed up the process.