Do PH Balance Products really work?

[Gomboman]

My water out of the tap is very difficult to balance--Alkalinity off the map low and PH off the map high.  I was thinking about trying a PH Balance product for my next water change once it's balanced correctly.  I hit Leisure Times website and was surprised to find out that they don't recommend using it if your calcium level is over 150 ppm.  My calcium level is around 200 ppm and I thought that was very low.  
 
Anyway, does this product really work?  Maybe someone with a chemistry background, perhaps Bill Stevenson etc., can explain how this product functions?  Has anyone had any luck with this stuff or is it a waste of money?  
 
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http://www.leisuretimespa.com/TechDataInfo.asp?authID=932135976&ProductID=140  
pH Balance  
pH Balance is a unique pH balancer that maintains the ideal pH level between 7.2 and 7.8.    
 
Features:  
 
Prevents pH drift  
Eliminates need to adjust pH on ongoing basis  
Use each time water is refilled  
One bottle treats up to 500 gallons of water  
 
Applications:  
As Needed:  
1. Adjust pH and total alkalinity of freshly filled spa to proper levels. (pH level: 7.2 - 7.8 ppm total alkalinity level: 80-120 ppm)  
2. Add entire bottle to filled spa while the filter is running.  
3. pH will instantly increase or decrease to a reading between the ideal range of 7.2 to 7.8.  
 
 
 
Tips:  
Add to freshly filled water. pH Balance should not be used in hard water areas where calcium reading is above 150 ppm. In these conditions, this formula will soften hard water and release calcium into spa water possibly causing cloudy water, scaling and clogging of spa filter. If you are not in a hard water area, but experience clouding of spa water after applying pH Balance, Leisure Time recommends using Bright & Clear to return clarity  

[loneoak]

I wonder about that too.  Our water is very hard, so when we fill the spa we use half hard and half softened water.  The hardness level comes out just right on any water samples I bring to the shop.  When topping up the water lost to evaporation, we always add soft.

Our Ph is always high.  Normal routine:  I use the spa before breakfast, test on my way out (test strip), add Ph minus, get on with my day.  Sometimes, when the Ph is normal, the alkalinity is low.  So I add Perfect Balance to lower the alkalinity, and the next day the Ph is high again.

My son-in-law's parents have an indoor pool.  He said when he lived at home he remembers they were always adding acid to the pool.  They live in my area, so it's obviously something in the water.

What I cannot figure out is this:  we have water in the spa which does not get changed every day (every few months is our plan).  The Ph is high, I add stuff to fix it.  Why does it go high again after I fixed it?  Why can't it stay fixed?


Astrid.  

[Gomboman]

Looks like we're on our own loanoak.

Anybody out their use a PH Balance type product?

[st18901]

I don't use a stabilizer, but don't really have many problems either. Once I got my TA and PH good, they only gently drift toward the acidic (which happens because of bromine action) and then a bit of Sodium Bicarb takes care of that.

For me, a stabilizer is just another chemical to add to the water.

[Anoroc]

I purchased two botteles of the PH stabalizer but i haven't used it yet.  After I purchased it onlline my dealer told me they stopped carrying it because people had problems with it messing up their water.

I was still planning on trying it at my next fill.  I didn't know about the hard water stuff though...

[wmccall]

I've used this type of stuff once. You have to add so much of it, that it adds to TDS pretty quickly.I didn't like having add pounds of a chemical to my tub.