It is important to know what exactly bleach is before you put it in your pool. Household bleach, Clorox and liquid chlorine can all be used to sanitize a pool. They are all types of chlorine. Household bleaches such as Clorox usually contain about 5-6% available chlorine, about half that of pool liquid chlorine.
Clorox itself recommends using between 100 and 200 ounces of regular-strength bleach per 10,000 gallons of pool water -- one gallon is 128 ounces, and many bottles of bleach are available in one-gallon or half-gallon sizes. Pool professionals tend to recommend more conservative amounts of bleach.
When chlorinating wading pools, use 1/8 cup per 100 gallons of new water. Mix required amount of Clorox® Regular Bleach2 with 2 gallons of water and scatter over surface of pool. Mix uniformly with pool water. Empty small pools daily.
They are identical in every way, with the exception of strength. Household bleach is usually a 6% concentration (although some of the cheaper stuff is 3%), while pool chlorine can typically be found in strength between 10% and 12%. All of this is sodium hypochlorite, and works the same in sanitizing your water.
Therefore, a lot of people keep away from ever using a drop of bleach near their pools. Bleach is safe and the only chemical you should be using in your pool unless cleaning pool tile with baking soda. So yes, you can use bleach to keep your pool water chemistry balanced.
High concentrations of chlorine (above 1.5 ppm) will attack the liner and bleach it, thus damaging it. Any level below this range will weaken its ability to kill off bacteria.
What can you use instead? Bromine — considered a safe substitute for chlorine. Looks for BCDMH tablets, which are typically 66% bromine and 27% chlorine. If unable to find, you can use just bromine but it may leave the water a dull green color.
Many of us use household bleach, a common brand name being Jik, to clean our homes. Bleach itself is a diluted solution of sodium hypochlorite and it is this ingredient that can be used to lighten, sanitize and disinfect.
In truth, bleach contains the same base chemical as pool chlorine. That chemical is, of course, chlorine, and the only major difference between the two products is the concentration strength. Pool chlorine typically contains some form of stabilizer, as well, though this is not a crucial factor.
Clorox is a bleach product from a company by the same name having its headquarters in Oakland, California. Though the company makes several chemical products, it is its bleach that is most popular. Brita is one of the many subsidiary companies owned by Clorox.
You can also simply add more chlorine, and pouring household bleach into the pool is one way to do this. Be sure the pH is in the proper range -- between 7.2 and 7.8 -- and add the bleach in the early evening to avoid having most of it degraded by sunlight.
It is a good idea to wait at least 20 minutes after adding the water balancing chemicals. If you use calcium chloride in your pool, you should wait at least 2 hours to swim.
The main difference between bleach and chlorine is their strength. Chlorine is much stronger than bleach. To get your pools chlorine level to the point it needs to be to keep the pool looking clean and bright; you will need to use more bleach than you will chlorine.
Household bleach is actually a mixture of chemicals, Its main constituent is a solution of ~3-6% sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl), which is mixed with small amounts of sodium hydroxide, hydrogen peroxide, and calcium hypochlorite.
The strongest bleach is Clorox Regular Bleach2, which is the best bleach for cleaning, stain removal, and whitening. It's the only bleach that can be used around the house to clean and purify a wide variety of surfaces.
Answer: It is true that pool chlorine is stronger than bleach. For bleach and water to be the same strength as pool chlorine and water, you would have to adjust the ratio, increasing the bleach and reducing the water. But no matter which chlorine you use, make sure to test a small area before doing the job.
You can buy thin bleach in bulk from our website.
There is no difference in the chemical makeup of thick bleach and thin bleach. Both contain sodium hypochlorite which is what makes bleach. However, to win the war on germs, thick bleach has an added gelling agent that allows it to stay on surfaces for longer.
Baking soda, also known as sodium bicarbonate is naturally alkaline, with a pH of 8. When you add baking soda to your pool water, you will raise both the pH and the alkalinity, improving stability and clarity. Many commercial pool products for raising alkalinity utilize baking soda as their main active ingredient.
Pros of Saltwater Pools
There's less chlorine and less of the heavy chemical scent and content. They're gentler on the skin, with less irritation to the eyes, hair and swimsuits. The water has a softer, silkier feel to it compared to chlorine water. They have lower maintenance costs than chlorine pools.
In a clean, freshly filled 500 gallon wading pool, add a quarter cup of unscented household liquid chlorine bleach to the water. Then, at the end of each day, test the water and add an additional 1/8 to 1/4 cup, depending on the reading.
Common unscented household bleach (sodium hypochlorite) works well to shock a pool.
Of course, too much chlorine in pool water can be dangerous. Exposure to over-chlorination can provoke asthma, lung irritation, and potentially skin and eye irritation. As well as being potentially bad for you, it's bad for your pool.
Best time is either after sunset, or when you need it. Bleach doesn't lose concentration overnight unless it has something to work on. In fact, a good way to tell if your pool is in good shape is to do an overnight chlorine test. Ideally, the FC at night should be the same as the FC level the next morning.
Things You Should Never, Ever Mix with Bleach
Which is why we say to never mix bleach with other cleaning agents — because you might not realize that something has ammonia in it! When combined, bleach and ammonia produce chloramine gas, which can burn your eyes and respiratory tract and can cause internal organ damage.