Add chlorine to your pool every couple of days as part of regularly monitoring your pool water chemistry. You can also add it in the form of pool shock when the chlorine in your pool needs a fast boost. Add chlorine after sunset and make sure no swimmers are in the pool.
Each chemical level can be managed by adding different compounds to your pool. Under normal circumstances, you should add a tablet of chlorine every 3-7 days, depending on the results of your water tests. Tablets are often the best option, as they are easier to handle and measure.
How much chlorine to add depends on the type you're using. But since tablets are the most common, we can say that the rule of thumb for how much chlorine to add is two 3-inch tablets per 10,000 gallons, or one 3-inch tablet per 5,000 gallons. The goal is to have a chlorine level at 1 to 3 parts per million (ppm).
You shouldn't need to put chlorine in your hot tub or worry about adjusting chlorine levels daily. Instead, test levels twice or three times per week, depending on how often you use the tub. To raise chlorine levels, the extra chlorine needed depends on how much chlorine is already in the water.
In fact, chlorine can be harmful to your eyes, hair, nails, lungs, and yes, even your skin. Not only that, but depending on your age, existing skin condition, and several other factors including the balance of chemicals in the water, chlorine can be anything from irritating to extremely harmful to your skin.
If you are sure your tap water contains chlorine and not chloramine, you can let the water sit for 1-5 days to allow all the chlorine to evaporate. To speed up the evaporation process, aerate the water with an air stone for 12-24 hours or boil the water for 15-20 minutes.
Too much chlorine is also corrosive to a swimming pool's plumbing. It can eat away at the vessel itself, damaging the plaster or pebble tech.It can bleach out vinyl liners. It can eat away at your equipment too. Especially if you own a heater.
Typically, you will need to add chlorine tabs or granules to your pool on a constant basis. About every two weeks, you will need to shock your pool with a higher dose of chlorine. This raises the pH levels quickly and is especially important in sunny weather when the chlorine can break down.
There are quite a few possible causes for your pool to develop an excessive chlorine demand. You might have an infestation of algae, fungus or bacteria that can deplete normal chlorine levels and it is possible for this to occur without many visible signs. Your pool may appear to have a dusty look on the pool bottom.
Leaving chlorine and other pool chemicals on your skin after you swim is a bad idea. They can dry out your skin, removing its natural protective oils., especially if you sleep with chlorine on your body. This can irritate it and leave it vulnerable to infections. If you're itchy after you swim, this may be why.
If you want a reliable, low-maintenance way to keep a steady level of chlorine in the pool, slow-dissolving 3" tablets are the way to go. On the other hand, if you're looking for a quick way to increase chlorine levels on demand, liquid chlorine might be a better option.
You should aim to keep the chlorine level at between 1 and 3 ppm. We suggest shocking the pool every week to two weeks; with hot weather or increased use, you may need to shock more often. When tabs run out, replace them.
Chlorine stabilizer or Cynanuric Acid (CYA) is a pool balancing chemical used to help chlorine last longer. Chlorine, in its natural form, is unstablized—which means it degrades when exposed to sunlight. Adding a chlorine stabilizer reduces the sun's impact on chlorine loss.
SKIMMER NOTES: No. Chlorine and shock are not the same thing. Shock has a more intense chemical strength than the traditional chlorine sanitizers, and it also differs in how you should apply it to your swimming pool.
The right way and time
Since liquid chlorine will burn off quickly in direct sunlight, it's best to add it to your pool in the evening. Wait until the sun begins to or has set. Don't cradle the bottle of chlorine – instead, hold it as far away from you as possible as you add it to the pool.
“The hotter the weather gets, the more the pool is used, so more chlorine is required to keep it sanitised and algae free,” explains Chris. “If you have a salt chlorinated pool, we recommend pressing the 'super chlorinate' button to kill algae.”
Is it safe to swim in a pool with low chlorine? Technically, you could swim in a freshly filled pool with low chlorine. But contaminants will build up quickly in the water. So continuously using a swimming pool with a low level of chlorine could cause illness and eye or skin irritation.
Algae growth in your pool will rapidly consume free chlorine. High temperatures, high levels of phosphates, dirty or clogged filters and low chlorine levels can promote algae growth. Scrubbing with a brush can remove algae from surfaces if they have accumulated in one place.
It Should Not Be Done Together
This is because when you mix chlorine and algaecide together, it renders both of them useless. Hence, you should first shock the pool and wait for the chlorine levels to fall below 5 PPM. Only then should you introduce algaecide to get the best results.
Generally you will want to wait at least 4 hours, but ideal is waiting for one complete turnover of the water (the time it takes all the water to go through the filter).
When chlorine levels are too high, the water's pH will start to decrease, which can eventually lead to corrosion. However, liquid chlorine has a pH of 13 and can cause the water's pH to increase.
"Shocking” refers to the process of adding chlorine or non-chlorine pool chemicals to the water in order to raise the "free chlorine” level. The goal is to raise this level to a point where contaminants such as algae, chloramines and bacteria are destroyed.
Pools can immediately turn green after shocking when they have metals like copper in the water. These metals oxidise when exposed to high levels of chlorine which makes the pool water turn green.
Warmer air will cause the chlorine to evaporate more rapidly. If you decide to place the water in a jug that's left open in the refrigerator, the chlorine should evaporate completely within 24 hours. For quicker evaporation times, leave the water at room temperature.