Stabilizer, or cyanuric acid, is a _very_ weak acid, it can takes a few days to completely dissolve in pool water, it will not however ruin or damage your liner. Sprinkle the stuff on the water surface, let it drop to the floor and in a few days it'll be all gone.
These granules will sink to the bottom of the pool, where they may take several days to dissolve. The presence of these granules does not indicate that you have added too much stabilizer -- the product is slow to dissolve, particularly when static.
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. The addition of chlorine to your pool water has to be done in a careful manner.
You should only add stabilizer if your levels are below 30ppm. Usually, all you have to do is check the level of stabilizer (cyanuric acid) in your pool every week to judge whether it's doing the job or not.
You may swim immediately if Stabilizer was added through the skimmer, otherwise wait 12 hours to swim until all product in the pool is dissolved. For pools with bleachable surfaces, such as colored plaster or vinyl, do not allow product to sit on the bottom of the pool.
Yes! Just make sure that you wait at least 20 minutes after adding chlorine stabilizer (and that it's completely dissolved into the water) before you go swimming. The same rule applies to all other swimming pool water chemicals including adding alkalinity increaser, chlorine, algaecide, and more.
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.
Once a professional test and analysis is done, it can be determined if stabilizer is even needed. Many - if not most - times, CYA does NOT need to be added.
If your pool's liner is made of vinyl, you'll need to be careful about using too much shock. To avoid vinyl damage, you can mix shock with water in a bucket and make sure it's completely dissolved before adding it to your pool. This will help the granules mix into the water better.
Saltwater is extremely corrosive to certain types of metal pipes and pool equipment. Occasionally, saltwater pools are equally corrosive to pool liners. If saltwater wears away the lining of a pool long enough, it will create holes or tears in the liner. Once the liner tears, you'll have no choice but to replace it.
When all the other chemicals, such as chlorine. pH and alkalinity, are balanced, add the chlorine stabilizer. Add the stabilizer only after the filter has been backwashed to ensure it is cycled through a clean filter. Add the stabilizer slowly through the skimmer as per the product's instructions.
8) How long after adding chemicals can I swim? Alkalinity Balance, pH up, pH down, Calcium Balance, Water Stabilizer, and clarifier are all swim-safe chemicals. Wait about 20 minutes, and you are free to swim. We suggest adding algaecide, Super Erace, and shock at night, after everyone is out of the pool.
And stabilized chlorine (like dichlor or trichlor) already comes with CYA, so you'll likely be adding it to your pool water throughout the season. Because CYA is an acid, you'll need to handle it carefully. It can damage your filter and your pool, especially if you have a vinyl liner.
Using large, single doses of hydrochloric (muriatic) acid to adjust pH or total alkalinity levels can also damage vinyl liners. Because it is not sufficiently blended with pool water, the acid can chemically attack the liner's printed pattern.
For a vinyl pool, we have two types of oxidizer that can be used safely and without having to pre-dissolve in a bucket before adding to the pool. Non-Chlorine Shock: This oxidizer is 100 percent potassium peroxymonosulfate, a mixture of salts that is completely safe to handle and store.
Dichlor or liquid chlorine is the best and safest chlorine to use in a vinyl liner pool. Dichlor is fast dissolving and liquid chlorine (bleach aka sodium hyperchlorite) is fast to distribute throughout the water. Trichlor and calcium hypochlorite (cal-hypo) should be avoided as they can bleach and weaken liners.
Cyanuric acid, or CYA as it is commonly called (and also called pool stabilizer, pool conditioner, or chlorine stabilizer), acts as that buffer, protecting your chlorine from those hungry UV rays.
Because of the importance of stabilizer, there are unfortunately no alternatives. If you stopped using it, you would continually struggle with chlorine levels, bacteria, and algae. We understand that all the chemicals needed to keep a pool looking healthy can add up and become costly.
Adding Stabilizer
In general, about 13 ounces of granular stabilizer will raise the CYA level of 10,000 gallons of water by 10 parts per million. Add the stabilizer to the skimmer basket while the pump is running, and keep the pump running for 24 hours after you add the stabilizer.
Using liquid chlorine raises the pH of the water.
When added to water, liquid chlorine (which has a pH of 13) makes HOCl (hypochlorous acid – the killing form of chlorine) and NaOH (sodium hydroxide), which raises pH.
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.
They are derived from a chemical compound called cyanuric acid (CYA), and come in several forms—granular or liquid, or in chlorine tablets (or sticks) called trichlor, or shock, called dichlor. When chlorine and cyanuric acid are combined in shock or tablet form, it is referred to as stabilized chlorine.
Granular chlorine stabilizer is the most common form of cyanuric acid for your pool and is the most economic way to buy it. As mentioned earlier, it will take at least 48 hours and up to a week to fully dissolve.
Liquid chlorine and granular shock have the same active chemical that sanitizes your pool, what changes is the strength and the way you use it. Liquid chlorine is less costly, unstabilized and comes in liquid form. Granular shock is stabilized and comes in a solid form that dissolves in your pool.