Pool Shock & Pool Chlorine
Swimming Pool CareWhy do you pool shock. If you think you need to weekly shock your pool to have the best pool water maintenance you need to read on. Why shock a pool? Doesn't everyone do it? Is it Saturday again? Well, I guess I should super-chlorinate my pool, right? Well, let's read on. What Are Chloramines?Simply put, chloramines (combined chlorine) are when your pool chlorine (sanitizer) comes into contact with organic matter (swimmer waste, sweat, urine, etc...). The pool chlorine kills the bacteria and organic matter and we all know what happens when an organism dies, it releases gas. These gases and dead bacteria are what you smell when entering a pool area.This problem is persistent with mostly indoor swimming pools as the sun and wind takes care of chloramines, bacteria, and other contaminants in outdoor pools.
How Your Pool Gets ChloraminesFar too often people say that too much chlorine is used when the opposite is true. There’s not enough pool chlorine to take care of the waste, bacteria, and contaminants in the pool or the effectiveness of the chlorine has been compromised. Chloramines are the result of insufficient free available chlorine and usually results in that “chlorine odor” or smell and may result in a higher residual chlorine demand.Problems Associated With Chloramines are:If you or your child exhibit any of these symptoms after swimming in your local indoor pool, take the concern to the pool operator or the manager and try to lessen the amount of time you’re in the pool. Also, a swimming pool with high chloramines may be discolored, either milky or green. This is due to the lower amounts of free available chlorine present.
Proper Chlorine Level Is EssentialYou should keep your pool’s chlorine level between 1.5-3.5ppm. This way the pool chlorine has time to sanitize your pool properly and keep the chloramines in check.Also remember to purchase a floater for your chlorine tablets and keep it full of tabs. NEVER put chlorine tablets in the skimmer!!
Use Your Pool ShockIn dealing with chloramines, the best and most cost effective way to get rid of them is to use a good pool shock and literally “blast” them out of the pool with a high dose of pool chlorine.This is also called “super-chlorination”. Normally, you’ll want to bring up the chlorine level 10 times per every 1ppm of pool chlorine, or a 10:1 ratio. Get a good
water testing kit
for accurate pool water testing.
How To Shock A PoolAlways remember it's safety first.To start you'll need:
You'll want to shock your pool either in the late afternoon or early evening to allow the chlorine to do its job for the longest amount of time. Be sure all of the other readings are in line; the pH, total alkalinity, and hardness. Simply: Be sure the filtration system is running and everything is working properly. If you need to use the pool you can add another chemical called Thiosulphate, which reduces the swimming pool chlorine. If you don't need the pool just allow the chlorine to come down naturally, normally within a few days.
How Much Pool Chlorine Do I Need?The basic formula is to bring your pool chlorine level up 10 times per every 1ppm of free available chlorine or a 10:1 ratio.This is called “breakpoint chlorination”. To reach your breakpoint chlorination with a chloramine level of 1.0ppm or less you may follow this chart: Chart - Super-Chlorinate Your Pool
As you can see for every 10,000 - 12,000 gallons of water you will need at least 2lbs. of Calcium Hypochlorite (chlorine granules) to shock your pool and get the chloramines under control. You cannot be cautious when dealing with chloramines. It’s all “all or nothing” approach so don’t skimp on the pool chlorine. When you super-chlorinate your pool you must go all out and pool shock it all at once, not over a few hours or days. Using less or skimping on pool chlorine will only make your swimming pool problems worse and the chloramines and bacteria will only get stronger and more resistant to future pool shocking treatments. Remember, you must use your pool chlorine and “slam it” or the chloramines, bacteria, and contaminants will return.
Ways To Control ChloraminesYou cannot eliminate chloramines altogether with a pool shock, but you can control them by trying a combination of the following:A side note about Calcium Hypochlorite for your pool water treatment. This kind of chlorine granules has a pH of 12 and does, as its name implies, has calcium. So, if your fill wateris has an already high pH level or high calcium level, it may be better to switch to liquid pool chlorine for better pool water care. Some pool operators alternate a pool shock between regular pool chlorine and monopersulfate. For my indoor pool, I have reduced my pool shock and experienced a vast decrease in the chloramines by adding two high powered fans at the deep end of the pool. We turn them on "high" blowing over the pool and toward the exhaust fan. We started doing this when we close at night and I gotta say this little extra step sure does work. We still need a good pool shock and now and then, but it has reduced to amount of pool chlorine and the frequency of the pool shocking. Less chemicals means happier members and a happier pool. Believe me, chloramines are not something to take lightly. They can be a nuisance and cost much time, energy, and money. It’s a perplexing swimming pool problem faced by many indoor pool operators and can be, at times, very frustrating. While a heavily used indoor pool may never be totally free of chloramines and bacteria but taking charge of the situation with a correct pool shock and doing these steps can greatly reduce both chloramines and your frustrations. For salt water swimming pools I would recommend you turning off your salt chlorine generators before a pool shock. The added amount of pool chlorine to a salt water pool may burn up you salt cell which will cost you in the long run. Just turn on the salt generator when the shock is over and the chlorine reaches a safe level of 1.5 - 3.5ppm. Obviously with natural swimming pools you would never add any kind of pool shock. Well, there you have it. Everything you need to know about having a successful pool shock. Good luck and keep swimming. Go To:
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