How Do I Chlorinate My Above Ground Pool

Chlorination Done Now Start The Real Fun

When it comes to your pool, the reward far outweighs the workand its even better when you take the DIY approach and worry less about the cost. Now that youre checking your levels twice a week with test strips and adding chlorine accordingly, you can forget about bacteria and focus on the fun. No matter what, a clean pool is a luxury you earned. Enjoy it.

Tips To Keep Your Pool Clean

If you have a swimming pool in the garden, you know that it must be constantly maintained to ensure that you can continue to enjoy beautiful clear and safe water. However, the importance of keeping the pool clean is often underestimated, and there is a lot involved in keeping a pool in top condition.

To make this job perhaps a little easier, we have collected seven tips for you. From tips regarding pH value to automatic cleaning. However, not all tips will apply to every swimming pool, large swimming pools require a slightly different regime than smaller swimming pools.

One To Proper Chlorination: Choosing The Right Chlorine

This is where it gets technical. The ideal chlorine combination of your pool is between 1 and 3 parts per million . In order to kill pathogenic viruses, youll want to make sure your chlorine concentration doesnt fall below 1 ppm. Go above 3 ppm and while youre sure to wipe out bacteria, youre also vulnerable to that irritation in your eyes, nose, lungs, and throat. Now that youve got the numbers, its time to choose between stabilized or unstabilized chlorine for your pooland trust me, it wont take more than sixty seconds to find out.

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Understanding Chlorine Vs Bromine

In most pools, there will be one of these halogens. Chlorine and bromine share several characteristics on the chemical level. Since they have an identical number of valence electrons, they behave similarly. Thus, you can use them in the same applications to produce substantially comparable results.

Chlorine:In most instances, chlorine is the pool sanitizer of choice. Once you add some of this, none of those bacteria can thrive.

Bromine:If you are sensitive to chlorine, then bromine might be an appropriate substitute. Sometimes, people develop rashes when swimming in chlorinated water. If you are in those truths, then try some of this. Typically, it will perform much better.

Closing An Above Ground Pool For The Winter

At the end of the swimming season, you must follow these directions to winterize and make your pool ready for the Winter. The following guide will work for above ground pools sanitized using chlorine or salt water.

Step 1) Prior to Closing

Several days prior to closing your pool, test the water for the pH level, total alkalinity, and chlorine / salt water levels. The water balance is important to protect the pool from corrosion or scale build-up during Winter shut down.

Step 2) Perform a Complete Inspection

Step 3) Add Closing Chemicals

Step 4) Lower the Water Level

Step 5) Filter Preparation

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Fourth Step: Pump And Filter

Why is my pool still green after adding chlorine? Check your filter for clogs from the haze-jade green water. So depending on your filter, run it for a few days like you would do on ordinary occasions. If you want quick results, backwash your filter four times. Make this frequent to prevent your filter from clogging.

When Or How Often Do I Need To Shock My Pool

Now that you know how to shock an above ground pool, its important to establish a calendar to clean it regularly. There is no standard time, as it will vary greatly with use, weather patterns and even the local insect population.

However, its easy to tell when your pools water begins to turn cloudy soon after, itll start going green. This is a pretty solid visual indication of when the pools water needs to be shocked.

There are certain situations that will require you to shock your pool as well. For instance, after a pool party where there have been a lot of people in the pool and after a heavy rain storm.

I highly recommend investing in a good above ground pool cover to use during rainstorms and to keep debris out as well.

Eventually, youll be able to set your own calendar. Just remember to be a bit flexible, as even a simply rainstorm can be enough to set your pools cleanliness back a bit.

If we really had to put a timeline on it, we would generally say at least once per week is the best policy. But you could stretch it out to once every two weeks if your pool isn’t getting much usage at the time.

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How To Use Chlorine In An Above

Warning

Some people’s skin is very sensitive to chlorine in high concentrations. It is best to wear gloves when handling the chlorine tablets.

Sometimes the all important job of keeping the chlorine level up in your pool is not so easy, especially when the weather is either very hot or rainy. When the chlorine level drops, bacteria and algae can grow, making your pool the not so healthy place to be. Although nothing will take the place of taking a daily reading of the chlorine level, there are some things that can make it a little easier to keep up with your pool.

Test the pool water with the testing kit to see if your pool is low on chlorine.

If the water is very low on chlorine, place a chlorine dispenser that floats around in the pool with granular chlorine in it. The granular chlorine will dissolve fast and bring the level up to where it should be.

Place chlorine tablets in the chlorine dispenser. The chlorine will dissolve over time and keep the water chlorinated.

Install an off-line chlorine feeder made for an above ground pool to your filter system. Follow manufacturer’s directions for installation they are easy to install.

Set the control valve to regulate the feed rate for your size pool.

Fill with granular chlorine and it will automatically dispense the chlorine at the rate you set for it. Test with a test kit every day for a week or so to make sure the feed rate is correct. Adjust if necessary.

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Mineral Water Pool Systems:

These cartridge-based systems consist of minerals/alloys that deactivate algae and other microorganisms as water flows through its chamber. Two common brands are Pool FROG and Nature 2 and can reduce the need for chlorine up to 50%. They are easy to use and low on maintenance as you can refill the mineral cartridges. This system can be simply attached to the PVC pipes of pool systems. The drawback is that chlorine must be used and the replacement cartridges can be expensive and have to be replaced often on larger pools.

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How To Properly Chlorinate Small 12’x30 Intex Pool And Few Other Questions

Hey all, i have small 12×30 intex pool for kids to enjoy. Thus far I’ve been reading up on the chemicals that I need and so far what I have is the PH+, the chlorine , algeacide plus and the test strips that only test free chlorine, ph and total alkalinity. All of this was given to me with the pool. I got the PH in and the test strip,is telling me that both PH and alkalinity levels are ok, but of course the chlorine level is not. So far the biggest question I have is how do I chlorinate this pool. The chlorine I have is granulated and it says on the bottle that I’m not suppose to dilute it before adding it the pool. However if I add if straight up it just settles on bottom and bleaches the liner… Is there a trick to this I should know about?The pool is getting slimy after about a week so I really need to figure this out quick. in the mean time I will use the bleach fix, but not to sure how much to add and how often…. I believe the pool is about 1500 gallons?Also, there is quite a bit of small debry in the pool after a week of use, that kids got in it, the pump is working and I assume it’s doing it’s job, but how do I get all that small crap out? Is there a small vac for these small pools or is there another trick to this?Thanks in advance?

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Smiths Pools Above Ground Pool Hints

• A good and easy combination for chlorine maintenance is to use tablets for your constant source of chlorine and use liquid chlorine for shocking. If you begin to have algae problems, supplement the tablets with a weekly dosage of preventative algaecide.
• Keep up with pH and Alkalinity to boost chlorine efficiency and prevent corrosion of equipment, pool, and liner, especially when using chlorine tablets.
• Use chlorine stabilizer at the beginning of every pool season to cut down on chlorine consumption. Stabilizer protects the chlorine from the sunâs UV rays.

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How Do I Use Chlorine Tablets In My Above Ground Pool

Check all instructions and warnings on container labels. Tablets should be used in a floating chlorinator or an automatic chlorinator connected to your filtration system. A floating chlorinator is inexpensive and should be removed from the pool when people are swimming. Automatic chlorinators run off of your filtration system. The drawback is that your pump has to be running to chlorinate the pool. Always use trichlor tablets. Do not use calcium hypochlorite tablets. Check the label. Never put anything other than trichlor tablets in a chlorinator. Not following this rule can be very dangerous. 7. Remember, when using tablets, the pH and Alkalinity will drift lower. So keep Alkalinity Increaser on hand. Never put tablets in the skimmer because they will corrode pump and filter parts. Shocking your pool will be necessary every week or so to remove wastes from pool water and keep your water clear. An algaecide may be used in conjunction with tablets to prevent algae growth.

A Floating Chlorine Dispenser

A floating chlorine dispenser is a little container for chlorine pucks that floats around the surface of your pool, slowly dissolving and releasing the chlorine into the water.

This is the cheapest and easiest way to add chlorine to your pool, but you guessed it, its also the least effective way. Since it floats on the surface, the lack of circulation means it doesnt disperse very well and ultimately leads to poor sanitation.

These things also tend to get stuck behind pool ladders or steps, at which point the chlorine being released starts to build up in one area of the pool. In fact, this high concentration near the edges can bleach your pool liners. As you can imagine, theyre not ideal to have in the pool when people are using it, either.

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How Much Bleach Do I Put In My Above Ground Pool

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. Considering this, how much bleach should I put in my pool?

If you are shocking the pool, you will have to use ½ gallon of bleach per 10,000 gallons of water to raise the chlorine levels to 5 ppm. If you are just trying to raise the chlorine level by 2.5 ppm, then you will have to use as much as ¼ gallon of bleach per 10,000 gallons of water.

Likewise, how long after putting bleach in Pool Can you swim? It is recommended to wait at least 20 minutes to an hour after adding water balancing chemicals. You should wait 2-4 hours to swim from the moment you use calcium chloride in your pool. It is safe to swim once your chlorine levels are around 5 ppm or after 24 hours.

Also know, how much bleach do I put in a 5000 gallon pool?

Clorox is considered to be the most common bleach product that is used for pools. It has a 5.7% concentration, so if you have a 5,000–gallon pool, you will be using 3 cups or 24 oz to raise the chlorine levels.

Can you pour bleach in pool?

Mix required amount of Clorox® Regular Bleach2 with 2 gallons of water and scatter over surface of pool. Mix uniformly with pool water. Do not reenter pool until the chlorine residual is between 1 to 3 ppm.

Second Step: Do The Water Test

If your pool is green, but chlorine is high, dont be too concerned. The most important test to take if your pools still green after shocking is the pH level. Buy a kit or a test strip and test the pH because it will indicate whether you need to add other chemicals.

A high pH means your water is alkaline and cloudy, especially after the shock. In this case, add hydrochloric acid to the water to neutralize the basic water elements. Ideally, the pH levels should be low. Even with salt water pools, testing its chemical balance is just as important.

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Pool Water Chemical Levels

For the most accurate pool water testing, we recommend a titration test kit the Taylor K-2005 is the same test kit used by pool stores.

The ranges shown here are suitable for any pool surface or any type of pool sanitizer used.

Adjusting to the lower end of these ranges is best under most circumstances.

Step 2 – Add Stain & Scale and Clarifier: Before you shock the pool, which can disrupt other pool start up chemicals, add a Stain & Scale chemical to prevent staining by keeping minerals and metals locked tightly in solution. Follow up with a good pool clarifier, following label dosage information, to help your filter remove small suspended particles.

Step 3 – Filter the Pool! Run the filter overnight or for 6-8 hours to distribute water balance chemicals, and then backwash or clean the filter as needed, and empty the pump and skimmer baskets. Run your filter 24/7 if possible, for the first few days after opening the pool from its winter slumber.

Before adding your pool opening chemicals, test the water again to be sure your adjustments hit the mark, and all water balance levels are correct, preferably on the lower end of the ranges.

Step 5 – Add Algaecide: The final product in our pool start up kits is the algaecide. Add your algaecide only after chlorine levels have dropped below 3 ppm, which is usually a few days after shocking the pool. High chlorine levels quickly deplete pool algaecides, or render them useless.

Closing Your Above Ground Pool With Chlorine

Note: Pool should not be closed when the weather is still warm and water temperature is above 65*

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Install A Sump Pump In Your House

This tip isnt so much for your pool as it is for your house, but its an important one. Chuck Naish, founder of City Residential Foundation Repair, says many people neglect to install a sump pump in their basement when they buy an above ground pool. If any leak were to spring, a sump pump would prevent all kinds of water damage and hazardous mold and mildew growth, he explains.

Chlorine Tablets Relieve Headaches

OK, not really. We just mean that adding chlorine tablets to your pool doesnt have to be a headache that has you reaching for another kind of tablet. All you need to do is decide how much time, effort, and investment youd like to make.

Then sanitize your pool with the method thats easiest, most convenient, and most effective for you, and youll be able to use your pool with total peace of mind.

Happy Swimming!

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