The Optimal Shocking Frequency
Most pool owners will shock once every 1 to 2 weeks this is ideally what you should be aiming for with your pool maintenance schedule.
Youll come across various thoughts on this topic. Some people say you must shock once a week, while others are fine shocking once a month!
Its also important to understand that you cant overshock.
The worst thing that will happen is the pools chlorine level will be temporarily spiked and then naturally burn off after a few hours of sun exposure. Another downside to overshocking is that youll just be wasting your money.
However you do need to be aware of the must shock scenarios that will steer you off your regular shocking schedule.
How Shocking Your Pool Works
Dont Be Shocked You Made It
Now you know why, when, and how to shock a pool. There might be a little math involved, but arent occasional brain teasers good for your memory anyway? Were pretty sure thats true, but we may have forgotten.
Anyway, however you feel about the math, regularly using pool shock can prevent more work in the long run. Its one of the easiest ways to keep bacteria at bay, your water clear, and your pool time fun.
Happy Swimming!
Don’t Miss: How Much Liquid Chlorine To Add To Pool Calculator
Let Flower Mound Pool Care & Maintenance Help With Your Pool Maintenance
Shocking your pool is just part of the required pool maintenance. Flower Mound Pool Care & Maintenance can help you with this and all other weekly pool service needs.
Flower Mound Pool Care & Maintenance has a 23-point service plan that includes the following:
Chemical Analysis & Maintenance
Thats a long to-do list that many people dont want to tackle or have the time to do. The team at Flower Mound Pool Care & Maintenance does. For the past 14 years, we have proudly performed pool service in Castle Hills, Argyle, Carrollton, Coppell, Corinth, Double Oak, Flower Mound, Lake Dallas, Lantana, Plano, McKinney, and Frisco. We just recently added service to the Southlake area.
We can set a pool service schedule that works for you and your budget. You wont have to ever worry about shocking your pool at the right time when you hire Flower Mound Pool Care & Maintenance. Call us today at 995-3556 to learn more.
How To Shock The Pool
The moral of the story is that you have to test your pool to know when to shock. Shocking monthly or even weekly is overkill in many cases.
Also Check: How To Build An Infinity Pool
How Long Do You Have To Wait To Swim After You Shock A Pool
Before you can swim in the pool, wait for the amount of time recommended on the packageusually at least eight hours for chlorine-based shock treatments. You only have to wait as little as 15 minutes if you use non-chlorinated shock treatments.
To be safe, it’s best to measure the amount of free chlorine in your pool to make sure it is 3 ppm or slightly less before swimming. It is dangerous to swim in a pool with high chlorine concentration. If necessary, you can use chlorine reduction reagents.
How To Kill Algae
The best weapon to eliminate this problem is the use of chlorine. Begin by determining the amount of algae in your pool. In case you notice your pool is maybe light green, or you see little black or yellow algae, there is need to consider double shocking the pool to resolve the problem. For this case, you are required to use a shock of 2 pounds for every 10,000 gallons of pool water.
In case the pool is dark green in color, or there are heavy black or yellow algae spots, there is a need for triple shocking the pool. Here, for every 10,000 gallons of pool water, you are required to use 3 pounds. For the case the pool has been infested with black and yellow algae, quadruple shocking is the option to go with, for every 10,000 gallons of pool water, you are required to use 4 pounds of it. To achieve better results in case the pool is very infested with algae, repetitive shocking is required to completely destroy the cells. Keep in mind that the best time to shock a pool is when the sun is down.
Bottom Line
You should be patient for a couple of days to see if the problem completely disappears. If that happens, then the problem would have been resolved well. To prevent the problem from developing again, you need to keep brushing and always maintain a close eye on the chemical levels to ensure it doesnt return some other time again. So, how much liquid chlorine to shock a pool with algae? A minimum amount of 30 ppm is what needs to be considered to resolve the problem.
You May Like: Cleaning A Concrete Pool
How Often To Use Pool Shock
How often do you need to shock a pool? Every pool is different, and pools dont need to be shocked, unless they need to be shocked to remove bacteria, algae, chloramines or other contaminants, or to help clear cloudy pool water or some other water problem. You can test for chloramines and you can see algae, but bacteria and other pathogens are invisible, as are nitrates, phosphates and ammonia. For this reason, many pool owners shock the pool every 3-4 weeks, even though the water may be clear and clean, just to be sure its disinfected and sanitary.
For pools that have hosted a party for a dozen or more swimmers, or if a pool becomes contaminated with urine, feces or vomit, a strong shocking is in order. In cases where chlorine levels have depleted, due to hot temperatures, faulty equipment, or operator error, pool shock can be used to quickly raise chlorine levels.
Another use is when a pool cannot obtain a good chlorine reading. If the water is balanced, algae-free, and does not have excessive levels of cyanuric acid, but still cannot get a good chlorine reading despite continuous additions of chlorine, there may be nitrate or ammonia levels consuming chlorine. In such cases, where you have tried everything else, try a ‘triple-shock’ of 3 lbs of shock, per 10,000 gallons of pool water, to destroy these invisible consumers of chlorine.
How Long After Shocking A Pool Can You Swim
After being shocked, your pool will temporarily have high levels of free chlorine . Swimming in highly chlorinated water can cause skin irritation and other harmful effects. The CDC recommends that pool owners maintain free chlorine levelsbetween 1-3 parts per million for safe swimming.
Depending on the treatment you used, it may take anywhere from an hour to 24 hours for your swimming pools FC levels to return to a safe range.
You May Like: Black Hose Trick For Pools
When To Use Pool Shock: A
Why do you need to shock a pool? Pools are shocked to remove combined chlorine molecules, aka chloramines from the water. Pools are also shocked to remove excess bather waste and bacteria after heavy pool use, contamination events, or for the removal of visible algae in the water. Bromine treated pools and spas also use pool shock to reactivate bromide ions in the water.
There are really 3 main reasons to shock a pool or spa, raising the Free Chlorine level high enough to oxidize or destroy the offending contaminants. These could be called theA-B-Cs of Pool Shock.
Algae: Green, yellow, pink or black, the best algaecide is chlorine, and lots of it. Pool algae growth can be controlled with algaecide, but to kill algae and clear the pool, we use pool shock. Be sure that the pH is adjusted to 7.1-7.3 range, so the chlorine shock is most potent. Depending on the severity of the algae, 10-30 ppm is needed to kill active algae blooms. Chlorine Accelerators, such as Yellow Out work to boost your chlorine level to fight severe algae blooms, of all colors.
Bacteria & Bather Waste: Bacteria can enter the pool from many sources, most of it harmless variety, however pathogenic bacteria may also exist. Use chlorine shock to remove bacteria after heavy pool use, heavy storms, long winters or for swimmer accidents. Bather waste includes skin, hair, lotions, cosmetics and soaps, as well as sweat, urine, feces and fungus.
Clorox Pool & Spa Shock Plus
Easiest to Use
This Clorox 4-in-1 powder formula of pool shock can be poured right into your pool from the bottle on a weekly basis.
The powder not only works to clear up your pool water by killing bacteria, but it also can help improve filter performance. The product dissolves quickly in the water, making your pool safe to swim in within about 30 minutes of the application.
You can also use this product with the Clorox mobile app. The app allows you to check daily water sample results and chemical needs for your pool, so you know exactly how much shock to add.
- Clorox Pool & Spa Shock Plus: Easiest to Use
Read Also: Does Mandalay Bay Have A Lazy River
All Pool Shock Is Not Created Equal
There are two main types of chlorine pool shock that are used in both the residential and commercial pool environment. Note that some have cyanuric acid and some do not. There is also a non-chlorine shock available.
1. Calcium Hypochlorite: Also common known as cal hypo, this shock is the most powerful and fastest acting shock available. Both an oxidizer and sanitizer, cal hypo is quick dissolving and is the most frequently used in the pool industry. It will slightly raise your pH, so make sure you adjust pH while using it.
As the name implies, it will also raise your calcium hardness levels in your pool slightly. It is sold in granular or in pucks/tablets. A close relative of calcium hypochlorite is sodium hypochlorite, commonly known as bleach.
2. Dichloroisocyanuric Acid: Also known as dichlor, this is another type of chlorine shock. Dichlor contains both chlorine and cyanuric acid and will, over time, raise your cyanuric acid levels. For more information on cyanuric acid, please see our blog post Cyanuric Acid: Friend or Foe. Like cal hypo is it both a sanitizer and an oxidizer, can be purchased in granular or puck form and will slightly lower pool pH.
3. Sodium Monopersulfate: Also known in the pool industry as MPS shock, this shock is an alternative to chlorine shock. MPS is an oxidizer but not a sanitizer. It will remove organic material from the water and will eliminate waste in the water without the unpleasant side effects of chlorine.
Your Complete Guide: Home Pool Shock 101
Louie Warco
To keep your pool clean, safe, and healthy for the best possible swimming experience there are specific tasks that must be completed before diving in. To ensure crisp, freshwater one of those tasks to check off the list is shocking your pool. Shocking your swimming pool or spa has always been good practice for recreational water management. Regardless of the type of sanitation system youve chosen, shocking will typically be required.
Don’t Miss: Is The Venetian Pool Open
Why Do I Really Need Pool Shock Sounds Like Effort
Think of the last time you were near a really strong, chemical-smelling pool. Well, we have to pause there. Because contrary to what anyone might first think, that smell isnt from chemicals at allits from a lack of chemicals. That smell is chloramines! And not only do they smell bad, but they greatly reduce how well the chlorine you add to your pool works.
Without active chlorine, all the bacteria that prevents your pool from being clean and safesome bacteria are pathogenic, after allwill continue life uninterrupted. Basically, that pool pump you run for the proper amount of time every day, the pipes that connect it to your pool, the sanitizing chemicals you add, the skimmers you clean out regularly… all of these actions which take time and money to keep your pool in shape are compromised. Are you with me now?
A Guide To Pool Shock
Nick Rancis
Pool shock is a great tool for keeping your pools chemistry balanced, and it is the best way to eliminate algae and return you water to pristine condition. When done at a regular frequency during the summer and high bather load months it is also a helpful and proactive way to retain a minimal level of chemical exposure to you, your family and, if you are a commercial facility, your staff and patrons.
You May Like: Where To Buy Pool Pump Capacitor
How Much Shock Do I Add To My Pool
To shock your pool, use 2 pounds of shock for every 10,000 gallons of water, which should raise your chlorine to 10.0 ppm. Depending on your pool, you can use Leslies Power Powder Plus or Leslies Chlor Brite. After shocking the pool, run the circulation system for at least 2 hours before adding an algaecide.25 2017 .
Remove Debris From Your Pool
Whether its pool toys like floats or organic matter like leaves, debris will lower the effectiveness of your shock treatment.
Therefore, its important to remove all debris before application. You may need a net for smaller items or even a pool vacuum for anything stuck on the bottom.
Just be sure to clear it out as much dirty and debris as reasonably possible.
You May Like: Head Lice In Swimming Pool
Where To Buy Liquid Chlorine For Swimming Pool
Across the United States, you can purchase the liquid chlorine on Walmart and SamsClub. Other locations to look out for this product within the US include Alabama, Alaska, and Arizona.
You can also check for a local HASA dealer into the general sales of bulk liquid chlorine, even at a reasonable price. Some other locations are Arkansas, California, and Connecticut.
Add The Shock To The Pool
Following the manufacturers instructions, measure the correct shock treatment dose. You will need to know the volume of pool water as well as your water testing results above to administer the correct dose. Many treatments will require you to mix up the treatment with water in a bucket first.
Treatment is usually added at dusk to ensure it can work without being used up by the suns UV rays.
Some pool owners have accidently added too much shock, dont worry too much if you do though. We have a detailed article on this here:
Read Also: Building A Lap Pool
Determine How Much Pool Shock You Need
To find out how much shock your pool needs, carefully follow the product measurement instructions. For example, the instructions may recommend that you use one pound of shock per 10,000 gallons of water.
- Note: Some situations, such as an extreme algae bloom, may require a double or even triple dose of pool shock. You should consult an expert when calculating how much shock to use in your swimming pool.
Step Five
Hth Ultimate Shock Treatment
Best All-In-One Treatment
This ultimate shock treatment promises to do more than just clear up the algae settling in the bottom of your pool.
The amount of Calcium Hypochlorite in this product kills bacteria and algae quickly and with every use. The chemical composition also works to reduce eye irritation from the pool water and prevent the formation of calcium buildup.
This pool shock can be used in all pool types, even those with a liner, which can be an issue with other pool shock solutions that cause the liner to fade.
The Visible Blue action included in this product allows it to appear blue while in use in the water. The blue coloring lets you track the spread of the product and see for yourself that the shock treatment is at work.
You May Like: Chlorine Tablets Target
Light Green Pool Water
If you have a light green pool, you need to shock your pool in order to kill the algae.
Algae feeds off high pH. Chlorine isn’t as effective when your pH is high. Youll need to lower your pH using hydrochloric acid. Start with around 1L to 2L. Be careful when adding it to the pool, ensuring it doesn’t splash up on you as it is highly toxic and dangerous. If your pool is vinyl lined, only add 1L every 24 hours, as it’s more sensitive to harsh chemicals.
You also need to shock your pool with chlorine. Add 2 cups of granulated chlorine or 3 tubs of 15L chlorine . If your pool is salt water chlorinated, add 2 to 4 bags of salt and turn your chlorinator to 100% for a couple of days to really boost that chlorine and get that water sanitised. Your salt levels should be sitting at around 5000ppm , with each 20kg bag of salt equating to 500ppm.
Note: Keep the pump running for at least 24 hours when shocking the pool to make sure all of the water is properly circulated around the pool!
*We recommend only using stabilised chlorine if absolutely necessary. Preferably, you should be using non-stabilised chlorine and adding in your stabiliser separately to avoid a chlorine lock .
The reason for this is because you require much less stabiliser than you do chlorine.This issue can be avoided as a whole by installing a chlorinator if you don’t already have one.”
