Seems Like A Lot I Knowbut Youre Almost There
How to shock an intex above ground pool. Click to see full answer. Also, you may want to wear gloves and, if its windy, a pair of glasses. Next, get rid of any skimmer, ladder, or other attached accessories in your pool, clean them, and store them in a protected and dry area for the winter.
Sprinkle it into the pool right by the filter pump inlet. But overall, a cup, 3 tabs, or 1 shock treatment is a good place to start. Pour the mixed and dissolved pool shock evenly around your pool or slowly in front of one of the inlet jets from your pools pump.
Adding the pool shock in the evening is recommended as the sunshine can counter the affects of the chlorine in the pool shock. The trick is begin filling the pool with water , then get into the pool after the level reaches about one inch. To get this value, multiply your stabilizer level by 0.4.
If your stabilizer is at 70, youll need to raise your chlorine to 28 to shock. So if your stabilizer is at 40, you’ll need to raise your chlorine level to 16 to shock your pool. I have a 14 x 42 metal frame intex above ground pool and would like to know how much chlorine granules would i put in for this size pool.
Plus, it gives the pool shock plenty of time to work its magic. Then, get out your handy little testing kit and check all your levels. Leave the water on, and get down to your knees and work the wrinkles out by hand.
Shocking a pool should be done at dusk. Run your pump and filter constantly while youre shocking your pool.
Install A Winter Pillow & Cover
Who else is ready for a nap? Even your pool needs a pillow once a yearbut dont worry, you dont need to sacrifice anything from your linen closet. If you live in a cold climate, youll want to place a pool air pillow, or ice compensator, under your winter cover. This will protect both the sides of the cover and the walls of your pool from pressure damage from the ice or snow that will soon sit on top of your pool. Dont live in a cold climate? Well, a pillow will still make clean up tons easier next spring. After all, it keeps water and debris from pooling in the center of your pool.
To install the pillow, blow it up and place it in the middle of your pool. If youre into perfectionism, get a pillow that has built-in grommets that allow you to secure all four corners to your pool and keep it perfectly center. Just make sure that you inflate the air pillow only to around half of its capacity. Otherwise, it might pop mid-seasonand youll have to deal with some seriously cold water to replace it. Better yet, seal off the seams and valves with duct tape after you inflate the pillow. This will keep it as resilient as possible. Hey, we all need a little extra strength to get through the cold months.
How Does Chlorine Ensure Safe Swimming
This one is pretty simple: when added to your pool properly, sodium hypochlorite inactivates the bacteria in your water. This doesnt mean that the bacteria is technically completely removedyoull need the right pool filter and the help of pool shock for thatbut the bacteria will be dead in the water.
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Two To Proper Chlorination: Adding Chlorine To Your Pool
I wish it was as simple as tossing the chlorine tablets into the pool and letting them take care of the restits not. Thankfully, there are a few devices that will ensure your chlorine is disseminated throughout your pool waterand active traces of bacteria are long gone.
Make a long term decision with the Energy Star Variable Speed In Ground Pool Pump. Its ultra quiet, guarantees youll save big on your energy bill, and is eligible for rebates. But theres more: it also comes with a lifetime warranty.
How Often You Should Shock A Pool
You most likely test your pool at least weekly. If not, you should. Most of the time, the tests will tell you whether you have free or total chlorine content in the water. The more free chlorine you have, the more effectively your chlorine is killing bacteria. The total is how much of the chlorine in your water has already been used up. If the total is more than the free chlorine amounts, shocking will benefit your pool. Without a testing kit, if you smell really strong chlorine, you should also consider using shock because it is an indication that the organics and waste may have gotten out of hand and you are smelling the chloramine.
A shock treatment may also be a good idea if the pool usage has increased due to guests visiting, after heavy rains or wind, and of course, after you change the water in your swimming pool. The shock will bring all of your levels back into a healthy range
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Can I Use Too Much Shock
Contrary to popular belief, it isnt possible to use too much shock in your pool as long as it doesnt have a vinyl liner. Using too much shock may result in a brief down period of your pool. A pool thats been recently shocked can cause skin irritation, bleached clothes, and a bleached pool liner. If your pools liner is made of vinyl, youll 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 its completely dissolved before adding it to your pool. This will help the granules mix into the water better. You may also want to invest in pool shock products made specifically for pools with vinyl liners.
The Best Time To Shock Your Pool
Shocking your pool should only be done after the sun has gone down, during dusk or twilight hours.
The unstabilized chlorine in pool shock has zero protection against the UV rays of the sun. Once it comes out to play, you can wave bye-bye to all the unstabilized chlorine in the pool.
So, when using chlorinated shock, always shock at night. This will also allow the pool to circulate the shock for a good 8+ hours, giving it plenty of time to fully clean the pool.
If youre using non-chlorine shock , you can shock the pool at any time of day and only have to wait 15 minutes before going back into the pool.
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Check Your Pool Chemistry
After youve waited the recommended number of hours, you still need to test your pools chlorine levels before letting anyone swim.
Make sure the levels have returned to normal before you allow anyone in.
Note that low pH levels are important here: if your pH level is over 8.0, your pool shock is basically useless. Shoot for a pH level of around 7.2 if you need to lower it.
What Is A Pool Shock
Shocking your above ground pool is a necessary part of its maintenance routine. A shock simply refers to adding above normal levels of chlorine or sanitizer to your pool to quickly raise the levels of chemicals in a very short amount of time.
The reason for shocking a pool is to remove ineffective chlorine, kill bacteria, and get rid of algae. Additionally, youll be raising the level of effective chlorine and helping your pool get clean and safe to swim in again.
What youll need to shock your above ground pool:
- Pool cleaning supplies
- Pool shock mix/shock kit
- Water.
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Cleaning Your Above Ground Pool Before The Shock
In order to apply a pool shock to its maximum effectiveness, youll need to make sure your above ground pool is completely clean. Run your vacuum as you brush the sides and skim the top of the water. Chlorine works to neutralize organic matter and bacteria the more you can remove before hand, the more effective the shock will be on the stuff you cant see like algae, skin cells, oils, etc. Nasty, I know!
Not Leveraging The Calcium Hardness In Your Pool Water
As with pH, balancing your waters calcium hardness is essential to a clear, clean, and safe swimming pool. And while you dont want too much because itll cloud the water, a little hardness is actually a good thing.
It helps extend the lifespan of things like vinyl liners, concrete, plaster, fiberglass, and filters.
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How To Shock An Above Ground Pool
August 29, 2021 By Jason
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Every avid pool owner needs to shock his pool at one point or the other. It is a vital part of pool maintenance. Shocking helps get rid of bacteria, green algae, and anything organic in your pool that may be a health hazard.
Computing The Amount Of Bleach To Use
Now you can know the gallons of bleach you would need to shock your pool as follows: use 0.5 gallons of Clorox per 10K gallons of water to increase the level of chlorine by 5 ppm.
If you want to raise the level of chlorine by 2.5 ppm, then you would need ¼ gallon of the product per 10K gallons of water. You can use the above math to determine how much gallons you would need to use and ensure you continue to test the water.
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What Is The Best Shock To Use In My Pool
If youre like a lot of other pool owners, youre probably wondering, Is there really a difference between these pool shock products? If so, which one should I buy? But the answer to that question will vary from person to person. The right shock for your pool depends on what type of pool you have, how many gallons of water youre treating, and how often you plan to shock the water.
While simple bleach can, in principle, be used to shock a pool, most products that are specifically made for shocking pools contain higher amounts of sodium hypochlorite, which works as a disinfectant. Many also include either stabilized or unstabilized chlorine , which works as a sanitizer.
Some pool shocks are better for treating algae and cloudy water, some are ideal for water purification, and others are more suitable for saltwater pools. Heres a breakdown of the best pool shock products in each category.
Clorox Pool & Spa Pool Shock Xtrablue
The product comes in one pound bottles, and you get up to six packs to last you for a few months. You can easily open the bottle and pour the liquid in the water to clear the water.
It features blue algae killing crystals that get rid of these harmful plants. What that means you can swim with confidence knowing your pool does not have mustard, black, or green algae.
It is also shown to provide value for money because a little goes a long way to maintain your pool. The product was designed to help you apply it with ease and maintain your pool during the summer.
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Hth 52016 Super Shock Pool Cleanser
The package includes 12 packs of one pound shock to let you buy enough to last a few months. It helps to boost the chlorine level in your swimming pool to kill algae and bacteria.
With this product, you can have the confidence of swimming in clear water all season long. You should test your pool weekly to ensure that it has the right level of chlorine.
The product is recommended for all types of pools, including Gunite, liners, and saltwater facilities. You can bet the product helps to kill and prevent algae and bacteria from keeping the water clean.
It is recommended to add one bag to 13K gallons of water.
How To Shock A Swimming Pool For Beginners
You might have just installed a swimming pool, moved into a rental property with a pool or purchased a new property with a swimming pool. Either way, now you need to know how to maintain it. One important pool maintenance requirement is to shock your pool. But how do you do that and what does shocking your pool even mean? In this article, well find out how to shock a pool for beginners.
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Water Problem Solving Chart
Are you having problems with your pool water? If so check out the problem and symptoms in the table below.
| SYMPTOM | ||
| Green / Cloudy Water / Slippery Sides | Algae | Shock dose with chlorine and add Algaecide |
| Too much chlorine | Allow time to naturally dissipate or buy a chlorine reducer | |
| PH hard to control | Seek advice on how to raise total alkalinity | |
| Can’t maintain chlorine levels | Chlorine demand of water too high up start up, after holidays or due to excess contamination or neglect | Shock dose with chlorine . Repeat after 24 hours if necessary |
| Cloudy water | Poor chemical control or inadequate filtration | Clean cartridge, check chemical levels with Dip Test Strips and adjust if necessary . If problem persists buy a Pool Clarifier to remove small particles |
| Rough pool sides / edges | Scale formation due to high calcium levels in water | Ensure PH levels are correct using Dip Test Strips and use a Pool Scale Inhibitor to stop calcium precipitating out of water |
| No colour change on test strip dip test | Too high chlorine leading to bleaching of indicator pads | Check expiry date on Pool Test Strips. Wait for chlorine level to drop and re-test |
| Foaming | Detergent present from incorrect cleaning products or excessive algaecide use. | Reduce water level and top up with fresh water. Avoid domestic household cleaners. |
- Store chemicals well away from children and pets
- Store in a secure,cool and dry place
Other Times To Use Pool Shock
Shocking the pool also removes organic contaminants from dirt, leaves and air pollution. There is a lot of harmless matter that gets into a pool and gets in the way of water balance and sanitation. Cloudy water can often be corrected by superchlorinating the pool, or by adding non-chlorine oxidizer, to destroy the colloidal particles that cause cloudy water.
In short, for best results, use Chlorine Shock for Algae and Bacteria removal, and use Non-Chlorine Shock for Chloramine and Contaminant removal and treatment of Cloudy Water.
Start-Up and Close-Down: For pools that are winterized, opening the pool is the first time of the year that pool shock is used, after the water chemistry is balanced. This helps oxidize particles, kill bacteria and algae and restore water clarity. Prior to closing the pool, pool shock is used to disinfect the water, in preparation for the long winter ahead.
Heavy Rain: Rain is pure water, distilled by evaporation, but as it falls through the air, it picks up airborne particles that wash into your pool. Air pollution, dust, pollen, algae spores can discolor the water, consume your chlorine, and affect water chemistry. During heavy storms, overhanging trees, overflowing planters or lawn areas next to the pool can wash in soil laden with bacteria and phosphates, in addition to of tree and plant debris.
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Your Water Temperature Soared
While pool heaters allow you to increase the water temperature to your preference, warm water eats up free chlorine like a fat kid inhales cupcakes. In addition, microorganisms and bacteria such as algae flourish in warm water.
A comfortable temperature is between 86 and 88°F. If under heavy usage, the pool temperature should be lowered to 78 to 84°F. Water temperature can also soar if your pool is in the sun all day, and you have a pool finish like stone, which naturally draws in heat.
When To Shock Your Pool
Most people only decide to shock their swimming pools when they see an overgrowth of algae or they start getting cloudy pool water, but by this time, cleaning your pool could take a lot more work.
So if you stay on top of this chore by shocking your pool once a week, you may be able to avoid an algae overgrowth.
This kind of contamination often requires way more scrubbing, vacuuming and sometimes even draining than you will ever want to do.
BUTin case you are like the rest of us and occasionally put things off, here are the times when you should shock your pool even if you dont feel like it:
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How Often Do You Shock A Above Ground Pool
makeshockingpoolpoolshockpools
. Keeping this in consideration, do I have to shock my pool every week?
We recommend shocking your pool once a week, or at least once every other week to properly maintain your water chemistry. The more often you use the pool, the more often you should reach for the swimming pool shock.
Also Know, can you shock your pool too much? If you put too much shock in the pool, simply wait it out. If you have a cover on your pool, take it off. The more sun that hits your water, the faster it will dissipate. Technically, if your free chlorine levels are holding up swimming UP TO your shock level, depending on your CYA, is safe.
Furthermore, how long should you run filter after shocking pool?
Vacuuming After ShockShock the pool with either the liquid or granulated chlorine shocks. Let the filter run for 24 hours before adding any other chemicals. You should see a noticeable difference the next day in the water clarity.
How long does pool shock last?
one to two months
