Shocking Your Pool When Using The Clear Comfort System
When shocking your pool with a Clear Comfort system it is important to understand when and how much shock you will need to use for best results. It is also important to know when your pool is chlorine free and safe to swim. Only shock the pool as needed this will be the case during the hot summer months or during periods of high use. During winter months or low bather load periods, the Clear Comfort system alone will keep your pool clear and clean without shock.
Only shock at dusk or night and leave the cover off. Ensure your pH is in the appropriate range of 7.2-7.4. It is important to run pump and filter the water for one hour after shocking the pool and vacuum the debris that falls to the pool floor after the shock the following morning.
For residential pools, measure the cyanuric acid level prior to shocking your pool as cyanuric acid will hold onto the chlorine delivered by shock. Add chlorine shock, in the form of calcium hypochlorite or bleach, and allow chlorine to dissipate overnight while no one is swimming. By morning, chlorine will be gone allowing you to swim in a chlorine free pool.
This can only be achieved with little or no cyanuric acid in the water. High levels of cyanuric acid will not allow for chlorine levels to quickly dissipate back to zero. If there is a high level of cyanuric acid in the pool water , use sodium monopersulfate as the shock of choice.
How Does Chlorine Shock Work
Chlorine is your pools number one cleaner, working tirelessly to keep algae and other substances out of the water. If chlorine levels are not correctly maintained, various dirt and debris can begin to form in the pool, most commonly resulting in green walls. If your pool gets to this stage, the most effective way of getting it clean is by using a shock treatment.
When a lot of algae develops in the pool, youll need more chlorine than usual to combat the unwelcome visitors. Shock treatments work quickly to dramatically raise the waters chlorine level, allowing it to clean the pool effectively. Once youre back on top of your pools cleanliness, you can enable chlorine levels to return to their normal level.
How To Shock A Swimming Pool
What Is Free Chlorine?
It is unbound chlorine that is “free” to sanitize.
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What Time Of Day Is Best To Shock A Pool
Ideally you should shock a pool in the evening, to ensure that the sun is not eating away at the chlorine in the pool before it has a chance to work. The sun is always the enemy of any pool owners as it causes chemical reactions with the water to bond free chlorine with other chemicals like nitrogen.
This is a natural process as the sun adds heat to the pool, making reactions a lot more possible and giving the free chlorine the chance to react with everything comfortably. We highly recommend that you ensure that the pool is not heated while doing this and having the water be its natural temperature.
Usually, this is why you will find that pools need to be shocked as the temperatures change as well, as the sunlight through the day lasts longer. Adding a shock treatment at night will mean that the pool is ready and willing to stop anything from growing when the sun does eventually start to rise.
Chlorinated Shock Vs Non
Normally, your pool is kept clean by chlorine from chlorine tabs, a salt chlorinator, a cartridge system, or some other slow-release, low-dose system. But when the chlorine in your pool is not doing the trick, you may need to shock your pool. But when it comes to shocking your pool, there are choices. Many pool owners are left wondering what the best way is to shock their pools. In this article, we will compare chlorinated shock vs. non-chlorine shock for swimming pools.
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The 11 Best Pool Shock For Crystal Clear Water
Owning a swimming pool requires you to take care of a wide range of maintenance and upkeep if you want to keep it at its best.
If youre new to pools, you may not have encountered a pool shock before, so what is this stuff and why should you care?
Well, shocking your pool normally involved delivering a high dose of chlorine that serves to kill bacteria and algae, while at the same time clarifying the water in your pool. Pool shock ensures that your water looks great and stays safe and clear, too.
The process of shocking increases normal chlorine levels by up to 5 times, fully sanitizing the water in the process. During the process, pool shock also oxidizes combined chlorine molecules, which leads to a boost in the free chlorine levels. Free chlorine is good chlorine, in that it will target algae and bacteria.
Given the fact you may never have seen pool shock before, its understandable if you have no clue what youre looking for when youre comparing the best pool shock treatments. Focus on the following points to make your life easier on the buying trail.
OK, with those basics in place, you should be confident of navigating the best pool shocks on the market and finding the right one for your needs.
Well launch in now with our pool shock reviews so you can assess the state of the market.
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When Should I Shock My Swimming Pool
Swimming pool shock treatments should be used whenever there is a build-up of algae in your water. Shocking, therefore, commonly plays a part in commissioning your pool after a significant period of closure.
However, shocking can also be an effective cleaning method during periods of high activity. During these periods, you should look to shock treat your pool once every week, while it can also be used sporadically after big events such as a party or rainfall.
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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.
Test & Balance Your Water
Before you add shock treatment, you need to test your pool water and balance its levels. The pH level should be between 7.2 and 7.6, with total alkalinity being between 80 and 120 ppm.
Pool water testing is easy to do using test strips or liquid test kits. They give you quick and accurate readings regarding the chemical levels in the pool. Balancing the water can be done by adding more chemicals to raise or lower the pH level until it is neutral.
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Install Your Winter Cover
A winter cover is important for your pool because it will protect the water during the months when its not in use.
Installing a pool cover can be cumbersome, so I always recommend getting help!
Lay the cover out over the pool, making sure there is overlap on all sides. Get it as even as possible all the way around.
Next, you will thread the cable through all the grommets in the cover. Follow the manufacturers instructions for attaching the cable to the winch and tighten is securely.
For areas where you experience extra wind or storms, it might also be necessary to use water bags or cover clips to hold the cover down.
Note: its a good idea to invest in a good pool cover pump to help remove any excess water.
How To Shock Your Pool
There are plenty of reasons to shock your pool. According to NSPI/APSP standards, the ideal frequency for a brief super dose of shock is every week, depending on use and water temperature. Proper shocking of your pool will help mediate the need to shock more frequently and will perform a more complete cleaning of your pool water chemistry.
Without getting into the heavy science, it takes a certain level of chlorine to reach a breakpoint where chloramines are released from the water. If this breakpoint is not achieved, these odorous chloramines will persist in your pool resulting in an incomplete shock.
Take in account whether cyanuric acid is in the water when calculating how much shock you will need. With increased levels cyanuric acid, you will have to use more shock to reach the critical breakpoint.
A reasonable estimation for great results from shock is to bring the free chlorine to 40 percent of the cyanuric acid level in your pool. For example, if you have 50 ppm of cyanuric acid in your water, shock to a free chlorine concentration of 20 ppm.
It is also critical that pH is maintained through the process of shocking. The ability of chlorine to work effectively is directly proportional to the pH. When the pH is out of range, pool shock will decrease its effectiveness significantly.
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What Are Chloramines
Chloramines are the chemical residue after free chlorine has reacted and bound with dirt, sweat, oils, sunscreen, urine, bird droppings, decaying insects, bacteria, algae and anything else that invades your pool water. If your pool water smells bad then you have too many chloramines in the water.
Actually, its the volatile trichloramines that smell bad. As there is not enough free chlorine in the pool the chemical reaction has not completed to the final nitrates stage. The reaction runs out of chlorine and stops at the trichloramine stage creating the bad smell.
How do you fix this problem?
Shock the pool water to add a large dose of free chlorine to the water. This drives the chemical reaction chain to completion and eliminates the chloramines keeping your pool water safe.
Please read our article on How to Shock Your Pool
What Is Shock Dosing
Shock dosing your swimming pool involves adding large quantities of sanitising chemicals, such as chlorine, to your pool. These quantities can reach as high as ten times the normal dose.
The short term raise in chlorine will help break down any organic waste such as bacteria and other contaminants such as algae, slime and loss of water clarity or quality.
For a guide on how to shock dose your pool, you can refer to the guide at the end of this article where you will find information appropriate to the size and dose involved with shock dosing your pool.
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Shocking Your Pool In 6 Steps:
1. Check pH level and adjust if needed to a low-range pH of 7.1-7.3.2. Clean the pool to remove leaves and debris, remove pool cleaner.3. Determine how much shock is needed to fix the situation.4. Add shock directly to the pool, vinyl pools should pre-dissolve chlorine shock.5. Add shock when the sun is not shining directly on the pool.6. Run filter and brush pool to help distribute and circulate the shock.
If you’d like more information about pool shock or shocking your pool, you can connect with a local pool professional using our Dealer Locator.
Zodiac Australia provides swimming pool equipment, pool maintenance products, pool cleaners and pool care supplies including market leading brands such as Baracuda, Polaris, MagnaPool and iAquaLink.
Check Your Swimming Pools Chlorine Levels
For this step, make sure to follow the instructions provided with your kit or test strips. If your CC reading is 0.5 ppm or higher, its time to shock your pool. Its also a good idea to shock your swimming pool:
- After pool parties or heavy use
- After heavy rains, high-speed winds, thunderstorms, or other extreme weather
- Every 1 to 2 weeks
- If you notice visible algae or a strong chlorine smell
Step Three
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Does Chlorine Remove Urine From Pool Water
No, chlorine does not remove urine from pool water.
Chlorine will kill bacteria and viruses that are contained in the urine but it will not chemically remove the urea or uric acid that is in urine.
If someone pees in your pool there is nothing you can do.
The concentration of urine to water is a tiny fraction of the total pool water volume and will have no detectable effect.
Shock Increases The Free Chlorine Level
There are two ways that shock increases the free chlorine levels within a pool. The first way is by adding more chlorine to the pool. The second is by reacting to the stored, combined chlorine already in the pools water, releasing it.
This process is confusing as many people mistakenly think adding shock to the pool is simply adding more chlorine. This leads to many thinking that if they simply add chlorine from their own supply to a pool, they are effectively shocking the pool.
However, this is not true, and you can have two different types of shock treatments for your pool, depending on how high the current pH levels are. A higher pH level means a lot of combined chlorine in the pool, usually causing a strong chlorine smell in the pool.
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What Amount Of Chlorine Shock Do I Add In My Pool
Liquid chlorine or sodium hypochlorite is always around 12.5% chlorine. Regular bleach is less stronger compared to sodium hypochlorite and is always around 8%you will need to use a lot of it, as compared to sodium hypo.
For regular pool sanitization and clearing cloudy water, the right amount of liquid chlorine to add to your pool will depend on your pool size and the percentage of chlorine you are using. For instance, 10 fluid ounces of 12.5% HASA Sani-Clor or Chloro Guard will provide enough liquid chlorine to raise FC on 10,000 gallons of pool water by 1 ppm.
However, if you have severely cloudy pool water with the following signswon’t clear easily after adding a lot of chlorine, high combined chlorine levels , or very low free chlorine and cyanuric acid levelsyou might be having ammonia in your pool, and you need extra work to clear stubborn cloudy pool water caused by ammonia.
For algae treatment, I always recommend using calcium hypochlorite, which is stronger and always comes with around 60% chlorine concentration. To kill algae, you need to triple shock your swimming pool using calcium hypo. For instance, for sanitising a pool using cal hypo , 1 pound of In The Swim cal hypo should work for a 10,000-gallon pool. As such, since you need to triple shock the pool in case of algae breakout, you will need 3 pounds of calcium hypochlorite chlorine shock to kill green, black, and yellow algae in a 10,000-gallon pool.
Should I Add Chlorine To A Saltwater Pool
Before I changed my non-saltwater pool to saltwater two years ago, I used to shock regularly.
Basically, a chlorine-based pool needs more maintenance than a saltwater pool. Unless there is an algae outbreak or a build-up of contaminants such as oil and soil, a saltwater pool does not need much treatment. This is because saltwater pools use chlorine generators to produce a chlorine compound similar to the chlorine in shock treatments.
Chlorine generators can be adjusted to increase the amount of chlorine in the pool, for instance, before heavy usage. However, this technically isn’t shocking. It is just a way to maintain chlorine at the recommended level.
This article is accurate and true to the best of the authors knowledge. Content is for informational or entertainment purposes only and does not substitute for personal counsel or professional advice in business, financial, legal, or technical matters.
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How Much Shock Do I Need To Shock My Pool
A simple ratio and a standard rule of thumb to follow when you shock your pool is to dissolve one pound of either calcium hypochlorite or sodium dichlor for every 10,000 gallons of pool water. If you are using sodium hypochlorite, i.e., liquid chlorine, the ratio comes out to 10 ounces for every 10,000 gallons of pool water.
If you are not sure how many gallons are in your pool, here is an easy formula:
Length of your pool x width x depth x 7.5 = volume in gallons
You can also use the Pool Volume Calculator that is built into the Pool Calculator App, available on the web, or as a Native App on iOS or Android
Another standard measurement point for shocking a pool is to measure the chlorine by parts per million . To successfully shock a pool, especially one with algae growth, youll need to bring the chlorine level to at least 30ppm.
