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What Is Swimming Pool Stabilizer

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When Not To Use Pool Stabilizer

What Is Stabilizer In A Swimming Pool?

As we mentioned above, using pool stabilizer in indoor pools is a waste of time and money. It can also actually hurt your chlorines productivity. Since indoor pools are not exposed to sunlight, the stabilizer is an unnecessary addition to your chemical soup and wont actually do any good.

The same goes for hot tubs. If you own a hot tub, you probably already know how important it is to use a hot tub cover: to protect the chlorine in your spa, to keep the heat in, and to keep unwanted debris out. Stabilizer is completely unnecessary in hot tubs and should never be used.

So What Does Pool Stabilizer Do

Pool stabilizer acts like a bodyguard for chlorine against its bully, the sun. When you put chlorine without pool stabilizer in your pool, its chemical makeup transforms to a compound called sodium hypochlorite, which is made up of ions. When ultraviolet rays hit those ions, they break apart and render your chlorine ineffective.

The stats support this. In as little as under twenty minutes of exposure to the sun, your chlorine could be 50% less effective. And it only gets worse from there. But of course, thats only if you dont have the appropriate dose of pool stabilizer in your water.

What If Your Stabilizer Is Too Low

You usually wont have to add CYA to your pool after the initial dose at the first of the season, but sometimes its necessary.

For example, if your pool water has been lowered for some reason or if youve had some rainfall. After any of these events, it’s a good idea to retest your CYA levels.

If you’ve determined that the levels are too low, go ahead and calculate the amount of CYA you need in order to bring it back above 30 ppm.

Dissolve it in your bucket and pour it around the edge of your pool. Retest again in about 24 hours. Repeat if necessary.

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How To Add A Pool Stabilizer To Your Pool

Most often, the packaging of the product indicates how to add the stabilizer to the pool. Some of them need to be added directly to the filter, some directly to the pool. So carefully read the instructions for use!

A pool stabilizer is a chemical that takes time to dissolve and can negatively affect both the surface of your pool and human safety, so we recommend using this life hack:

Tip

How To Add Pool Stabilizer

Top 17 Pool Stabilizers for 2019

Some pool chemical instructions tell you to add them at the filter, while others may be poured straight into the pool water. When it comes to pool stabilizer, you dont want to do either of those, even if the instructions say its okay.

Remember that pool stabilizer is an acid. The chemical dissolves very slowly. In fact, that the acidity can damage your pool surfaces or skimmer if left to sit there and dissolve in its own time.

We recommend buying a five-gallon bucket, filling it with water, then dissolving the stabilizer in that water. This way, whether it takes ten minutes or an hour to dissolve, you wont be damaging expensive pool surfaces or delicate circulation parts by leaving an undiluted acid lying around on them.

Note: Never add chemicals to your skimmer and through your pool filter. This can be very dangerous and could damage your pool filter system.

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Stabilized Chlorine Tablets Or Sticks Or Shock

The main difference between tablets or sticks and shock is chemical strength and how to use the product.

Tablets and sticks are for everyday pool use while shock products have high chlorine levels that shock a pool to remove chloramines, waste, and bacteria after a contamination event or to remove visible algae.

Stabilized chlorine is the easiest way to add chlorine and stabilizer to your pool at the same time without a second step. Both trichlor and dichlor contain over 50% CYA by weight. Youll likely never have to adjust chlorine levels when you add them as a combination duo.

I like to suggest first-time pool owners use stabilized chlorine tablets or shock because its easier and requires less extra work. However, I still suggest regular testing to make sure the CYA levels stay within the proper range.

Low Stabilizer In Pool: How To Fix A Common Issue

Low stabilizer in a pool is a common issue that can be easily fixed. When a pool is exposed to sunlight, chlorine breaks down and no longer sanitizes causing the sanitizer to be low. This happens quickly and on sunny days the chlorine level can go down to an unacceptable level in a matter of hours.

The following article will teach you about the benefits of using stabilizer as well as how to increase the pH along with the right products to use to do so. You will be on your journey to a clean and healthy pool in no time.

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What Is Chlorine Pool Stabilizer

Pool stabilizer is also known as pool conditioner, chlorine pool stabilizer, chlorine stabilizer, or Cyanuric Acid. And you can buy this chemical additive as either liquid or granular . Its also included in chlorine tablets or sticks or shock . When theyre mixed together in shock or tablets, the resulting product is called stabilized chlorine.

Typically, pool owners wont need to add any extra stabilizer separately if youre using one of the combination products. In fact, if you add too much, you might develop a problem called creep, which describes the stabilizer chemicals tendency to build up to problematic levels over time. Too much of any chemical in your pool is never a good thing.

To determine how much chlorine stabilizer is in your water, you need to check your CYA level. You can check using either test strips, a liquid test kit, or taking a water sample to your local pool supply store. Just make sure if youre testing it yourself that you buy a test kit or strips that can check for CYA or Cyanuric Acid levels.

If your pool stabilizer levels creep too high, it can reduce the effectiveness of your sanitizer, or in other words, do the exact opposite of what its meant to do.

The only way to lower stabilizer levels in your pool is to remove some of the water and add clean water. Once you do that, youll have to balance all your chemicals again.

How To Add Stabilizer To Your Pool

Swimming Pool Stabilizer & Its Uses With Pool Chlorine

Most manufacturers say to add your CYA to a bucket of warm water first and others say you can pour it directly into the pool.

I recommend always dissolving it in a bucket of water since it is an acid that can cause skin irritation or pool liner damage.

Just pour the product into your bucket and pour the mixture around the edges of your pool.

Never pour chemicals directly into your skimmer.

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What If The Cya Level Is Too High

If you find the CYA level is too high, take a look at the type of chlorine youre adding. If its stabilized chlorine, it contains CYA as well. But theyre all labeled differently so its hard to tell sometimes. Look on the ingredient label. If you see one of these chemicals, then youll know it has CYA in it:

  • trichloroisocyanurate
  • sodium dichloroisocyanurate
  • potassium dichloroisocyanurate

What youll need to do now is to switch to a chlorine without CYA to prevent levels from rising. If you make the switch and find CYA is still a bit too high, allow some splashout and evaporation, then top off your pool with fresh water to dilute the CYA levels.

If CYA is very high, you may need to actually drain your pool and refill it. But always test the CYA after a refill before you add any more. This is because CYA can linger in the pool filter system as well as the plaster and calcium scale. And whats leftover may be as much or even more than you need.

Doesnt Chlorine Contain Stabilizer

Pure chlorine doesnt contain stabilizer. This means that if you add chlorine to your outdoor pool on its own, more than half will dissipate within a few hours. This is often called unstabilized chlorine.

You can find unstabilized chlorine in 3 different forms:

Lithium hypochlorite and calcium hypochlorite both come in a granulated form. This makes it easy to dissolve in water and tends to have a higher concentration of chlorine.

Sodium hypochlorite is a liquid form of chlorine that you usually pour on the edges of your pool.

That said, you can buy chlorine products that have been mixed with stabilizers. These are called stabilized chlorine. Stabilized chlorine can be helpful as your pool will stay clean and UV lights shouldnt break the chlorine molecule apart anywhere near as quickly.

However, its a disadvantage when you need to lower the level of stabilizer.

You can find two forms of stabilized chlorine. Trichlor, which takes longer to dilute in water thus sanitizes it for longer. And sodium dichlor, which is known for killing black algae and for its neutral Ph levels.

You can read all about stabilized chlorine in our article Should You Use Dichlor or Trichlor for Your Pool?

Whether you pick stabilized or unstabilized chlorine is a matter of personal preference. Depending on the type of pool you own, you might find one more useful than the other.

Heres two stabilized chlorine products we recommend:

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One: Calculate How Much Stabilizer You Need

When it comes to stabilizer in your pool, the recommended amount that you should have at any given time is 30 ppm. This is the equivalent of one pound of CYA to every 4,000 gallons of water.

In order to calculate the amount of CYA that you need to add to your pool, you will need to know the dimensions and capacity of your pool, and the existing CYA levels.

Based on this information, you can calculate the number of gallons of water in your pool.

This allows you to calculate how much CYA you should have in the pool, and you can compare this with the actual CYA content to work out how much you need to add.

Why Does Stabilizer Need To Be Balanced

Clorox Pool& Spa Pool Chlorine Stabilizer, 4 lbs

I dont need to tell you the importance of chlorine. And because CYA shields your pools chlorine from being eaten up by ultraviolet rays, it’s an important chemical.

If your CYA levels dip too low, your chlorine will be completely gone in a few hours and your swimming pool will become susceptible to bacteria and algae growth.

If the pool stabilizer levels get too high, however, it overpowers the chlorine and makes it less effective. It can even lead to chlorine lock, making chlorine tests read negative even when you know there is some in there.

The only pools that dont require CYA are indoor pools.

Unless your pool is exposed to sunlight, it should be able to maintain the right chlorine levels fairly well.

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What Is Pool Stabilizer

Pool stabilizer is also sometimes called poolconditioner, chlorine stabilizer, or cyanuric acid . Its purpose is tostabilize the chlorine in your pool water, so the sanitizer lasts longer. Thiswill ultimately help keep your water clean for a longer period of time.

This is especially important if your pool is outside and exposed to the suns ultraviolet or UV rays. When UV rays from the sun hit the water, chlorine starts to evaporate, leaving very little free chlorine in your pool water. If you are not using a pool stabilizer, your pools chlorine will be almost completely gone in a couple of hours. In fact, Sciencing states that ultraviolet rays can reduce chlorine by up to 90 percent in two hours. This is really important to understand because that will increase your risk of growing bacteria and algae in your pool.

Do Chlorination Tablets Contain Stabilizer

Some chlorination tablets contain stabilizer and some dont. It is extremely important to know which you are using in your pool. One might think that having a built-in stabilizer is a good thing. A prescribed amount of stabilizer in water works well, but if you are using a tablet that contains it, every time you chlorinate your water you are adding stabilizer as well.

which are incompatible with Sustain tablets. Mixing of incompatible tablets could result in a fire or explosion.)

Over time, a buildup of stabilizer in water will significantly slow chlorines effectiveness in its fight to keep your pool water clean and healthy. This is commonly referred to as overstabilization. Sustain 3-inch blue Chlorinating tablets and Sustain Energizer tablets contain no stabilizer. This way, you can establish and maintain the desired amount of it in your water without overstabilization concerns. Chlorinating tablets that contain stabilizer, , also have a low pH which means you will need to add pH-up and Alkalinity-up to bring water into balance.

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How Does Chlorine Stabilizer Work

Most swimming pools are located in an area that has quite a bit of sunlight. This sunlight is a great thing when it comes to warming your pool up for those early season swims the problem is that the sun will burn off chlorine very fast.

When UV rays hit the pool water, it will burn off the free chlorine in the water. When you have stabilizer in the pool, it will take quite a bit longer to burn off this free chlorine. When your pool stabilizer is low, the chlorine will disappear at record speed.

There are several problems related to low chlorine. If you are not checking your pool chlorine carefully and often, you may not know how low the levels have gotten. Low chlorine in a pool is going to create an environment where algae and bacteria can grow.

Your chlorine and your pH tend to work hand in hand as well. This is why, when taking care of a pool, everything is about balance. The same goes for the cyanuric acid or pool stabilizer it must always remain in balance.

You can check your cyanuric with a pool kit to make sure that it is balanced and ready to work to stabilizer the chlorine in your swimming pool.

When To Utilize Stabilizer To A Pool

Why Does Swimming Pool Stabilizer/Conditioner Keep Going Up?

Before adding a pool stabilizer to a swimming pool, it is necessary to test the water to confirm that the right dosage is used or see if any further amounts are required. Compared to chlorine, CYA does not evaporate. It stays in the pool water until it is splashed out, backwashed out, or drained out completely. You can also reduce CYA by adding water to the mixture or when heavy rainfall occurs.

When you use stabilized chlorine in your pool weekly, you are essentially adding a little amount of stabilizer to the water. You will not require any more than that to maintain the proper concentration of pool stabilizers throughout the year.

So in that case, pool stabilizer levels might rise over time as a result of you adding stabilized chlorine regularly. Therefore, you should buy high-quality pool chemistry test strips, so you can keep track of your stabilizer level and maintain a healthy concentration.

Also, you may also try alternatives like non-stabilized chlorine. Just ensure to keep an eye on your pools water chemistry, so you know what works or if you still need to add a stabilizer.

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The Upside Of Pool Stabilizer

Pool stabilizer has one job and it does it well. Its job is to keep the chlorine in your pool longer than it would be without help. In fact, in the presence of pool stabilizer, chlorine can last 3 to 5 times longer than without it.

It should be no surprise that increasing the lifespan of chlorine is a major benefit. That stuff is not cheap and your pool needs it all the time. If you dont use stabilizer or let your levels drop too low, youre opening up a Pandoras box of possible bacteria and algae growth that can take over your pool and destroy your water chemistry in a matter of hours.

Can You Make Cacti Flower Year Round Yes And No

Question: Why does my chlorine test high? It’s orange instead of yellow, but I haven’t added chlorine for a week.

Answer: The test reagents are most likely bad. They have a shelf life and can create false readings if they haven’t been replaced in a while.

Question: How do you make the stabilizer level in the pool higher?

Answer: Add Stabilizer

Question: Why would pool water turn clothes and skin green/blue?

Answer: This is a water chemistry issue. I recommend having a full parameter chemical test done professionally, including a metals test .

Question: Do you add the stabilizer chemical to the pool or the water return?

Answer: You will add the stabilizer directly into the skimmer. Stabilizer does not dissolve quickly, so it’s not a good idea to put it directly into the pool however, it will gradually dissolve when added through the skimmer.

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How To Add Stabilizer To My Pool

Remember, a pool stabilizer is an acid. It is enough to damage your beautiful pool chemistry. So many people provide so many tips and tricks, but you should care about it. So, how can you add the chlorine stabilizer to your pool?

According to my experience, use a bucket and pull it on the pool. After falling it, the stabilizer problem may solve 30 minutes to 1:30 hours. Note, the process is very slow, which means you may need to wait for more time.

You should carefully do this step because it can destroy your pool. The acid may stay on your pool which is harmful to your body part, especially in your nail, hair, and skin. So, follow the steps properly to dissolving the issues.

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