Why Should You Shock Your Pool
If you dont shock your pool, the chloramines may increase in your pool water and if this level continues to rise, you would have to replace a part or all of your pool water. Having more chloramines will also make your pool water cloudy.
Aside from removing the chloramines or CC, shocking your pool also destroys or oxidizes bacteria , algae, and other contaminants present in the pool. This process will also purify and disinfect your water and help you avoid clearing cloudy water. You may not need to consistently remove algae as it can treat budding algae in crevices and corners.
Pool shocking will also help keep the FC active and properly balanced with Cyanuric Acid. If the Cyanuric Acid is higher, this will make the FC ineffective. Here is a CYA / Chlorine Chart so you know how much chlorine to add based on the Cyanuric Acid level.
As a bonus, it can also help remove organic stains on the pool surface. This can also be used to sanitize your pool when youre having trouble with the filter, pump, or salt system.
When Pool Water Temperature Rises
Bacteria and other organisms such as algae thrive in warm water. In addition, the amount of free chlorine decreases with rising temperatures.
Most pools are kept at a comfortable level of 86-88 °F. The temperature should be lowered to a range of 78-84 °F if there are a lot of swimmers or if the pool is used for athletic activities. You can use a pool thermometer to measure water temperature.
If the temperature rises above the recommended levels, you should shock your pool.
Do I Need To Shock My New Pool When I First Fill It
Congratulations on your new pool! You have just got it filled up and are ready to splash in. Not so soon. Even though you have filled your new pool with fresh, clean water, pool chemistry is a bit more complicated than that. You will have many questions about your new pool but the one that could be on the top of your mind is probably, Do I need to shock my new pool when I first fill it?
Yes you certainly do need to shock your new pool, before you start enjoying a swim in it. Fresh clean water does not stay very clean outdoors for long. Shock your new pool to make sure it is germ free.
Your new pool may look clean but that is only because you can not see the millions of microscopic germs, bacteria and algae floating in there with the naked eye.
Shock is basically superchlorination. You need to keep your pool disinfected, at all times, by a regular daily dose and a weekly shock dose of chlorine. So why not start off on the right foot by shocking your new pool before your first swim.
Save yourself, your family and your friends from pool based infections and diseases.
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Pool Shock Safety Tips
When cleaning your pool, you will be in constant contact with hazardous chemicals, so it is important to follow the necessary safety precautions. Check the labels on your shock products to ensure proper storage. Pool shock can cause chemical burns on the skin and damage your eyes. For this reason, it is extremely important to wear protective equipment when handling the chemicals. Gloves and eyeglasses are absolute necessities, but you should also wear long sleeves and pants to prevent contact with your skin.
Be sure to wait the necessary time before allowing anyone into the water . The chemical balance in the pool must be optimal before swimmers hop in.
How Long After Shocking A Pool Before Is It Safe For Swimming
Generally, you should not swim in a pool for 8 hours following shock treatment. Be guided by your shock treatment of choice and follow the manufacturers instructions.
If you use a non-chlorinated treatment the time can be as little as 15 minutes, however, these types of treatments will not work against algae bloom.
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Can I Add Shock And Chlorine At The Same Time
This is a question that I come across ALL THE TIME, and is precisely why I said at the beginning of this article that there is a lot of misinformation about Pool Shock.
Pool Shock is chlorine. To shock your pool, you actually dont need to use a pool shock product at all. You can use regular chlorine to get your water to the shock levels that you need to shock your pool. If you insist on using a pool shock product, then there is no reason to add chlorine with it.
I highly advise that you just use chlorine. This will save you money, and a trip to the pool supply store.
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.
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Whats The Best Time Of Day To Shock Pool
Now that you know how to shock your pool, lets get down to business and discuss the best time of the day to shock it. The most appropriate time is without a shadow of doubt, late in the evening when the sun is going down. The suns ultraviolet rays can dissolve the chlorine very fast before it gets a chance to attach and oxidize, thereby reducing its effectiveness and shocking when the sun is going down enhances the effectiveness of chlorine. To make it even more effective, you can shock at night and leave it overnight as this will give chlorine time to work. If you must shock during the day, pool maintenance pros at Ironman Pool Care say to ensure you use a chlorine stabilizer like cyanuric acid which will definitely prolong chlorines life.
In Conclusion
Many pool owners decide to shock their pool when the pool water becomes cloudy or when they see an overgrowth of algae and cleaning consumes time and energy. Given that you now know how to shock your pool and the best time of day to shock pool, you should shock it on a regular basis and keep the pool water clear and clean.
Is A Saltwater System Being Employed
This type of water treatment for pools requires a lot of regular maintenance and shocks but otherwise produces very little chlorine due to its salt content.
As a result, many people automatically assume that as long as they have a saltwater system in place, they dont need to bother shocking the pool and this could potentially lead to problems down the line.
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What Chemicals Do You Put In A Pool For The First Time
The key to a healthy pool is in achieving and maintaining the recommended pool chemistry. Free Chlorine , pH,Total Alkalinity , Calcium Hardness and Cyanuric Acid levels must be within the prescribed range.
For this you will need the following chemicals:
In addition you should add
Though not a pool chemical, you should of course also have a Pool Water Test Kit.
For more information on Pool Chlorine Types refer to my post Complete Guide To Pool Chlorine Types. .
You Can Smell Chlorine
Pools that reek of chlorine are trying to tell you something: they are lacking in chlorine. This may seem counterintuitive as theyre giving off a pungent chlorine pool smell.
But what youre actually smelling are chloramines. Chloramines are created when free chlorine reacts with ammonia in the water. This mixture is also known as combined chlorine, which gases off and floats on the surface of the water.
Chloramines are an irritant and hazardous to humans causing red eyes, itchy skin, nasal and lung irritation, and respiratory issues.
So if your pool is really stinky, its also really dirty. Shock it ASAP!
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Add Shock To The Pool
If using dissolved granular shock, make your way around the perimeter of the pool and slowly pour the solution into the water. What this allows for is the power of the return jets to circulate it quickly. If using liquid chlorine, pour it around the perimeter of the deep end of the pool, and close to the surface to avoid it splashing up.
In some cases with granular shock, you may end up with undissolved granules on the walls of the pool, or at the waterline. Take out a pool brush and remove them pronto. These little granular buggers can damage the liner/finish if left to their own devices.
Also, make sure your pump and filter are running all night. This ensures the pool shock will be fully distributed in the water to destroy all contaminants.
When Should You Shock Your Pool
Its best to shock your pool once the sun goes down and when the pool filter is running. If you put the shock in while its sunny out, it will not work as well. Never shock your pool when people are swimming in it. This is extremely dangerous. By waiting until the filter is running, you can be sure that the shock is filtered properly all around your pool.
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How Do I Know If My Pool Is Filled Correctly
Once you think your pool is filled correctly, you need to check that the water level is correct using a tape measure. Simply place the tape measure on the top of the tile at one of four sides and record the distance from one end to the other, which should be between 80 and 85 inches total.
Now grab a piece of sidewalk chalk and mark where you measured with an X so that its clear how much room there is for any extra water and know when youve reached capacity. If its not full enough, turn off your filter system and add some more water again.
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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Can I Swim In A Newly Filled Pool Without Shocking
While many pools are mandated by law to have a certain amount of chlorine in the water at all times, the chlorine dioxide level must be monitored and balanced out before allowing people to swim in it.
High chlorine levels can burn swimmers eyes or even cause other health issues if they spend too much time in the pool while its not balanced correctly. If you still plan on swimming in your freshly filled pool without shock, look for signs that the chlorine is high enough before diving right in.
These signs include cloudy or milky-looking water, strong chemical odor, stinging eyes, burns when applying suntan lotion, etc. If any of these signs are present, shock the pool immediately.
Ok What Is Shocking A Pool
If you’ve been around pools, you’ve probably heard the term here and there, but you’re not exactly born knowing the ins and outs of this stuff. Shocking is “the process of adding chemicals to the pool to make water composition ideal for chlorine or non-chlorine alternatives to work best,” Jamie Alan, PhD, an associate professor of pharmacology and toxicology at Michigan State, tells Health.
The goal of shocking the pool is to raise the level of “free chlorine” in the pool to a point where things like algae and bacteria are destroyed.
There is a range of chemicals that can be used for a pool shock, including calcium hypochlorite, lithium hypochlorite, dichlor, and potassium peroxymonosulfate, according to Home Depot.
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What Do I Do After I Shock My Pool
4.3/5pool afterpoolshock poolShock your pool after
Keeping this in view, how long does it take for a pool to clear up after you shock it?
Chlorine- free shock oxidizes bacteria and organics in your pool without any additional chemicals. With this type of shock, you can swim in the pool just one hour after. Chlorine- based shock contains high levels of pH and will alter both your pH and chlorine levels in the pool.
Furthermore, can you put shock and chlorine in a pool at the same time? You do need to use both tabs and shock. Without tabs, the chlorine shock will dissipate quickly out of the water without shock, the chlorine level will not get high enough to fully sanitize the water. You should aim to keep the chlorine level at between 1 and 3 ppm.
In this way, can you over shock a pool?
Start off by adding 3 or 4 gallons, and if you see no results overnight, add 3 or 4 more gallons the next day. Continue this process until you notice the water changing color to either cloudy white, light green or clear. YOU CANNOT OVER SHOCK A POOL ! The more you add, the quicker it will clear !
Can u put too much shock in a pool?
Exposure to over-chlorination can provoke asthma, lung irritation, and potentially skin and eye irritation. As well as being potentially bad for you, it’s bad for your pool. High chlorine levels lower the pH of the water. So make sure you check the PH level of the pool before adding shock.
How Often Should I Shock My Swimming Pool
Pool Shock is a type of chemical used to destroy bacteria and other organic contaminants in your swimming pool. Chlorine shock can be used to give your chlorine level a boost when it is very low. After using a chlorine-based shock, you should wait at least 8 hours before going back into the pool. Non-chlorine shock is a nice alternative and can be used as a supplement to your normal pool chemicals. With most non-chlorine shocks, you can swim again 15 minutes after shocking the water. Always make sure that the filter system is running while shocking the pool.
Some pool owners choose to shock their pools once every 1-2 weeks as normal maintenance. This is a great way to keep your chlorine level up and prevent algae growth.
In addition to your regular maintenance, common circumstances in which its a good idea to add shock to your pool water include:
Just remember At a minimum, be sure to shock your pool in any of the above situations. To be on the safe side, you may also consider shocking your pool every 1-2 weeks as a preventative measure. If youre utilizing a saltwater system with your swimming pool, its also a good idea to periodically shock your swimming pool if the chlorine levels are low.
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What Is Shocking A Pool And Why Should You Do It
Shocking a pool, also known as pool chlorination, is adding chlorine in swimming pool water to sanitize itgetting rid of chloramine , contaminants, bacteria, preventing algae, ammonia, and other living organisms from thriving in your pool.
Chlorinating a swimming pool is a very important and necessary part of pool maintenance.
Every pool owner should at least understand how to do it, how frequently, what amount of chlorine to add, and which chlorine shock to use in a pool.
Moreover, the cornerstone of keeping free chlorine active all the time is keeping it in proper balance with cyanuric acid.
The higher the cyanuric acid level in your water, the more your free chlorine will be ineffective, and the more chlorine you will use in your pool.
Confirm on Trouble Free Pool’s Chlorine/CYA Chart to know the correct amount of chlorine to add at a given level of cyanuric acid.
By regularly adding chlorine shock to your water, you completely avoid the hassle of SLAMing your pool to clear algae and ammonia.
To have a trouble-free pool throughout the summer, I always recommend the use of non-stabilized chlorine known as sodium hypochlorite with a 12.5% chlorine concentration for pool sanitization.
You can also use sodium hypochlorite with a 10% chlorine concentration, but not a regular household bleach that comes with low chlorine concentration of 8% and below.
