November 2011
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Changing Your Hot Tub Water in 4 Simple Steps
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How to Choose the Right In-ground Pool for You
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As a pool owner, you likely understand the importance of shock treating your pool to keep your water clean, clear and free of contaminants. But are you less confident in determining when it’s the right time to shock? To equip you with knowledge and confidence, Paul Kurke, training manager for Arch Chemicals, offers the top 10 signs that your pool is in need of a shock treatment.
1. It has been a week since your last shock treatment.
Once-a-week shock treatments are adequate for most pools.
2. You have several kids, and those kids have friends.
“If your kids and all their friends are using the pool all day, every day, that’s a good thing,” Kurke says. “What’s not a good thing is the buildup of waste in that pool.” You may need to shock more often, perhaps every four or five days.
3. A 90-lb. Labrador retriever jumped into your pool to cool off.
While people carry a fair amount of contaminants on their person, such as deodorants, cosmetics and lotions, they can’t begin to compare to the contamination your pets bring into a swimming pool. While they may enjoy a refreshing dip as much as you, shock the pool that evening.
4. It is hot outside.
Perspiration is rich in nitrogen, and nitrogen readily combines with chlorine, Kurke says. Those two elements combine to form chloramines, which cannot be filtered out; you must oxidize them.
5. There is a strong chlorine smell coming from your pool.
Many people think that when their pool smells, there is too much chlorine in it. Not so, Kurke says. The smell is caused by chloramines, formed by the combination of chlorine and nitrogen. Shock treatments will get rid of those chloramines, and therefore the odor.
6. Your family complains of irritated eyes and nasal passages.
Chloramines can also cause eye and nasal passage discomfort, Kurke says.
7. Your water has a dull appearance.
When your water isn’t looking as brilliant as it could, that may indicate you need to shock treat your pool.
8. Your pool has algae despite proper levels of chlorine.
“Some strains of algae can resist the normal level of chlorine in the pool (2 to 4 ppm free available chlorine),” Kurke says. “By shocking 10 to 11 ppm, that will kill resistant strains of algae.”
9. You just experienced a rainstorm.
Rainwater can potentially wash contaminants, such as pollen, bacteria and algae spores, off nearby trees and into your water. “So after a rainstorm, it’s not a bad idea to shock treat your pool,” Kurke says.
10. The test says so.
Pool owners can perform a simple test to determine if their pool is in need of a shock treatment. Begin with a test kit that tests for free as well as total chlorine. They’re available at your local authorized dealer. First, use the tablet marked DPD No.1 to test for free available chlorine. Make a note of that reading. Next, use the DPD tablet No. 3 that records the total chlorine in your pool. Then simply subtract the free available chlorine from the total chlorine. This is the level of combined chlorine in your pool water. The human eye is sensitive to combined chlorine levels as low as 0.2 ppm.
