Pool Chemistry 101: Chlorine

07 Nov Pool Chemistry 101: Chlorine

Chlorine Is Clearly The Best Way To Keep Your Pool Sanitary

From Pool Gear Plus

It seems like almost a yearly discussion among swimming pool owners, designers, and the media:  What new products are available to eliminate chlorine from a swimming pool?  Salt systems were sold as non-chlorinated swimming pools, but consumers are beginning to catch up to this misconception rapidly, as saltwater chlorine generation systems are simply chlorine factories outfitted to the pool.  The advent of Natural Swimming Pools, originating in Europe and propagating through the states is an interesting development, but natural pools with enzymes to act as sanitizers don’t provide any residual for killing fecal-borne bacteria and other potentially harmful antigens.  This post from Pool Gear Plus addresses some of the common misconceptions about Chlorine, and explains why it is still, despite media alarms to the contrary, the best way to keep your family safe and clean in any swimming pool environment.

Here is an excerpt from the post:

Is one type of chlorine better than another?

Each chlorine compound is designed for a specific purpose. Some can be useful for more than one application, while others have a very specific purpose. Each type has its own features and benefits. It helps to understand that the term “chlorine” is often used inappropriately, even within this publication. But it has become a generic term for one of the world’s most common sanitizers. Real chlorine is only available in gaseous form. Solid chlorine is derived from this gas, and mixed with various chemicals which make it solid. Of this solid chlorine, there are two basic kinds, stabilized and un-stabilized.

Stabilizer helps chlorine last longer in your pool. So why would you use anything else but stabilized chlorine?

Simple, stabilized chlorine is the best for daily sanitizing, while un-stabilized is best for shocking your pool each week – or giving it a large dose of chlorine to sanitize the water quickly. Even though the chlorine readings will be high for about 24 hours after your recommended weekly shocking, because you use an un-stabilized form of chlorine, it will be okay to dive into the pool within a day.

The most important thing to remember is that chlorine is the best way to sanitize your pool. Stabilized chlorine lasts longer, and is the best for daily chlorination. Un-stabilized chlorine is the best for shocking your pool weekly, because it provides a quick, high chlorine concentration that dissipates within about 24 hours.

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