This pool smells like it has too much Chlorine. WRONG!!!
25 Oct This pool smells like it has too much Chlorine. WRONG!!!
The Chlorine Myth / What creates that chlorine smell
To some people chlorine is the devil, its the worst. Maybe they saw an episode of 20/20 that said “Chlorine, The Silent Cleanser.” Well it’s not as bad as you may think, in fact its the best thing for you and we are here to clear all charges against chlorine.
Myth: Chlorine Burns Your Eyes When You Open them Underwater
Fact: Low pH burns your eyes when you open them underwater. A pool that has low pH means that the water is acidic. When water is acidic, its like putting your tongue on a battery (though not as harsh) but if you expose your eyes to it then yes, it’s gonna burn. You could have a chlorine reading of 10 ppm (Parts Per Million) and as long as your pH is ok, then your eyes will be ok.
Myth: Chlorine can do long term damage on my filter system
Fact: No it can’t, but low pH can corrode metal and high pH can leave a hard deposit. We can simply say that most problems that are associated with chlorine are really the fault of chlorine. The only thing bad about chlorine is that you can’t eat it, or can you?
Fact: Splenda or YPS (Yellow Packet Sugar) contains an additive of chlorine to make up for real sugar. Now it’s not a lot but its in there, it’s also in your drinking water, bottled water and bath water. There is fluoride in your tap water, why not a little chlorine to help you maintain those pearly whites, Keep’em shining!
It is a common misconception that when you smell chlorine either at home in your backyard at your pool or while visiting a pool park or waterslide. That it means there is too much chlorine. In fact it is quite the opposite. Now common sense would lead you to believe that if something smells it means there is a lot or it has been rotting, in chlorine’s case it means that it has been working.
Chloramines – What Creates That Chlorine Smell
Here is how it works. When you add chlorine to your pool water those tiny chlorine particles attach themselves to tiny debris or bacteria particles and create chloramines. These chloramines are basically killed bacteria or particles that have been taken care of by chlorine. But now that you have these chloramines they need to be disposed of. That happens by oxidizing or shocking your pool. This causes those particles to turn into oxygen, hence oxidize, and escape into the air. It’s at this point when that chlorine is no longer in the water but in the air allowing you to smell it. So what you actually smelling is the chlorine escaping out of the pool doing its job. However since you smell the chlorine in the air, it means that it may not be working to kill more in the pool water. When chlorine is in water you cannot smell it. It’s the tell tale sign that it is time for you to add more chlorine. I hope this has cleared this myth up!