Can I use bleach instead of chlorine in my pool?

Short answer: yes. Longer answer: it depends on the formulation. The label on every bleach bottle should tell you the ratio of sodium hypochlorite (and available chlorine) in the bottle to everything else. A higher percentage is generally better, as you'll need to use less bleach to treat your pool.
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Can you put household bleach in a pool?

It is important to know what exactly bleach is before you put it in your pool. Household bleach, Clorox and liquid chlorine can all be used to sanitize a pool. They are all types of chlorine. Household bleaches such as Clorox usually contain about 5-6% available chlorine, about half that of pool liquid chlorine.
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How much bleach do I add to my pool?

When chlorinating wading pools, use 1/8 cup per 100 gallons of new water. Mix required amount of Clorox® Regular Bleach2 with 2 gallons of water and scatter over surface of pool. Mix uniformly with pool water.
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Is bleach the same as chlorine for pools?

Liquid chlorine

Household bleach (the same as you use for your laundry) and pool chlorine are the same thing. They are identical in every way, with the exception of strength.
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Can I use bleach instead of chlorine to shock my pool?

Using Bleach as a Shock

You need to use less of such products per volume than you do if you simply add chlorine, and if you opt for chlorine alone, you need more bleach than you do pool chlorine. Bleach contains the same chemical -- sodium hypochlorite -- as pool chlorine, but the concentrations are different.
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No Chlorine? Use Bleach Instead.



How do you keep a pool clean without chlorine?

3 Ways to Sanitize Your Pool without the Typical Chlorine Risks
  1. Salt sanitizers (“saltwater pool”) In recent years, saltwater sanitizers have become a popular alternative to off-the-shelf chlorine for treating water in swimming pools. ...
  2. Ozone pool purification. ...
  3. Ultraviolet pool sanitizing light.
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Can you put bleach in a vinyl pool?

High concentrations of chlorine (above 1.5 ppm) will attack the liner and bleach it, thus damaging it. Any level below this range will weaken its ability to kill off bacteria.
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Which is stronger bleach or pool chlorine?

About Bleach Neutralizers

Pool chlorine and household bleach both contain hypochlorite ion, which is the chemical agent responsible for their “bleaching” action. Pool chlorine, however, is substantially stronger than household bleach.
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How long after putting bleach in pool Can you swim?

Liquid chlorine — In general, it's a good idea to wait at least four hours after putting liquid chlorine in the pool. The size of your pool and the amount of chlorine added does play a factor in this, too. Once your levels reach 5 ppm or lower, you're ready to swim.
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Does bleach turn into chlorine?

Chlorine is chlorine, so the chlorine in bleach is the same as the chlorine in drinking water and in a swimming pool. In fact, you can use chlorine bleach to treat a swimming pool or to treat drinking water.
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What can you substitute for chlorine in a pool?

Here are the top 5 alternatives to use in pools instead of chlorine:
  • Bromine.
  • Salt-water system.
  • Ozone generators.
  • Non-chlorine Shock.
  • Mineral System.
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Will bleach clear a green pool?

Green algae, unlike its black counterpart, is a true algae; it isn't resistant to chlorine, so you can control it by shocking the pool. If you don't want to spend a lot of money on expensive pool chemicals, you can shock with household bleach.
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Is pool shock the same as bleach?

Swimming pool shock contains 12.5% sodium hypochlorite (bleach) vs. 6-8.5% for Clorox (bleach). Some Clorox products go as high as 8.5%. At a 12.5% concentrate, liquid pool shock is approximately 2x's stronger than Clorox bleach.
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How much bleach equals a chlorine tablet?

Choose the sanitizer that best suits your individual preferences. *1 gallon of chlorinating liquid delivers the same amount of chlorine as 2 chlorinating tablets.
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What can I use instead of pool shock?

Common unscented household bleach (sodium hypochlorite) works well to shock a pool.
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What does adding bleach to a pool do?

Once the bleach is added to water, the hypochlorous acid molecule turns into a negatively charged hypochlorite ion and goes to work killing microbes and sanitizing your pool.
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Can you shock a pool with liquid bleach?

Now you can know the gallons of bleach you would need to shock your pool as follows: use 0.5 gallons of Clorox per 10K gallons of water to increase the level of chlorine by 5 ppm. If you want to raise the level of chlorine by 2.5 ppm, then you would need ¼ gallon of the product per 10K gallons of water.
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Does baking soda clear pool water?

Baking soda can work wonders in a pool. Baking soda can: Help to clear cloudy water and restore the sparkle. Spot-treat algae.
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Which is cheaper chlorine or bleach?

Bleach is also inexpensive in comparison to standard pool chlorine. As of 2017, a gallon of bleach can be purchased for $1 when bought in bulk. Pool chlorine is more expensive by comparison. If there's a disadvantage to bleach, it's that it's comparatively weak when matched against pool chlorine.
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Can you put bleach in Intex pool?

Liquid chlorine, household bleach, and dichlor are the preferred choice of chlorine for an Intex swimming pool. These chlorines will minimize any potential damage to the pool liner, such as bleaching or weakening.
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Is it possible to have a pool without chlorine?

The Bottom Line about Pools and Chlorine

As mentioned above, you could probably swim in a pool without chlorine without any major health issues. However, long-term use of a pool lacking chlorinated H2O could make you sick or, at the very least, contribute to rashes and other types of skin irritation.
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Can I use baking soda instead of chlorine in my pool?

A rule of thumb is 1.5 lbs. of baking soda per 10,000 gallons of water will raise alkalinity by about 10 ppm. If your pool's pH tested below 7.2, add 3-4 pounds of baking soda. If you're new to adding pool chemicals, start by adding only one-half or three-fourths of the recommended amount.
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How can I naturally clean my pool water?

Create Your Own Natural Pool Cleaner
  1. Baking Soda. Making a simple paste from water and baking soda creates a non-abrasive cleaner that works wonders on pool tile and grout. ...
  2. Bleach. ...
  3. Muriatic Acid. ...
  4. Borax. ...
  5. Olive Oil. ...
  6. White Vinegar. ...
  7. Lemon Juice. ...
  8. Rubbing Alcohol.
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How much bleach equals a bag of shock?

One pound of 65% Cal-Hypo is equivalent to 117 fluid ounces (0.91 gallons) of 8.25% bleach. One pound of non-chlorine shock (43% MPS) is "equivalent" to 36 fluid ounces (0.28 gallons) of 8.25% bleach, but non-chlorine shock is not the same as chlorine.
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How much bleach do you put in a gallon of water?

Mix 1 cup (240 mL) of bleach in 1 gallon of water. Wash surfaces with the bleach mixture. If surfaces are rough, scrub them with a stiff brush. Rinse surfaces with clean water.
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