What does bleach do for your pool?

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.

Can I use household bleach in my 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.

How often should I put bleach in my pool?

Once you've obtained a good reading, you can usually maintain your chlorine levels by adding chlorine tablets once a week. These dissolve more slowly and will keep your chlorine levels stable.

Can I use bleach to shock my pool?

Calculate the amount of bleach you need based on the fact that 1 gallon will raise the free chlorine level of 30,000 gallons of water by 2 ppm. If you need to mildly shock a 30,000-gallon pool by raising the free chlorine concentration to 5 ppm, you need 2.5 gallons of bleach. To raise it to 10 ppm, you need 5 gallons.

Will bleach clear up 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.

Using Clorox Bleach in Your Swimming Pool

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.

What happens if I put too much bleach in the pool?

Exposure to high levels of chlorine can cause lung irritation, skin and eye damage, and provoke asthma. Not only is it bad for your health, but it can be bad for your pool due to the increase in chlorine. High chlorine levels decrease the pH of your pool's water, making it more acidic.

What happens if I put too much bleach in my pool?

Excess chlorine can alter the pH level of the water in the pool, making it more acidic. The acid levels can cause any of the following symptoms: Irritant dermatitis which is a red skin rash characterized by raised itchy red bumps. Eye irritation and over-dilated blood vessels in the eyes.

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.

How much bleach can I put in my pool?

If you need to calculate how much bleach or Clorox you need to shock your pool, you will have to use 1/2 gallon of bleach per 10,000 gallons of water to raise the chlorine levels by 5 ppm.

How do I get my pool to not be green?

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.

Will baking soda clear a cloudy pool?

Baking soda can work wonders in a pool. Baking soda can: Help to clear cloudy water and restore the sparkle. Spot-treat algae.

Is Clorox bleach the same as pool chlorine?

In truth, bleach contains the same base chemical as pool chlorine. That chemical is, of course, chlorine, and the only major difference between the two products is the concentration strength. Pool chlorine typically contains some form of stabilizer, as well, though this is not a crucial factor.

Does adding bleach to pool raise pH?

Bleach is basically ph neutral. It will raise the ph slightly when added but as the chlorine get used up, it will drop back down. Some of the cheaper stuff, and the higher concentration stuff have more lye, which will raise ph a little...but again, in most cases, ph neutral (long term).

Why does my pool turn green after it rains?

"Heavy rain dilutes pool chemicals, especially salt and chlorine, which causes the pool to turn green. This means the water is not sanitised or healthy, so it's vital to address this.

Why the pool is cloudy?

Cloudy or milky swimming pool water is caused by seven main issues: improper levels of chlorine, imbalanced pH and alkalinity, very high calcium hardness (CH) levels, faulty or clogged filter, early stages of algae, ammonia, and debris.

Does Shocking a pool lower alkalinity?

Another cause for high alkalinity can be when you shock the pool. While this is performed to quickly rid the pool of pollutants, chlorine-based pool shock is highly alkaline, and can raise the water's total alkalinity level in the process.

What does baking soda do to pool water?

Baking soda, also known as sodium bicarbonate is naturally alkaline, with a pH of 8. When you add baking soda to your pool water, you will raise both the pH and the alkalinity, improving stability and clarity. Many commercial pool products for raising alkalinity utilize baking soda as their main active ingredient.

How do I lower the pH level in my pool?

To bring down pH, use a made-for-pools chemical additive called pH reducer (or pH minus). The main active ingredients in pH reducers are either muriatic acid or sodium bisulfate (also called dry acid). Reducers are readily available at pool supply stores, home improvement centers and online.

How do you clear up a cloudy pool?

Is chlorine stronger than bleach?

Answer: It is true that pool chlorine is stronger than bleach. For bleach and water to be the same strength as pool chlorine and water, you would have to adjust the ratio, increasing the bleach and reducing the water. But no matter which chlorine you use, make sure to test a small area before doing the job.

How do you ruin a pool?