Be careful not to overdose the chlorine remover, or you’ll have to once again reverse the process and add chlorine to get the water to a suitable chlorine level – which will mean unnecessary labour and cost to you. Without use, most pools naturally lose free chlorine at an average daily rate of around 2 to 3 ppm, though this is influenced by things like water temperature, UV exposure, and the cyanuric acid level. Chlorine gets used up as it fights off contaminants in the water, which is why it constantly needs topping up under normal circumstances.

Your cyanuric acid level (CYA) plays an important role here. The more of it you have in your water, the higher this limit will be. This is because CYA effectively weakens your chlorine after bonding with it. As a general rule, 2 litres of swimming pool dechlorinator per 10,000 gallons of pool water will reduce the chlorine level by 5ppm. Multifunctional Tabletsare a type of stabilised chlorine tablet that work in exactly the same way as standard chlorine tablets. However, these tablets also have an algaecide and a flocculant built in - allowing you to reduce the chances of algae and cloudiness occurring while dosing your pool with chlorine. Unstabilised chlorine Algaecide is a chemical that both kills algal matter and prevents it from growing in the first place. It’s best utilised alongside a chlorine sanitiser as an effective tandem for keeping your pool clean. Using algaecide in your pool is recommended as part of your start-up process each season but also whenever your pool shows signs of developing or established algae. You can find chlorine test strips at hardware stores, pool supply stores, and online. [3] X Trustworthy Source Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Main public health institute for the US, run by the Dept. of Health and Human Services Go to sourceThe recommended free chlorine level for most pools is somewhere between 2 and 3 parts per million (ppm), but it’s actually safe to swim at levels much higher than this. For your pool to be safe for use, you need to maintain a suitable water balance whenever it’s in use. Water balance is defined as a condition where the water is neither corrosive nor scale-forming. The major factors in determining water balance are the pH of your swimming pool, the total pool alkalinity and calcium hardness. The nature of your local water supply plays a significant role in water balance; this is discussed in our ownership guide to hard and soft water areas. pH – what is pH balance in a pool?

Let’s finish up with some practical tips on how to prevent your chlorine level running away from you in future.As we’ve just established, the alkalinity level in your pool influences the pH level of water, so it’s vital that the alkalinity level is kept within the range of 80-160ppm to help keep the pH of your water correct. As such, reducing or increasing the alkalinity of your pool as per your requirements represents a vital part of maintaining pool water. How to reduce alkalinity in a pool You should monitor the level of active bromine in your pool with a bromine test kit and adjust your brominator to give a bromine level between 2-4ppm. Your pool’s pH level can be allowed to rise to between 7.8 and 8.0, so very little pH minus is required. Some outdoor and indoor pools, as well as most spa pools, are fitted with circulation feeders called brominators. Brominators use a sanitiser called bromo-chloro-dimethyl hydantoin ( BCDMH) to keep pool systems sanitised.BCDMHis supplied in the form of white tablets (bromine tablets) which are loaded into the brominator and then have the pool water pumped over them. BCDMH should not be added directly to your pool or through the skimmers. Please Note: DO NOT MIX UNSTABILISED CHLORINE WITH ANY STABILISED CHLORINE AS IT WILL EXPLODE! Bromine – what is bromine in a pool? Carefully add the resulting solution to the pool whilst the pump(s) are turned “on”, preferably near to the water inlets to aid distribution

Split this total amount into 4 smaller doses. Apply each 1/4 dose, allowing time to thoroughly circulate (2-3 hours for commercial pools / 6-8 hours for domestic pools) before re-testing chlorine/bromine level and if necessary adding further doses.While nobody buys a pool to give themselves lots of extra work or revel in the complexities of pool chemistry, carrying out effective pool maintenance on a regular basis is a hugely important part of owning and operating a pool. For 200-gram tablets, place one tablet per 11,000 gallons in the skimmer basket. It will take 3-5 days to dissolve. Alternatively, place one tablet per 7,000 gallons in the floating dispenser. It will take 10-14 days to dissolve. What are multifunctional tablets? Test for chlorine using a DPD test kit for the most accurate results. A DPD test kit comes with different reagents that you mix with your hot tub water to test things like chlorine and pH. They’re generally more accurate than test strips. To use a DPD kit to test free chlorine, just fill the provided vial with water from your hot tub, and add the chlorine reagent according to the instructions. Cap the vial, shake it, and compare the color of the water to the provided chart to see what the chlorine levels are. [5] X Research source If there is insufficient calcium in the water of a tiled pool, the water will, over time, dissolve the calcium in the grout, making it soft. Eventually, the grout will disappear, leaving sharp edges which pose a cut risk to bathers. In a tiled pool, the calcium hardness should be kept above 200ppm. Calcium hardness can be increased by adding calcium chloride (calcium builder).