Shocking Your Swimming Pool: The Why, When and How
Posted on: 12 April 2016
As a swimming pool owner, you want to be sure that the water in your pool is clean and safe every time you take a dip. Shocking your pool is a quick and easy way to restore balance in your pool, killing algae and bacteria and restoring chemical concentrations to their optimum levels. Follow these tips to find out how, when and why you should shock your pool.
Why You Should Shock Your Pool
Shocking a pool means adding a large dose of chemicals to kill microbes in the water. It's something you'll need to do any time the concentration of active chlorine in your pool water drops too low, which can happen after heavy rain or extensive use of the pool or when you bring your pool out of winter shutdown. Shocking your pool removes impurities from the water and makes the water safe for swimming.
When to Shock Your Pool
Sometimes, it's obvious that your pool needs shocking, such as when the water turns green, blue or even black due to algae growth. At other times, you may be less sure; in which case, you can use a chlorine testing kit to check the chlorine levels in the water. If the chlorine level is below 0.5ppm, you'll need to add pool shock chemicals to bring it up to 10ppm, as low chlorine levels can allow harmful bacteria to grow. Get into the habit of testing your pool water regularly, ideally every day, so you can act quickly when chlorine levels fall.
Preparing to Shock Your Pool
Begin by skimming as much debris and algae as possible out of your pool. You'll then need to mix up your pool shock treatment according to the instructions on the packaging. This usually involves adding a powdered form of chlorine to water to create a shock treatment with the correct concentration. It's a good idea to wear long pants and sleeves for this step, as pool chemicals can irritate skin.
How to Shock Your Pool
First, turn on your pump system so your swimming pool filters can circulate the chemicals you add around the whole pool. Once the filters are running, add the pool shock treatment to the deep end. You'll need to leave the swimming pool filters running for 6-8 hours to distribute the chlorine around the whole pool and give the chemical levels time to return to normal. Don't use the pool during this time.
When the eight hours are up, test your pool water again to check the chlorine level has returned to normal. Once this happens, you can enjoy a dip in your newly cleaned pool. For more tips, you may want to contact a local pool company like Leisure Coast Pool Centre.
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