Maintaining the correct chlorine levels in your swimming pool is crucial for keeping the water clean, safe, and enjoyable. Before discussing how much chlorine to add to the pool calculator in numbers, let’s quickly review how chlorine works in swimming pools. At this point, we need to understand three significant types of concentrations, which include:
Free Chlorine
Free chlorine is the chlorine in the water that has yet to be combined with any of the other things in the water. It is ready to kill bacteria, viruses, and algae because it is active and ready to use. For cleaning to work well and to keep the highest water quality in swimming pools, there must be enough free chlorine.
When keeping a pool clean, free chlorine is the primary disinfectant that keeps harmful microorganisms from growing. By checking the free chlorine levels regularly, pool owners can ensure the water is safe and clean for users.
Combined Chlorine
This happens when free chlorine reacts with organic or inorganic molecules in the pool. Swimmers often add sweat, oils, urine, and other things to these chemicals. When free chlorine combines with these toxins, it makes chloramines, often called “byproducts of disinfection.”
Unlike free chlorine, mixed chlorine doesn’t clean the water as well and can cause bad smells, irritation to the eyes and skin, and less clear water. High amounts of combined chlorine mean the water isn’t being cleaned well enough and needs more chlorine treatment or “shock treatment” to break down chloramines and make the water safe to drink again.
Total Chlorine
Total chlorine is the sum of free chlorine and how much mixed chlorine is in the pool water. It gives a complete picture of the chlorine in the pool, including free chlorine working as the active sanitizer and the chlorine that has already come in contact with contaminants (combined chlorine).
By monitoring total chlorine levels, you can calculate how much chlorine to add to the pool generally and ensure it stays within the safe range. Balancing the total chlorine amount is essential for keeping the water clean and avoiding problems caused by either too little or too much chlorine.
By knowing the difference between free chlorine, mixed chlorine, and total chlorine, pool owners can control the chlorine levels in their pools and make sure everyone can swim safely and enjoyably. To keep the right amount of chlorine in the pool water, it’s essential to test it often, add the right amount of chlorine, and keep up with upkeep.
As we calculate how much chlorine to add to the pool in your backyard, we mainly talk about the amount of free chlorine. We can’t count on the mixed chlorine to kill contaminants in your collection because it isn’t a strong disinfectant.
Generally, a home swimming pool should have between 2 and 4 ppm of free chlorine. You should add more when your test kit shows that the free chlorine level has dropped below two ppm. However, let’s delve into the technical explanation.
Different Types of Pool Chlorine
The market has at least five different types of pool chlorine, each with its own upwards and downwards. They include:
Liquid Chlorine (Sodium Hypochlorite): Sodium hypochlorite, commonly known as liquid chlorine, is a widely used pool sanitizer. It is in liquid form and contains a higher concentration of available chlorine. You can use how much liquid chlorine to add to the pool calculator to dose it. Liquid chlorine is convenient as it can be directly added to the pool water.
Granular Chlorine (Calcium Hypochlorite): Granular chlorine is another popular option for pool sanitization. It consists of tiny granules or pellets of calcium hypochlorite, which dissolve in water and release chlorine. Granular chlorine is easy to handle and can be applied by spreading it across the pool surface or pre-dissolving it before adding it to the water.
Dichloroisocyanurate (Dichlor): Dichlor is a stabilized form of chlorine available in granular or tablet form. It contains chlorine and cyanuric acid, which helps protect the chlorine from degradation caused by sunlight. Dichlor is often used for regular pool chlorination and shock treatments.
Chlorine Tablets (Trichloroisocyanuric Acid): Chlorine tablets are slow-dissolving tablets containing trichloroisocyanuric acid. They are commonly used in floating chlorine dispensers or automatic chlorinators. Chlorine tablets provide a continuous chlorine release, ensuring consistent disinfection levels in the pool over time.
Lithium Hypochlorite: Lithium hypochlorite is a fast-dissolving chlorine compound that comes in granular form. Although relatively more expensive, it is known for its quick disinfection properties and minimal impact on water balance.
How Much Chlorine To Add To Pool?
Getting the right amount of chlorine for your pool depends on several variables, such as the size of your collection and how much free chlorine is already in it. Let’s use a pool that holds 25,000 liters as an example.
Let’s say the amount of free chlorine in your pool is one ppm, and you want to bring it up to 3 ppm. To do this, you must figure out how much chlorine you need. If you choose liquid chlorine, which usually includes sodium hypochlorite and has 125 grams of available chlorine per liter, you must add about 400 milliliters to your pool. Otherwise, you can use how much liquid chlorine to add to the pool calculator to dose it more accurately.
If you choose solid chlorine granules like calcium hypochlorite or granular chlorine, which has 700 grams of available chlorine per liter, you must add about 70 grams of these grains to your pool.
For stabilized solid chlorine, like trichloroisocyanuric acid or chlorine tables, which has 900 grams of free chlorine per liter, you would need to add about 55 grams to get the free chlorine concentration up to where you want it to be.
Please remember that these figures are based on the idea that you start with clean water that hasn’t been treated with chlorine. You may need to make changes depending on how much chlorine is in your pool.
For decontamination to work, chlorine in the water must be kept between 1 and 3 ppm. You can use a How much chlorine to add to the pool calculator to determine the exact amount based on how your pool is set up.
You can use a guide that compares liquid chlorine and powdered chlorine to help you decide which type of chlorine is best for your pool. This will help you determine what chlorine choice is best for your collection.
