Pool Chemicals: Why are they Necessary?

Chemical Treatments are Necessary if you Want a Sparkling Pool

If you didn’t add the proper pool chemicals on a regular basis, your pool would start to become cloudy and murky and the water would become a home to algae and disease-carrying bacteria. It certainly would not be a pretty picture. Therefore, if you want to maintain a pool that is clean, sparkling and safe for swimmers, you need to add swimming pool chemicals on a regular basis.

How Chlorine Works

Probably the most popular pool chemical is chlorine. When you add the chemical to the pool water, it breaks down into a number of chemicals to kill harmful bacteria. The pool disinfectant destroys the cells of microorganisms, thereby oxidizing the cells and making them unable to cause any harm. After oxidizing the cells, the chlorine molecules stop working and no longer are able to do their job of disinfecting the water. Therefore, one must add chlorine on a regular basis. Chlorine can be purchased in granular, liquid and tablet form, with tablets dispensed through an in-line or floating feeder.

How Bromine Works

Another swimming pool chemical, bromine, works differently than chlorine when it comes to sanitizing the pool. This chemical, when added to pool water, forms hypobromous acid, which is the main ingredient that kills harmful bacteria in the pool, acting as an oxidizer as well as a sanitizer. But, unlike chlorine, the chemical still remains active, even after killing the contaminants in the water. Therefore, the disinfectant continues to work longer than chlorine and therefore does not need to be added as often. Usually, the substance is distributed through a chemical feeder.

Measuring your Pool’s pH

For any chemical to work effectively in your pool, the water has to be kept at the right pH. The pH level is a way to gauge the acidity or alkalinity of the water. A preferred range is between 7.4 to 7.6 ppm or parts per million, which is a measurement for chemical concentration. If the pH level is lower, then the water will be acidic and therefore more corrosive to metal. On the other hand, if the pH is on the higher end of the scale, then disinfectants, such as chlorine, will not be able to work effectively. To restore the pH to its proper range, you need to add acid to the water if the pH is too high and you’ll want to include soda ash when the water’s pH is lower or the water is more acidic. HTH pool chemicals can help in this regard as they include products that are designed for maintaining a clear and safe pool.

When to Add Chemicals

When distributing chlorine in your pool, you’ll want to be sure to add it in the evening. Without a stabilizer, chlorine will last less than half a day, with much of the loss caused by the sun’s UV rays. Therefore, it’s best to add chlorine when the sun goes down. To maintain a pool that is continually clean and clear, include a shock treatment on a weekly basis as well. Give your pool a chlorinated booster shot, so to speak, to eradicate any algae or bacteria.

Chemical treatments are necessary if you want to maintain a pool that is an enjoyment to own. Take a look online. You can obtain chemicals for your pool that are dependable and at an affordable price.
photo credit: Son of Groucho

Swimming Pool Chemicals

Once you’ve gotten your above ground swimming pool picked out, another important thing to think about is the swimming pool chemicals that you are going to use to keep your pool clean and safe to use. And there are many choices to make about what kind of cleaning system you should use.

One of the first things to think about is who is going to be using the pool on a regular basis. Do they have sensitive skin or other health issues to consider with regard to your pool cleaning system. Many people are sensitive to the old style chloride and bromide chemicals. These days there are tons of alternatives. You can use products that replace those swimming pool chemicals completely such as an Ionizer or Ozonator system. Or you can combine a cholrine system with a mineral purifyier such as Nature2.

The old style pool chemicals work by inhibiting bacterial growth in the pool. The chlorine is used up in the process of neutralizing these bacteria. This is why it is important to recharge the chemicals on a regular basis. But as everyone knows who has gone to a pool, these chemicals tend to dry out the skin and hair, and irritate the eyes and nose of swimmers.

The newer methods such as the Ionizer and the Ozonator are a great way to reduce the need for chlorine pool chemicals. Ionizers release silver and/or copper into the water. These two metals typically don’t cause any irritation to people, but are very tough on bacteria. Ozonators usually create ozone by using UV light, or Corona discharge. Ozone is very reactive and bacteria are not able to withstand coming into contact with the Ozone. With both of these methods, you will still likely want to continue to use chlorine as part of your pool cleaner system. However, you will be able to greatly reduce the amount. And this will allow your sensitive pool users to be much more comfortable.

All these methods mentioned require one final step to complete the process. This is the process of adding pool shock to your pool. When your swimming pool chemical has done its duty and reacted with some bacteria, the resulting material is still in the pool. The pool shock removes the spent chemicals from the pool. And these pool cleaners have both a chlorine and chlorine free option to them as well.
Hopefully, this information will help you to make the right decisions about what kind of swimming pool chemicals to use to help you maximize the enjoyment for all your pool users. (And remember to keep the ducks out of the pool.)

photo credit: TheTruthAbout…