Using Chlorine as Your Sanitizer:
Chlorine based sanitizers are the most popular swimming pool sanitizers across the world. Chances are, most pools you swam in used some form of chlorine to sanitize the water and keep the swimming pool safe to swim in. In this post, we will be discussing the most popular form of chlorine sanitizer - The Trichlor Tablet (1 and 3 inch varieties). Due to its popularity of use, Chlorine comes in a large variety of product types. Chances are that your local pool store has a huge variety of chlorine sanitizer types and packaging sizes. Trichlor tablets are the most commonly used form of chlorine in residential situations and the standard 3 inch tablet form is available at most stores that sell pool supplies. Trichlor Tablets: This is probably the most commonly used form of chlorine in the residential setting. It is the standard “hockey puck” style of chlorine that can be placed in floaters or specially designed inline chlorinators. Compared to other forms of chlorine, this type of chlorine includes Cyanuric Acid. Cyanuric Acid is best described as sunscreen for chlorine. It helps the chlorine stay in the direct sunlight for longer and can therefore reduce your chlorine needs. . When Cyanuric Acid levels are kept within 30-50ppm everything can work in ideal manner.. However, exclusive use of Trichlor tablets for an entire swimming season will usually raise Cyanuric Acid levels to unreasonably high levels. High Cyanuric acid levels can require higher amounts of chlorine in order to kill bacteria and are not advisable. So, check your Cyanuric Acid Levels once a month in order to keep an eye on them. If you find that your levels are rising quickly and are near/over 100ppm, then switch to another form of chlorine until the levels drop again. When dosing the pool with Trichlor tablets, a little experimentation will be necessary. First, figure out the size of your pool and the current Free Chlorine levels within the water. Next, add three to five tablets to your floater or your inline chlorinator. Check your chlorine levels continuously over the next few days and adjust your chlorine as needed. In regards to practicality, most pools can be maintained with a combination of Trichlor and either Cal-Hypo or Liquid Chlorine. Interestingly, Trichlor seems to work best when there is already a small chlorine residual in the pool. If your chlorine levels are very low, then use either liquid chlorine or Cal-Hypo (Calcium Hypochlorite) to raise the chlorine levels first, and then add the Trichlor. The same is true if you find that you need to shock your pool. Does this seem too tricky? Give Vida Pool Services, your local pool cleaning company, a call and have them help you plan your chlorine needs.