Sports Mutterings

Heavy bather load, rainfall, organic contaminants, debris (such as leaf little or bird droppings) can all contribute to getting your pool chemistry out of balance.  A cloudy pool or one where swimmers complain of irritated eyes of a foul odor are all signs that you need to apply a pool shock treatment.  In the process of disinfecting your pool chlorine combines with the contaminants in the water to form combined chlorine compounds or chloramines.  It is these chemicals that cause eye irritation and odors.  Shocking a pool is a process of adding a super-dose of an oxidizing agent (chlorine in chlorine based shock treatments and Potassium Monopersulphate for Non Chlorine shock).  This helps unbind the combined chlorine and raise the levels of free chlorine in the pool so that it is safe and clear for swimming.

Getting the dosage calculation correct involves determining the level of combined chlorine in the pool.  This is calculated by measuring the free chlorine levels in the pool and the total chlorine levels and subtracting one from the other.  You will also need to know the size of your swimming pool.  With these two numbers; the level of combined chlorine and the size of your swimming pool, you should be able to determine how much shock treatment to add.  Most products come with a calculation table and specific instructions on how to shock a pool to make this process relatively easy.

Never add shock treatment to the pool when it is in use and only allow swimmers to return when the free chlorine levels have reached safe levels.  The pool downtime tends to be less lengthy when you use a non-chlorine shock treatment as opposed to a chlorine based product.  The other advantage of non-chlorine shock is that you won’t run the risk of damaging or bleaching your pool liner or pool surfaces.   Check your skimmers for any debris and remove this before you add the shock.  its also a good idea to remove any pool accessories such as pool floats or balls.