View Full Version : I'm Getting Read The Riot Act About Using Bleach By Hubby
peggles0224
07-08-2006, 08:34 PM
He says many people tell him that the bleach will eventually burn/ruin the liner. He believes there is something in chlorine tablets, etc. that helps protect the liner that bleach doesn't (or something in bleach that is not in the tablets that ruin liner). What can I say to win this one? :(
PatL34
07-08-2006, 08:42 PM
Tell him to read the Forum or else....:D
Pat
CarlD
07-08-2006, 08:43 PM
I cannot answer that. If he's rational but has bad info, correct him.
Ultra bleach is 6% Sodium Hypochlorite. Frequently, pool store "Liquid Chlorine" is also 6% Sodium Hypochlorite--EXACTLY the same stuff. "Liquid Shock" is usually 12.5% or 10% Sodium Hypochlorite. Show him that and explain that the "inert ingredients" in both is merely salt-water. Same stuff, different package.
There is NOTHING that "protects" the liner in tablets. In fact, they are MORE dangerous to the liner because they are EXTREMELY acidic, unlike bleach which is a base.
What they have is stabilizer (CYA--Cyanuric Acid) which stabilizes chlorine--slows its breakdown. You can add stabilizer seperately--not a bad thing.
Of course if your husband is the type for whom "My mind's made up, don't confuse me with FACTS!" you are done for. Then your problem isn't the pool......
Dr. Spike
07-08-2006, 08:52 PM
Bleach is not any different than the liquid chlorine that the pool stores sell. There is nothing that is added to the pucks that make the chlorine in them 'liner safe'.
If it were true, everyone that uses bleach or liquid chlorine would be replacing their liners all of the time because of it. :)
Not sure how to argue it with him. If he believes that he is right no matter what, then it will just be a battle that probably isn't worth having.
JohnInSoCal
07-08-2006, 08:58 PM
if he is that upset about it just buy liquid chlorine from the pool store. If you have a local mom & pop pool store near by it can be cheaper and more convenient than bleach in the grocery store. My local pool store has 12% bleach and gets fresh shipments often and you can get them 4 gallons to a case. It means less bottles/trips and it's cheaper to boot. I guess it depends on your pool store though.
It might be a good idea to go to the pool store and get 1 gallon of 12% bleach and then get 1 gallon of clorox unscented from the grocery store and show him the ingredient labels on both. If he is still not sold then I guess you are stuck.
good luck.
NWMNMom
07-08-2006, 11:15 PM
My question is: Who does the pool maintc at your house? If its you, then he doesn't need to know what you use. If its him, do what John above recommends by showing him labels or buy the chlorine at the pool store.
If it was my DH, I would simply tell him to put a sock in it and get over it. I do the pool maintc, I bought the pool, all he needs to do is swim and enjoy - but thats just me and thats just him (he never even blinked when I told him I had just dumped 120# of solar salt into our pool)
peggles0224
07-09-2006, 11:01 AM
Thanks for all the great info here, especially about the inert ingredients. I am going to sit down the computer-illiterate bugger this afternoon and tell him to read out loud (won't know if he's really paying attention if he is just reading off a screen). Yes, I'm the one that does the maintenance (testing), although he puts the stabilizer in under my direction. I already told him that if I ruin the liner I'll buy another. He said I'm not good on my word when it comes to money spending because of frugality (I won't want to spend that kind of money) if the liner does get ruined. :D He also feels I'm sticking to my guns because this is my inherited personality (he gets my goat by calling me by my sister's name because we all know she is the worst in never admitting she's wrong :mad: ) If all else fails here, I will drown him by weighting him down with about 15 gallons of bleach that have tiny pin holes in the plastic containers. If anyone calls looking for him, I'll tell them that he's out chlorinating the pool. :p
ChuckD
07-09-2006, 11:51 AM
Thanks for all the great info here, especially about the inert ingredients. I am going to sit down the computer-illiterate bugger this afternoon and tell him to read out loud (won't know if he's really paying attention if he is just reading off a screen). Yes, I'm the one that does the maintenance (testing), although he puts the stabilizer in under my direction. I already told him that if I ruin the liner I'll buy another. He said I'm not good on my word when it comes to money spending because of frugality (I won't want to spend that kind of money) if the liner does get ruined. :D He also feels I'm sticking to my guns because this is my inherited personality (he gets my goat by calling me by my sister's name because we all know she is the worst in never admitting she's wrong :mad: ) If all else fails here, I will drown him by weighting him down with about 15 gallons of bleach that have tiny pin holes in the plastic containers. If anyone calls looking for him, I'll tell them that he's out chlorinating the pool. :p
We definitely need a new forum here on 'Family Pool Management', or maybe 'Pool Family Management'.
C.
CarlD
07-09-2006, 12:05 PM
The marriage counseling web-site is 3 forums over!:D
Tell him you have 17,000 people who agree with you and think he's wrong.
My mother-in-law thinks I'm pig-headed because I won't do what she says just 'cuz she says it. She right, of course!
My wife thinks I'm pig-headed only if I don't give in to hard evidence. Since I ALWAYS give in to facts :rolleyes: , she's, of course, wrong--uh-oh, gotta run now.......;)
ScottS
07-09-2006, 12:07 PM
We definitely need a new forum here on 'Family Pool Management', or maybe 'Pool Family Management'.
C.
Very true. I've come across plenty of posts lately where the issue is NOT the pool :D
tenax
07-09-2006, 12:21 PM
uhhhh...maybe you don't want to get him to read this thread..unless you really want a divorce:)
peggles0224
07-09-2006, 12:59 PM
After sitting him down, he had one vocal question... Why doesn't the clorox/bleach companies advertise pool use on their labels?
CToon
07-09-2006, 01:15 PM
Clorox used to have info on their web site. For some reason they redesigned the whole site and I couldnt find it last time I looked
gonefishin
07-09-2006, 01:55 PM
Nice thing about chemicals...they are what they are. Like it or not.
Marketing on the other hand has very few rules. Like it or not...chlorine is bleach...even if you tell yourself that bleach is something different, it isn't.
I wouldn't sweat it too much...
have fun in your pool
dan
waterbear
07-09-2006, 02:51 PM
Clorox used to have info on their web site. For some reason they redesigned the whole site and I couldnt find it last time I looked
The info is on the Clorox Professional website. Since they started adding sodium polyacrylate to the consumer version of Chlorox to help whiten clothes they took the info off the consumer site. The Professonal Ultra Bleach does not have the additive.
CarlD
07-09-2006, 05:16 PM
After sitting him down, he had one vocal question... Why doesn't the clorox/bleach companies advertise pool use on their labels?
The answer is: They DID for the longest time.
ChuckD
07-09-2006, 05:23 PM
After sitting him down, he had one vocal question... Why doesn't the clorox/bleach companies advertise pool use on their labels?
Same reason Skin so Soft doesn't advertise as the effective bug repellent it is (ask any surveyor). An uninteded benefit?
C.
peggles0224,
You made my day!!! That was the best info on how to chorinate a pool I've ever heard. Just keep up the good work, and it will prove your point - laundry bleach is chlorine!
poolmom06
07-09-2006, 06:09 PM
Just have him read the labels on all the products, Liguid Chlorine, Alk up, PH up, , etc, and then the Bleach, baking soda and borax, the ingredients are all the same!!
peggles0224
07-09-2006, 06:38 PM
But I did give in about the clarify ball he wants to put in (he said our pool isn't clear enough, but close)... But I'm ready if anything UNRELATED happens to the pool... I know from experience... Well let's just say he is not one to let things go ... That's why he still has me ;) ..... and this unrelated thing happens... The bleach gets blamed! LOL :) :cool: :rolleyes:
Ohm_Boy
07-09-2006, 09:20 PM
I noticed that the clorox commercial site has an expired domain, so...
Here's an excerpt from the Clorox commercial service bulletin on Pool Sanitizing...
http://graphicartssolutions.com/image_pool/clorox_commercial.gif
I have the 3 pool pages in pdf (53k), as well as the original 44 page pdf covering all the sanitizing uses (461k), if anyone needs it.
NWMNMom
07-09-2006, 10:33 PM
If all else fails here, I will drown him by weighting him down with about 15 gallons of bleach that have tiny pin holes in the plastic containers. If anyone calls looking for him, I'll tell them that he's out chlorinating the pool. :p
OMG I laughed SO hard my kids came in to see if I was OK......:eek:
Dr. Spike
07-10-2006, 01:14 AM
I noticed that the clorox commercial site has an expired domain, so...
I have the 3 pool pages in pdf (53k), as well as the original 44 page pdf covering all the sanitizing uses (461k), if anyone needs it.
I noticed that too.
I would like to see them, if it isn't too much trouble.
ChuckD
07-11-2006, 12:12 PM
I noticed that the clorox commercial site has an expired domain, so...
Here's an excerpt from the Clorox commercial service bulletin on Pool Sanitizing...
http://graphicartssolutions.com/image_pool/clorox_commercial.gif
I have the 3 pool pages in pdf (53k), as well as the original 44 page pdf covering all the sanitizing uses (461k), if anyone needs it.
And mysteriously it's returned. Maybe someone there reads the forum?
http://www.cloroxprofessional.com
About a month ago I decided to email Clorox using the on-line help email address listed on their website. In my email I said I heard that you could use Clorox bleach to chlorinate a pool and asked them if that was true. Within minutes I received an email giving me instructions on how to properly use bleach in small or large pool.
In the back of my mind I have always been a little worried about the "inerts" listed on the labels. I now have no concerns after recieving that email. Clorox would not send out something like that if there could be any liability in using their product in a pool.
I am out of town using my laptop tonight so I don't have access to the letter but I will post in a couple of days.
Best of luck
brent.roberts
07-12-2006, 04:30 PM
take a pool store tab and put it in a bucket of water with one of hubby's black socks.
A few hours later you will have to put in the other one so he has a pair of white socks. Don't leave them in too long or he won't have anything.
Just about any chlorine will bleach if you get the concentration up.