What can I do with old pool chlorine and chemicals?

What can I do with old pool chlorine and chemicals?

This topic comes up frequently, most often with respect to pool owners who discover, just after making a large purchase of trichlor or dichlor, that their CYA level is very high and probably should be lower. Occasionally, unopened containers can be returned, but usually this is not an option.

[If you want to see how to handle a specific chemical, without reading the whole page, jump to the bottom, and scan for the chemical you're concerned with.]

The first thing that comes to many people's mind -- tossing them in the trash -- is not a good option, and is often illegal.

** Do NOT dispose of chlorine chemicals or strong acids in the garbage, EVER! Dangerous reactions, including fires, with other chemicals or garbage are likely. And, in most places, putting them in the garbage is illegal. You probably won't get caught, but if you do, the potential fines are VERY LARGE.**

So what can you do with unwanted pool chemicals?

1. You can give them away to a friend who can use them in their pool.

2. You use them in your pool.

3. You can use them around your house.

4. You can store them you do need them.

5. You can hire a HazMat company to take them away.


Many pool chemicals can be stored indefinitely and safely, *so long as they are kept dry and out of the sun*. Borax, soda ash, stabilizer, polyquat, calcium chloride all keep indefinitely.

Other chemicals can't be stored, and should be used up by the end of the season. The two most common chemicals of this type are bleach -- which breaks down -- and muriatic acid which tends to emit fumes that damage metal and wiring when stored.


=======================================

Recommendations for specific chemicals:

Borax:
(AKA Optimizer, and many other names.)
Save it, or use it as part of a disposal plan for muriatic acid.

Baking soda:
(AKA sodium bicarbonate, sodium hydrogen carbonate, Balance Pak 100, Alk Up, Alkalinity Increaser, etc.)
Save it; use it to clean your refrigerator or similar items, use it to cut grease when washing pots and pans, or in the laundry with greasy clothes.

Calcium chloride:
(AKA Calcium increaser, Hardness Increaser, Balance Pak 300, many trade names.)
Calcium chloride can be stored indefinitely . . . IF you can keep it dry. But if it's not kept completely dry, it will absorb moisture until it becomes a thick liquid. When moist, it's corrosive to metals and will make cuts burn like crazy. If you're in an arid climate, storing it may not be a problem, but if you're in S. Florida or Louisiana . . . double bag it in tightly sealed garbage bags.

But if you are in a cold climate, you can use it up quite easily, as it's the primary ingredient in many ice melting compounds.

Cal hypo
(AKA calcium hypochlorite, CCH, HTH, granular chlorine, many trade names)
Calcium hypochlorite doesn't store well, unless it's sealed in air tight bags. Try to avoid keeping it over the winter. If you must keep it, double bag it in closed garbage bags, and open it ONLY outdoors in a well ventilated spot. S-) There aren't many practical uses for it, outside of pools.

Cyanuric acid
(AKA stabilizer, CYA, isocyanuric acid, conditioner (in Calif), various trade names)
Cyanuric acid can be stored indefinitely. It's not particularly toxic or corrosive, and doesn't emit any gases. There aren't any uses for it, outside of pools.

Dichlor
(AKA sodium dichlorisocyanurate, many trade names)
Dichlor keeps fairly well if not damp. However it needs to be stored securely, and where any fumes will not damage wiring, tools, or other metals. Putting it inside a tied poly garbage bag helps. After long storage, it should ONLY be opened outside, in a well ventilated area. It can also be used around the house to make a chlorine cleaning solution. Dissolve 1 pound into 3 gallons of water to make a solution equivalent to weak bleach. With a teaspoon of added laundry bleach, this makes an excellent solution for removing mildew and algae from sidewalks and roofing. Rinse roofing and other surfaces after use.

Another option is to use it in your pool, and simply follow the HiC2 method (high CYA, high chlorine) ( http://pool9.net/hic2 ) . This method is appropriate if your CYA is at 200 ppm or less.

Muriatic acid
(AKA MA, hydrochloric acid.)
MA is something of a challenge to dispose of -- you can NOT simply pour it out, put it in the garbage, or pour it down the drain. If you can't use it, there are 3 options I can think of: give it away, neutralize it, or dilute it.

Giving it away so someone else can use it, is your best option. Another pool owner may need it, or you could give it to a brick mason or concrete finisher. You can also dilute it, and then dispose of it over time. If you dilute it 5:1 (31% down to 5%), you can safely flush 2 - 4 cups of the 5% acid, each time you flush. Or, you can neutralize it using borax 2:1 -- eg, 2 cups of borax for 1 cup of muriatic. Do NOT try to neutralize it with baking soda or soda ash; it will FOAM furiously, and spread acid everywhere! Once it's neutralized, you can flush it over time (NOT all at once) OR use the resulting boric acid mixture as a mild herbicide or wood preservative. (Adding a bit of detergent, and then spraying it on unpainted wood surfaces inhibits fungal growth and rot, and if it penetrates, inhibits termites.)

Polyquat
(AKA non-foaming algaecide, 60% algaecide, many trade names.)
Polyquat is one of the safest pool chemicals, and keeps indefinitely. Store it, and then use it before you go on vacation, or to help winterize your pool.

Soda ash
(AKA washing soda, sodium bicarbonate, pH UP, pH Increaser, Balance Pak 200, many trade names)
Soda ash keeps indefinitely, if kept dry. It's also great if you are washing some greasy clothes or rags in the washer.

Trichlor
(AKA trichlori-isocyanuric acid, many trade names)
Trichor can be difficult to store. It's best to use it the same season in which it's purchased. If you've ever bought a bucket of trichlor that had been 'inventoried' over the winter . . . you already know some of the reasons why. When trichlor becomes the slightest bit damp -- and all it takes is allowing humid pool-side air into the bucket -- it begins to slowly break down and release fumes. As long as the bucket is regularly opened and used, these fumes don't become a problem. But once you close the bucket and keep it close for awhile, the problems begin. These fumes are noxious to people, damaging to both plastics and metals, and eventually, even slightly explosive. S-)

There are really no alternative uses for trichor. A few people have tried to use them in their toilent tanks, as a toilet sanitizer, but the result is usually damaged gaskets and flappers.

Unopened trichlor containers, and bagged trichlor pucks, can usually be kept one winter without problems. As with dichlor, store the container inside a closed garbage bag, and open it outside in a well ventilated area.

If at all possible, do NOT store opened containers of unbagged trichlor: use them up instead. If necessary, follow the HiC2 method (high CYA, high chlorine) ( http://pool9.net/hic2 )

If you encounter stored trichlor, open it very cautiously. FIRST, get a broom or rake or other long handle and WHACK the side of the container with the handle, while turning your head away. Small amounts of nitrogen trichloride can build up on the interior of the container, and explode when you move or open the container. While not a powerful explosion (usually more of a big POP!), it can be very unpleasant to be hit in the face with a container lid and get a snoot full of noxious gases. :eek: THEN, carry it outside, in a well ventilated area, open the container, and then back away. WAIT 10 minutes for any accumulated gases to dissipate before attempting to remove any tabs.

=======================================