Shock and clarity. How does it work?

[bri3180]

Generally, how does shocking a pool clear the water? When you have small particles that are suspended in the water, what does the chlorine accomplish that the filters do not? Thank you.

[waterbear]

It really depends on the cause of the cloudiness. MOST cases of cloudy pool water are caused by nascent free swimming algae growth. The high chlorine levels kill the algae and oxidize (burn off) much of the organic matter. The filter does the rest. If you do not kill the algae and try to rely on fitering it out you will lose since it will grow faster than you can filter it and your pool will turn green as the algae continues to grow.

There are other things that can cause cloudy water but they are not as common and some can be cleared by making changes to water balance parameters (such as pH) to chemically interact with what is causing the cloudiness.

[bri3180]

Thank you waterbear. This may be a broad question but can you shock a pool daily till it clears up?

[Watermom]

You have to have water testing results to know what is needed. You can't just randomly shock a pool. It's all about knowing the numbers!

[chem geek]

See Ben's 100 Reasons for Cloudy Swimming Pool Water.