Chlorine Lock ?

[mjsboone]

Is all this bleach hurting my liner? Also, if I am seeing the pool look clearer this morning, it does not mean that things are improving? I will add the 2 gallons of bleach now although I am cringing. I have got to hang in there and get this problem solved! Thanks for your guidance-again.

[Watermom]

If you have no chlorine in the pool, the pool will turn green. Plain and simple. And, it doesn't take long before algae starts.

Bleach is 8.25% sodium hypochlorite. Pool stores also sell liquid chlorine. It is either 10 or 12.5% sodium hypochlorite. The same stuff only more concentrated. People do not hesitate to add pool store chlorine but when they hear the word 'bleach,' they get scared. If you wouldn't be afraid to add pool store chlorine, then you shouldn't be afraid to add bleach. (In all the years I have had a pool, I have never used anything but bleach for my source of chlorine.)

Those gallons of bleach aren't actually gallons but rather they are 121-oz jugs. In a 23K pool, adding two of those jugs is only going to take your chlorine level up to a little less than 7ppm which is not all that high. Nothing to worry about at all.

Test the water again this evening and repost with the numbers. It is likely that you will need to add more bleach this evening as well. And, go ahead and order a good kit ASAP using the link Ben gave you so you'll get it as soon as possible.

[PoolDoc]

It's very unlikely that you'll be able to buy a K2006 locally. I've encountered exactly one case of a pool store stocking that kit . . . and hundreds that don't. It's hard for pool stores to get excited about a test kit that is, fundamentally, designed to put them out of business.

Please go ahead and order one. You're going to end up in real trouble without it.

[mjsboone]

Good evening! Just tested the pool with a new basic testing kit (have to order the "good" one). And here are my numbers after putting in 2 gallons bleach last night and 2 two more this morning. Chlorine is almost non existent at the 0.6-1.2 and ph is 7.6. We added 2 more gallons after the water was tested. I will test again in the morning to see where it's at. Any other suggestions at this point?

[Watermom]

Test it again an hour after you added the bleach and report the chlorine reading. Don't need to test pH again.

[mjsboone]

Test results one hour after adding 2 gallons bleach: chlorine 1.5-3

[PoolDoc]

2. Keep adding 2 gallons of PLAIN 8% bleach EVERY night till this is resolved. (Doing so will GREATLY reduce the risk of you developing a swamp in your back yard!)

Unless your water looks bad, I wouldn't worry about adding in the AM. I'm guessing your stabilizer is low, but we won't know till you have a kit.

What would be interesting is to add 2 (or 4) gallons at night, and then test in the AM BEFORE the sun starts hitting the pool. Again, once you have the K2006, we'll be able to tell more.

[mjsboone]

It will be a week before we are able to get the more extensive testing kit. My question now is, do we keep adding the bleach every night and for how long? Would this be the routine from this point forward or at some point do you just add the bleach on a maintainance schedule? The water is clearing nicely, but we see slight algea by the ladder and a little in the shaded corner of the pool.

[CarlD]

Just keep doing what you are doing. WM and PD know best. I'm surprised there isn't a WalMart near you with the HTH 6-way drop test kit. That's the best thing short of the Taylor K-2006.

WaterMom uses bleach in her pool. I use Liquid Chlorine in mine. Same thing, but there is ONE store that sells LC in 5 gallon carboys that turns it over so fast their stuff tests out at 14% though they nominally sell it as 12.5%. What's the difference between that and 8.25% chlorine bleach? Only in the amount of chlorine added to your pool.

If your pool was 10,000 gallons, one jug (121 ounces) of 8.25% bleach will add 7.8ppm of chlorine. But if you add 1 gallon of 12.5% LC, it will add 12.5ppm of chlorine. (you need twice as much of each to get the same addition of chlorine in a 20,000 gallon pool). That's the only difference between bleach and LC.

As for bleaching your liner, you need to really raise your chlorine level very high before you do that--and EVERY kind of chlorine can do it regardless of the source.
Generally, if you "shock" your pool to the recommended level based on your stabilizer (aka CYA) level, you have NO fear of bleaching your liner. However, over the years, the sun WILL fade it anyway. Personally, it's not a big concern of mine as long as it's not weakened. But that's me.