Vacuum Pool Cleaner

Bleach and ‘Pool chlorinating liquid’ are both solutions of Sodium Hypochlorite in water. Laundry bleach is usually 6%, but the manufacturer may not indicate the concentration and in that case can use any concentration they desire. It also may contain additives (scents).

Pool chlorine is 10%, is usually marked, and won’t have additives. Sodium hypchlorite solutions loose chlorine with time. When choosing which to use, balance cost per pound of chlorine vs the labor of lugging 67% more water home vs the age of the product. Bluntly, paying $5.00 per gallon for bleach that has been sitting on the shelf just so you can follow the ‘BBB’ mantra doesn’t make sense; neither does buying last years pool chlorinating liquid at $6.00 a box.

As an aside, sodium hypochlorite is alkaline (basic in chemical terms) and no matter which form you buy will raise the pH of the pool, which must be lowered with ‘pool acid’, muriatic acid, (hydrochloric acid in chemical terms). While chlorinating liquid bought at the big box home improvement store, the grocery store, or a pool store is the same strength, the strength of pool acid varies. Locally I can buy 14.5% ‘pool acid’ from the home improvement store for $11.55 a box; 29% pool acid from the pool store for $9.50 a box.

Maintaining the proper pH is important. The effectiveness of chlorine depends on it.

As far as the rest of the products, there is room for debate. A quick description may help. Green pools are caused by growth of algae. Algae are chlorine resistant, and require 5 things to grow. Sunlight, water, the proper temperature, nitrates, and phosphates. Sunlight and water are always going to be present; nitrates are a product of lightning. Cooling your pool to 40° isn’t practical, nor is heating it hot enough to kill the algae. Maintaining a low phosphate level is the only way to prevent algae growth.

The two sources of phosphates are decaying vegetable matter, and fertilizer. Once in the pool the only ways to remove phosphates are by allowing the algae to bloom, then filtering the algae from the pool, or a product called Phos-Free. Phos-Free works, but is expensive. I find it more effective to diligently keep vegetable matter (leaves) out of the pool.

The common algaecides have three effects. The somewhat inhibit the growth of algae, they cna cause a film on the tiles if the pH is not correct, and they provide a major boost to the pool store’s bottom line.

Clarifier is another favorite product of pool stores. It causes the dead algae to rapidly for clumps which will coat the surface of the filter media. This necessitates early replacement of the media in a sand filter, another enhancement to the bottom line of the pool store.

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