Pool Chlorine Levels: The Importance of Getting It Right

As swimmers, we all hate the smell of chlorine and the way it makes our skin feel after a long swim. But as pool owners, we understand the essential role chlorine plays in keeping our pool water clean and healthy. Getting the chlorine levels right in your pool is important- too much causes unpleasant side effects for swimmers, while not enough makes forunsanitary pool water. 

Why We Use Chlorine

Chlorine is used to sanitize and disinfect the pool water by releasing free chlorine to control germs, microorganisms and algae. There are several chemicals that sanitize water effectively, but we use chlorine in pool water because it’s easy to apply, readily available, and more affordable.

How Much Is Enough?

Your pool’s free chlorine reading should be between 1 and 2 ppm each time you check, which should be daily because of how often that level can fluctuate. Getting the chlorine level right can be a challenge, even for professional pool operators, because so many factors affect the chemistry of pool water. Water evaporation in hot weather, high swimmer load, water splash out, and rain can all change our water chemistry, making it a challenge to maintain the proper levels of chlorine.

Getting It Right

Traditionally, chlorine has been applied to pool water manually with chlorine tablets added straight into the pool water by placing them in the skimmer basket or a floater dispenser. (Remember those floating chlorine ducks that your mother insisted you never play with?) Chlorine tablets in skimmer baskets create corrosive conditions when the pool pump is not running, which can cause premature aging of your skimmer and basket, can damage your system, and can cause copper staining. These direct dosing methods may be just right when water conditions are ideal, but when water levels drop or the water is very warm and dissolves the tablets faster, the chlorine levels can get too high, irritating skin and eyes and sometimes even forming a cloud of chlorine gas that hovers over the water, irritating airways of swimmers that breathe it in.

We Recommend a Chlorinator that is Safer and More Precise

We’ve found the QuikDekClor from A&A Manufacturing to be the best chlorinator option. By releasing diluted chlorine into the water, it removes the risk of highly concentrated, corrosive water damaging your pool system, staining your surface and harming your swimmers. The QuikDekClor is easy to install and makes chlorinating safe and easy. It is installed flush into your pool deck for easy access, and is large enough to accommodate several large “vacation” sized chlorine tablets so you don’t have to check it as often. You can go away for longer periods without worrying about finding someone to chlorinate your pool while you’re away. The QuikDekClor also allows you to easily adjust your chlorine levels to suit your pool’s changing conditions. It’s an excellent investment for pool owners who don’t want the hassle of frequent chlorinating and who want to extend the life of their pool system. It’s also a great option for pools that use ozone to sanitize but still need occasional chlorine.