There are some pool owners who have the same question, and that is when or how often should I shock my pool. The answer is simple, you should shock your pool whenever your pool gets dirty. If your pool is filling up with algae and other bacteria’s, your pool water will turn different colors, such as green, black or even turn cloudy. There are different treatments to undergo when trying to successfully clean your swimming pool. By shocking your pool, you are getting rid of all the bacteria and possible algae growth. Treatment comes with a price, the more you shock your pool the longer you have to wait to actually swim in it.
What does Pool Shock do?
Pool shock is sold two different ways, there is a pool shock that contains chlorine and one that does not contain chlorine. Both are cleaning agents to help your swimming pool. The most commonly used pool shock is the one that contains chlorine. The reason your pool gets dirty is because the chlorine balance is uneven and there are not enough chlorine chemicals to fight of the bacteria or contaminants. If you keep your chlorine chemicals balanced in the pool you’re more likely to not need to shock your pool. Shocking your pool is only needed when your swimming pool gets dirty and you can see the swimming pool changing colors.
There are different types of chlorine in your swimming pool, and that can be a difficult thing to understand. There is free chlorine and total chlorine. Free chlorine is the chlorine that you test for when you’re checking the balance of the chemicals in your swimming pool. It is the chlorine that hasn’t attacked any bacteria or algae that could be invading your swimming pool. The total chlorine is the chlorine that has already attacked contaminants in your swimming pool to destroy them. There has to be a balance of these two chemicals, so your swimming doesn’t become dirty.
Types of Pool Shock
When you shock your pool you should understand what the right type of pool shock you should be putting into your pool. There is a chlorine pool shock, which helps you raise your chlorine levels, that way it can fight off bacteria properly. The chlorine pool shock also has a time limit on it, so you will not be able to go swimming for 8 hours or more. You have to wait until the chlorine is completely dissolved to start swimming again.
The non-chlorine pool shock is good for when you want to shock your pool, but only to create total chlorine and not new chlorine. There is no chlorine in this type of pool shock, that is why it won’t completely get rid of the contaminants, but it will clean your pool for the time being. This pool shock also doesn’t have a long wait time. On the packet it should say to wait about 15-20 minutes before you can start swimming again.
