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Swimming pools require routine maintenance to ensure a safe swimming environment. One of the required maintenance procedures is a process known as shocking, or superchlorinating, the pool water.
Shocking the swimming pool is usually performed on a weekly basis, or more frequently depending on bathing load and outdoor temperatures. If there is a significant increase in pool use or hot temperatures, you may want to shock your pool more often. This will rid your pool of waste such as sweat, sun tan lotions, make up and bodily fluids.
Shocking the pool is also a way to eliminate bacteria and kill algae in the pool water. A mixture of chlorine and other chemicals are applied to the swimming pool water. The granular chemical shock treatments dissolve in the water, killing bacteria and algae in the process. The swimming pool's filtration system then cleans these microrganisms out of the water. -
When a shock treatment is used in the swimming pool water in conjunction with a water clarifier, even more debris will be removed, and quickly. A clarifier allows the bacteria and algae to clump together, making it easier to be caught by the filtration system, leaving your pool cleaner.
If a pool has a strong chlorine smell, it is time to shock the pool. When the chlorine is used up, and no longer effective, it begins to have an odor. Your level of "free chlorine" is low. It is then time to add new chlorine, by shocking the pool or adding chlorine tablets to the skimmer or other dispersion device. This will increase your levels of available chlorine. -
The most effective way to shock your pool to remove waste is to apply the chlorine shock treatment in the evening, when the sun is almost down. Since the sun can chemically break down the chlorine molecules, shocking your pool during sunny weather is less effective.
After you have applied the chemical shock treatment, and your filtration system has caught the waste, a backwash of your filter will remove the waste from your pool system. Turn off the power to the pool and set your filter to the backwash setting. Turn on the power, and allow your pool to wash out the filter and eject the waste and dirty water through an exit hose. Follow the backwash with a rinse cycle, and then resume the regular filtering process on the filter setting.
Comments
rmsandegs said
on 9/10/2009 You should shock your pool when the chloramine level gets 0.6 or higher, mostly for indoor pools. Get a good FAS-DPD Taylor test kit and test your pool for chloramines. If the reading is 0.0-0.6, you'll be fine. http://www.clean-pool-and-spa.com/swimming-pool-chlorine.html http://www.clean-pool-and-spa.com