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Shock Dosage Advice for Swimming Pool Owners
Shock dosing your swimming pool is an important part of maintaining a clean and safe pool. It will ensure a clean, healthy swimming pool by preventing and eradicating issues such as bacteria and algae growth.
Whether you’ve recently acquired a swimming pool or you have owned one for a while, it’s important to understand how and why you should shock dose your pool.
To shock dose your pool, you can find swimming pool chemicals such as swimming pool chlorine here at 1st Direct Pools! We offer a great selection to help you maintain clean, clear water.
Shock dosing your swimming pool involves adding large quantities of sanitising chemicals, such as chlorine, to your pool. These quantities can reach as high as ten times the normal dose.
The short term rise in chlorine will help break down any organic waste such as bacteria and other contaminants such as algae, slime and loss of water clarity or quality.
For more information, take a look at our guide to swimming pool shock treatments.
Using pool shock treatment should be part of any pool owner's usual cleaning routine. It is highly recommended to shock dose your pool when:
If the pool is heavily used it’s highly recommended to shock dose your pool every week. If you do not regularly use your pool then shock dosing at least once every two weeks will maintain a healthy water environment.
Pool owners should ensure they have a maintenance schedule, this will help to regulate the cleanliness and correct chemical levels of their pool. Regularly testing your pool may also reduce the amount of shock dosing necessary to maintain a clean, healthy pool.
Here are a collection of pool symptoms that will indicate your pool will require immediate shock dosing.
There is only one factor that will cause a green pool, and it is algae. You will be able to determine how severe this issue is by the shade of green.
If the pool water is a light shade of green this will indicate that the algae is a fairly new addition to your pool. If the shade of green is darker than you will have a much bigger problem to tackle.
Algae will mainly develop due to the sanitiser level being too low. It’s fundamental to maintain a regular pool cleaning and testing schedule to avoid these issues. A water testing schedule will enable you to maintain balanced water in regards to your pool water chemistry.
There are various reasons as to why algae will have developed in your pool. This can be due to a lack of maintenance in regards to the chlorine or bromine levels, inefficient chlorine or an ineffective circulation or filtration system.
Outdoor pools require a reading of 3-5ppm. If a swimming pools chlorine or bromine levels are not maintained and tested regularly this can entail insufficient sanitisation, leading to bacteria and algae growth.
A solution to this particular issue is to shock dose the pool. We recommend considering the use of chlorine tablets or a chemical dispenser. Chemical dispensers will help to ensure a constant supply of chlorine.
Chlorine can be deemed ineffective due to either over-stabilisation, also known as chlorine lock, or a pH level that is too high. When a pH level reads 7.2, chlorine is 66% effective, but with a pH level of 7.8 the chlorine will only be 22% effective.
To redeem this you will need to remove the stabiliser chemical from the pool, which is, in this case, is the chlorine.
To remove the algae and clean your pool you will need to:
This issue can result in some of the water not being properly treated. It’s important to understand why the circulation or filtration is inefficiently working as there are various ways to resolve this, such as:
Cloudy pool water is an important symptom to treat as it can be a breeding ground for dangerous bacteria, it can also damage your pool and circulation system.
It is important to be aware of any signs of cloudy water as it can quickly escalate, it can even appear overnight. This can be due to any issues with the sanitising chemicals, the pool's circulation system, the pool's water chemistry and algae.
Sanitiser chemicals such as chlorine or bromine will help to kill any bacteria found in your pool. They play an important role in maintaining a clean, healthy swimming environment.
Natural debris such as leaves and other solids that enter your pool such as sweat, sunscreen, urine, algae and beauty products will deplete the chlorine levels.
When these are introduced to the pool without being removed, the sanitiser chemical will attempt to break it down, which will ineffectively use up the majority of your said chemicals.
The filtration system needs to remove these solids as sanitisers aren’t intended to dissolve solids such as leaves. A working filtration and circulatory system will help support your sanitiser chemicals break down any bacteria in the pool.
The leading cause of cloudy water is due to pool's circulation systems. When running your filtration system for eight hours a day you should see minimal debris.
Circulation system can age or becomes damaged due to unbalanced chemicals. When this happens the filter will be unable to remove contaminants as well as it should, resulting in cloudy water.
Cloudy water can be caused by clogged filters, a dying pump or not running the filtration system for eight hours a day.
To get your pool water back to top quality you will need to deep clean your pool and shock dose the water. Here are some simple instructions to help:
If the pool has been closed for a season or out of use for a while, the water may appear clean and clear, for this circumstance, it’s important to shock dose, test and then balance the pool water to ensure it is safe to use.
Approximate amount of chlorine to give 6ppm and 10ppm
When shock dosing the stabilised chlorine granules should be dissolved in warm water before being dispersed around the pool. Ensure the pump is circulating so the chlorine is evenly distributed around the pool. Concentrated quantities of chlorine will cause the liner to bleach.