Chlorine Pool Service and Chemicals
Chlorine pools generally use far more chemicals month-to-month than saltwater pools. Chlorine pools require a sanitizer (we use liquid chlorine) to be added regularly to the water in order to remain clean and sanitary. Chlorine is removed from the water in a few ways:
It is consumed by organic materials and bacteria as it sanitizes the pool
It is burned off by the sunlight (UV rays)
It is lost by water evaporating from the pool (heat)
As chlorine is removed, it must be replaced to ensure ongoing clean and healthy water. Here at Clean Wave Pool service we use liquid chlorine as the primary method of adding chlorine to your pool. Liquid chlorine is safe to use and transport, fast acting, contains no other unwanted active ingredients, and is very cost efficient. Other granular based methods of adding chlorine to your water contain chemicals like cyanuric acid/CYA (see below) or calcium that are added to your water on each dosing and can eventually cause unwanted side-effects in your pool water and equipment.
All of our ongoing pool service and maintenance packages will monitor and dose your chlorine pool with the following chemicals on a regular basis:
Chlorine is the primary sanitizer in your pool water, responsible for keeping your water safe and free of germs. Maintaining an appropriate free chlorine (FC) level is the most important part of keeping you water in balance. The level of FC you need to maintain depends on your CYA level and more. We generally try to target 10-12.5% of your CYA during swim season or a minimum of 5-6ppm.
Primarily responsible for lowering the pH of your pool water (and alkalinity (TA) to a lesser degree). A low pH will lead to swimmer discomfort (stinging eyes, itchy/irritated skin) and can be harmful to certain pool equipment (metal parts, particularly copper heat exchange coils in a heater). High pH can lead to calcium scaling, cloudy water, and lowers the sanitizing ability of chlorine and other sanitizers. Many pools tend to see pH constantly drift upward naturally due to aeration (splashing, water features, salt generators, rain, etc.) and other environmental factors.
Often referred to as stabilizer or conditioner, its primary role is to protect/keep the chlorine in your pool from being burned off by the sun quickly/easily. At the same time, it also lowers the effective strength of the chlorine in your pool (by essentially holding much of the chlorine in reserve under protection). The higher the CYA levels in your pool, the more chlorine you need to get the same sanitizing effect. CYA also never leaves your water (unless the water itself is displaced). For these reasons, CYA should be kept at reasonable levels in your pool water - high enough to help extend your chlorine life and decrease your costs, but not so high that it inhibits chlorine from doing it's job (or requires significantly more chlorine to do the same job). We target between 30-90ppm of CYA depending on your pool type, usage, and more.
Liquid Chlorine
$9.65/gallon
Muriatic Acid
$15.00/gallon
Polyquat 60 Algaecide
$0.62/ounce
Cyanuric Acid (CYA)
$4.25/pound
Pool Salt
$0.67/pound
Boric Acid
$3.50/pound
Borax
$1.81/pound
Aluminum Sulfate
$5.95/pound