Question about chloramines (combined chlorine)

[Unior]

So I just read this article trying to understand more about combined chlorine. Poolcenter

It seems like a good article and answered some of my questions. It states that super chlorinating, shocking a pool breaks the chemical bonds between the chlorine & ammonia/nitrogen in the water eliminating CC (for awhile). Does this process remove the nitrogen and ammonia though? Or is it still in the water ready to recombine and make more CC?

I have a small 10' x 30" heavily used pool. With a 3 year old that probably pees in the pool. According to my cheapo test kit I had 2-3 ppm CC in the pool this morning. I just shocked it with 13 oz of 10% bleach. Pool holds roughly 1000 gallons.

On a side note I'm having fun learning to take care of the pool and my toddler absolutely loves it. The filter is a little too small IMO but I get most of the crud out with my kids butterfly net lol. I can vacuum dirt off the floor with a siphon started in a garden hose. Also picked up an intex solar heater mat for $16 at walmart and hooked it to an auxillary pond pump. If the water is too cold I can drain 50 gallons and fill it back up with hot water from my laundry hookup and raise the temp 4 degrees in about 10 minutes. My wife said we are pool junkies now. Better than meth junkies lol.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Welcome

Please add your pool and equipment info to your signature as it helps us to understand your pool needs better.

To answer your question directly - chlorine will react with ammonia and nitrogen containing chemicals and form chloramines (monochloramine, dichloramine and nitrogen trichloride). These chemicals are highly volatile and will react strongly to UV light from the sun. They leave your pool through a combination of outgassing from the pool water and chemical oxidation, or breakdown, into nitrates. The nitrogen compounds that outgas, leave the water. But some small fraction eventually turn into either nitrogen gas (leaves the pool water) or nitrates which stay in the water but are mostly harmless as they never reach levels that are concerning. It would be best to not let the little one pee in the pool but it happens. Urine contains urea (and other stuff too) which gets converted to chlorourea and takes a long time to break down into nitrates or volatile CCs. In the process, it uses up a lot of chlorine - 1 cup of urine is approximately equivalent to 6 person-hours of bather waste (six people sitting in your pool and sweating for an hour). So, if at all possible, try to limit the peeing from the kids.

Please stick around our site and read about our methodology of pool care. Because you have a small pool, we have a specific article in our Pool School for how to take care of seasonal/temporary pools with only a minimal investment in pool water testing kit. Speaking of test kits, if you can, consider buying the test kits we recommend. There is one from TFTestKits.net and ones from Taylor Technologies you can find on Amazon. They are both excellent test kits and, while they might seem pricey compared to the cheap kits you find in Walmart, they allow you to understand your pool water in ways better than the pool store can do. Think of it as an investment in your pool and your kids safety and health. TFP is very big on helping pool owners have clean, sanitary and healthy pools. While many other sites will focus on just getting you a clear pool to swim in, we teach people how to truly make their pools both clear AND CLEAN and keep them that way with the least amount of cost involved.

Good luck,

Matt

 

[Unior]

Thanks for your response.

I'm really not sure if she has peed in it or not. I take her potty everytime before swimming. I've just got such a small pool it seems the water can head south real fast. It is cheap though! And for 10 bucks I can completely refill it with cold water....