Clarifier good or bad

[John55]

Pool clarifier? Good bad or simply not necessary.

I poured a bottle in for the first time and it added a shimmer and clearness of crystal.

Thoughts?

 

[banditig]

The blue clarifier? The kind I have seen sold (maybe Lowes) is ment to make the debris in the water sink to the bottom so it easier to vacume up. I will not purchase again.

 

[JohnT]

Probably "None of the above" or even "All of the above".

Like anything else, clarifier is a tool to accomplish something with your water. Most of the time you can get that same shimmer from proper chemistry. Routine clarifier use can cause filter problems, so in that case it isn't necessary. People are often tempted to use clarifier as a Band-Aid, and in that case it is bad because it can mask the symptoms of other problems and is a waste of money. In the case where the chemistry is good, the filter is working and there are no other issues, occasionally a pool owner may need to hurry along the process of clearing the water for a party or event and a rare dose of clarifier in that instance is okay.

 

[John55]

Copy that. It is a blue substance. Product by in the swim. Worked wonders with blue as can blue water clarity.

I guess I'll use it sparingly if at all.

Just amazed that it did wonders to my water.

 

[pikeman]

Last year my DE filter broke and a bunch of stuff got put back in the pool. I had it fixed but the water looked pretty terrible. I added some clarifier during the nonstop run while periodically vacuuming. I was back to normal in about three days. I used the "Back to Blue " stuff, a neighbor gave me some.

 

[Noah_Count]

I have used it after my water was already cleared by the SLAM process. It doesn't take much, only about an ounce or two for my 7000 gallon AGP. It did make my water even clearer and gave it a "polished look". That's the only way I'd use it though. I would not use it to try and clear murky water.

 

[duraleigh]

Pool clarifier? Good bad or simply not necessary.

Probably "None of the above" or even "All of the above".

Like anything else, clarifier is a tool to accomplish something with your water. Most of the time you can get that same shimmer from proper chemistry. Routine clarifier use can cause filter problems, so in that case it isn't necessary. People are often tempted to use clarifier as a Band-Aid, and in that case it is bad because it can mask the symptoms of other problems and is a waste of money. In the case where the chemistry is good, the filter is working and there are no other issues, occasionally a pool owner may need to hurry along the process of clearing the water for a party or event and a rare dose of clarifier in that instance is okay.

JohnT's post is worth repeating. Sometimes, clarifier can be quite helpful but it can also be a setback to use it, too. Generally, the experience we see on the forum is it just isn't necessary and can cause some problems in some cases. I would not use it.