Adventures in Pool Store Chemical Shopping

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ellemgee

0
Mar 30, 2015
59
Cleveland, Ohio
Stopped at the pool store today to pickup more CYA stabilizer and thought I'd ask about liquid chlorine to see how much it is even though I've been using generic grocery store bleach so far to raise my FC. The pool store girl showed me a gallon of "Liquid Shock" which was labelled as 12.5% Sodium Hypochlorite and which cost $5. She then suggested that it would be more cost effective to get a 16 oz. bag of Turbo Shock for $5 since that had 78% chlorine in it:

Amazon.com : Poolife TurboShock - 1 lb. : Swimming Pool Chlorine : Patio, Lawn Garden

Side note: I think the chemical it actually contains is Calcium Hypochlorite which I'm assuming is different. Also, not totally sure she is right about that being more cost effective since it seems like a different chemical and I was buying 128 oz. of liquid vs. 16 oz. of powder, but what do I know. I majored in English.

She also mentioned that I shouldn't use grocery store bleach in my pool water.

Me: Why not?
Girl: It has extra chemicals in it that can cloud your water.
Me: Like what?
Girl: I don't know. I just know that it does. This [the liquid chlorine] is made especially for pool water.
Me: Um, okay.

So, I got the liquid chlorine and now I'm wondering two things. First of all, pool store girl is off her rocker, right? Obviously, I'm not using lavender scented bleach so it's not actually gonna cloud my water. It's literally exactly the same chemical, correct? I mean, the liquid chlorine isn't made by magical pool fairies who sprinkle it with a special pool dust, right?

Also, maybe someone who is better at math can tell me the answer - which is the cheaper option?

121 oz of 8.25% sodium hypochlorite at $3 a bottle (labels says it yields 7.85% available chlorine if that matters)

OR

128 oz. of 12.5% sodium hypochlorite at $5 a bottle

Keep in mind that choosing the second answer as the more cost-effective option means seeing pool store girl and getting her helpful advice yet again (of course, it also means I will be spared the horror of cloudy water from my grocery store bleach).
 
Yeah, the girl did not really know what she was talking about. The bleach and liquid chlorine are the same as you surmised.

Comparing sources of chlorine you can use this tool: Liquid Chlorine Cost Calculator which is really just: Price / (% * bottle size)

Your 8.25% is slightly cheaper.

- - - Updated - - -

As far as comparing the liquid chlorine and the 78% cal-hypo, using PoolMath:
The Gallon of 12.5% would add 9.3ppm of FC and 15ppm of salt to your pool
73% cal-hypo would add 6.4ppm of FC, 6.5ppm of salt and 4.5ppm of CH

So the liquid gives you more FC and no CH which you did not want anyway.
 
The "splashless" formulations of household bleach contain a number of additives which would probably not be ideal for pool use but it's also much more expensive than plain vanilla bleach, so it's less appealing from the start. Otherwise, bleach is bleach.
 
jblizzle said:
Yeah, the girl did not really know what she was talking about. The bleach and liquid chlorine are the same as you surmised.

Comparing sources of chlorine you can use this tool: Liquid Chlorine Cost Calculator which is really just: Price / (% * bottle size)

Your 8.25% is slightly cheaper.

- - - Updated - - -

As far as comparing the liquid chlorine and the 78% cal-hypo, using PoolMath:
The Gallon of 12.5% would add 9.3ppm of FC and 15ppm of salt to your pool
73% cal-hypo would add 6.4ppm of FC, 6.5ppm of salt and 4.5ppm of CH

So the liquid gives you more FC and no CH which you did not want anyway.
Click to expand...

I agree with the FC analysis of liquid chlorine versus cal-hypo. But, if you factor in the weight and size of the container (or chemical), then the cal-hypo is certainly more potent and easier to store. As well, cal-hypo, when properly stored, can last for years whereas liquid chlorine degrades in weeks to months.

So, if you live in an area of the country with short swim seasons and high annual rainfall totals (i.e., lots of fresh water exchange), then cal-hypo can be a much more cost effective option especially when it goes on sale at the end of the season.

Just sayin' is all...


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Thanks, everyone for the helpful links for figuring out the math on these things (I definitely couldn't do it in my head on the spot as she talked). I'm guessing she meant well, too, and was told those things by her bosses to sell more chemicals. I worked in retail for many years so I'm sure I said many of the same things about the stuff I sold without realizing it!

It is frustrating because I'm just starting out and know nothing about this pool stuff, so, if I hadn't discovered this forum I would have been inclined to believe whatever she said. I probably would have just bought whatever she recommended thinking she was the expert and she must know what she was talking about!

This isn't the first time I've gotten questionable chemical advice at this pool store (I know I should stop going there, but it's literally five minutes from my house and they do have reasonable prices, so it's more convenient to research before I go and then only buy exactly what I need once there and just ignore their advice). I just thought her answer of "I don't know... but the bleach will just make your water cloudy somehow" was just kind of funny. Thanks all!
 
Welp, if you like this site and you get good results following our methods this season, please consider becoming a paid supporter of TFP :) It's a tax-deductible contribution that brings you some benefits (coupons at TFTestKits and Inyo Pools) and helps us keep the lights on for other "lost pool souls" to find us...


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basod said:
I honestly witnessed 4-5 folks get "pool-stored" today while buying a new spider gasket.
kind of want to interject on their advice but that's keeps folks employed there.
Click to expand...

Wait outside and hand them a TFP business card.

I once witnessed a couple being told that their green swamp had water that "went bad" and there was no way to fix it. They were told to drain their 20k gallon pool in the middle of the AZ summer which, technically should never be done due to heat induced plaster cracking so the guy basically told them their pool was done for the summer. I heard them say they couldn't even do it if they wanted to because they couldn't afford to stress their well that much and trucked water would be too expensive. They walked away from the counter dejected. I followed them outside the store and told them to look up TFP and that their water was not "bad" and could be fixed. They thanked me. I don't know if they ever came onto the site, but my hope is that they did.


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JoyfulNoise said:
Welp, if you like this site and you get good results following our methods this season, please consider becoming a paid supporter of TFP :) It's a tax-deductible contribution that brings you some benefits (coupons at TFTestKits and Inyo Pools) and helps us keep the lights on for other "lost pool souls" to find us...
Click to expand...

I will! Still trying to get the pool SLAMed properly and opened for business, but this site has been my lifeline so far!
 
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