Chlorine shelf life / expiration

[JuYuHu]

Hello, our new pool is 2+ weeks old. I just ditched our chlorine tabs for liquid chlorine.

I've purchased three jugs from Home Depot and Walmart so far and am wondering how long they would stay effective? How much do you all keep on hand at one time?

Thanks!

 

[Texas Splash]

I generally only buy bleach that I know I will use in the next week or two. It will last a good while in cool-indoor conditions, but bleach does begin to loose its strength. FYI - The Wal-Mart regular laundry bleach (Great Value) is fine, and I see Wal-Mart is also stocking their "Pool Essentials" in the outdoor section. HEB also has their regular "Bravo" bleach for $2.94 per gallon. Make sure to look for the Julian date of manufacture on any bottles you buy. For example, you may see "17-030" printed on the bottle. That would mean it was bottled 2017 - 030 day (Jan 30th). So try to get something close to our current date, or within 2-3 weeks anyways. Today (March 11) would be something like "17-070".

 

[JuYuHu]

Ok, I didn't know about the Julian date, thnx for the tip! I'll have to get a feel for how much chlorine I need each week. I've used half a jug earlier this week but it's stayed in range so far. I will not buy any more for now then.

 

[ErniesPool]

Ok, I didn't know about the Julian date, thnx for the tip! I'll have to get a feel for how much chlorine I need each week. I've used half a jug earlier this week but it's stayed in range so far. I will not buy any more for now then.

Just reading this thread. Beware of some dealers. I just mistakenly bought a couple of cases at Home Depot and found it was over a year old and had been stored all last summer in the Dallas heat. Sure enough, it didn't add much chlorine to my pool. I paid good money for mostly water.

Be careful of the date, especially since the higher the strength of the chlorine the faster it weakens with time (see previous posts on TFP Forum).

 

[cjpwalker]

I'm still using Walmart pool essentials (10%) that was made in January - no issues, and still getting predictable results based on pool math. I keep them in the dark (in the box that the 2-pack gallons come in), nothing else special.