Chlorine and color plaster

[KENNYGTFP]

My pools plaster is about 4 months old. It alraedy went through its start up period. It is a blue plaster (but is actually looks grey when the water is out of it). My question is : CAN I ADD LIQUID CHLORINE DIRECTLY TO THIS POOL? I AM WORRIED ABOUT DISCOLORATION.

PLEASE HELP,,kennyg

 

[pooldv]

Welcome to TFP!

The good news is YES, you can add liquid chlorine or bleach directly into the pool. I have poured many, many gallons of bleach into my pool with black plaster.

The bad news is that the sun (UV rays) is going to fade the blue plaster to gray in a few years anyway. My pool is on its 6th summer and it is 60-70% faded from black to gray. Much more on the vertical surfaces than the horizontal surfaces. And hardly at all on the north facing horizontal surfaces. Blue is typically the most susceptible color to fading to gray.

 

[KENNYGTFP]

Welcome to TFP!

The good news is YES, you can add liquid chlorine or bleach directly into the pool. I have poured many, many gallons of bleach into my pool with black plaster.

The bad news is that the sun (UV rays) is going to fade the blue plaster to gray in a few years anyway. My pool is on its 6th summer and it is 60-70% faded from black to gray. Much more on the vertical surfaces than the horizontal surfaces. And hardly at all on the north facing horizontal surfaces. Blue is typically the most susceptible color to fading to gray.

But let me ask you...did your pool fade BECAUSE you added bleach directly to it??? Would the black have lasted longer if say you had a salt water pool that infuses chlorine a little bit at a time or some other method of instilling chlorine at a slow rate??

 

[zea3]

If the fading was due to bleach alone it would have faded evenly on all surfaces touched by the bleach. That is not the fading pattern he described.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

But let me ask you...did your pool fade BECAUSE you added bleach directly to it??? Would the black have lasted longer if say you had a salt water pool that infuses chlorine a little bit at a time or some other method of instilling chlorine at a slow rate??

Nope.

Caribbean Blue PebbleTec (needed a plaster patch in the spa). That's at 3-1/2 years. Notice how the surface is faded to grey while the bulk plaster is still blue. I've predominantly used an SWG and very little bleach over those 3+ years. The pool was SLAM'd once and it was a very short one (about 3 days) at year 1.5.

Plaster fades. No two ways about it.

 

[pooldv]

I do have a saltwater pool. I just supplement with bleach for pool parties, drive by varmint surprises and what not. And everyone with SWG who leaves their pool open all winter uses bleach because SWGs don't work in the winter.

 

[Foxy]

Dilute it in a 5 gallon bucket, then brush, you won't have any bleach poured directly on your plaster that way, so nothing to worry about.

 

[KENNYGTFP]

So plz tell me ...why do they make an inline or offline chlorinator that deposits small amounts of chlorine at a time..isnt that for the purpose of delivering small amounts of chlorine so discoloration wont take place??? plz help me..

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So plz tell me ...why do they make an inline or offline chlorinator that deposits small amounts of chlorine at a time..isnt that for the purpose of delivering small amounts of chlorine so discoloration wont take place??? plz help me..

 

[domct203]

But why then do they make inline/offline chlorinators..isnt that for the purpose of delivering small amounts of chlorine at a time so that discloration will not occur? plz hel me...

No that is not true. A SWG cell can only make so much chlorine over a period of time, it physically can’t add 4ppm of FC to a pool in one burst. However, it is beneficial to maintain FC levels during the height of the day hours when the water is under the most stress from UV (Sun) exposure.

Slow dissolving tablets are strictly for convenience (how ironic that the buildup of CYA results in an inconvenient drain).

If bleach is properly added to the pool, there is no danger to the liner. It is instantly diluted into the body of water.

 

[needsajet]

Welcome to TFP! Good to have you here

Chemicals are added with the circulation/filtration pump running. When you pour chlorinating liquid in, you do it slowly in front of a return jet. You can see the chlorine being pushed out, diluted and mixed as soon as it goes in the water. Within about 15 minutes the circulation of water that the pump provides causes the chlorine to be very well mixed in the water, if not completely mixed. Generally 30 minutes is about the maximum length of time for complete mixing.

Also, in a TFPC pool with the correct amount of stabilizer (aka CYA, aka conditioner, aka cyanuric acid), around 95% of the 'harsh' part of the chlorine gets tied up as a reserve of chlorinated cyanurates which are not harsh on people, equipment or surfaces.

Many people will also brush the bottom of the pool under where they poured it in, if they think they might have poured it in too fast, or just to be doubly sure. Others will run their pool cleaner for the same reasons, but just pouring slowly in front of a return gets the job done.

About the only way you can bleach plaster with chlorine is by leaving a stabilized (solid) chlorine puck or tablet (trichlor) laying on the bottom of the pool for 10 or 15 minutes. The solid form dissolves, causing highly chlorinated and very acidic water directly against the plaster.

As already mentioned, the sun is the biggest contributor to fading. Pools that are blotchy from the outset are usually the result of plastering problems.

The purpose of inline chlorinators is to provide a convenient delivery method for solid forms of chlorine. Unfortunately all solid forms of chlorine also add either CYA or calcium to the water which accumulates over time, causing problems when CYA or calcium get too high.

 

[cfherrman]

Bleach is best for a pool! Don't worry about it!

 

[KENNYGTFP]

My pool is color plaster, original blueish , but turned gray. They say that chlorine is heavier than water and liquid chlorine will sink to the bottom and discolor it..is that true?

 

[kimkats]

That is why we say to have the pump on and to pour the chlorine in front of a return. If you look at the above answers to your original post you will see this question has been answered by joyfulnoise with picture support.

 

[triptyx]

Exactly Kim. Kenny, if you're really worried about it, once you've added your chlorine, a few passes with the pool brush in the area you poured the bleach or acid will stir it up even further and set your mind at ease. I do this whenever I add acid just for extra peace of mind.