Just wondering if anyone has tried this. Seems to be working for me and saving a ton of money. Got tired of spending so much money on chlorine, then I tried using bleach but found myself using a ton of it since bleach is pretty weak. So, I buy the 1lb bags of swimming pool shock (like the ones they sell in walmart). I split the powder into about 5 equal parts. Then I add each part to a gallon of water (I use leftover milk jugs, etc). Every week I grab a gallon off the shelf, shake it very well since some of the powder settles and add it to the pool. I've been doing this since I opened the pool in May. My pool has stayed within the chlorine limits and crystal clear since I opened it. As far as the weather, its been hot (80-95 degrees, lots of sun as well as more than average rainfall). So all in all I am spending anywhere from $3-$5 per 1 lb bag of shock and getting 5 gallons of chlorine out if it which last me on average a month. Just curious what you all think about this?
Cheap chlorine solution
- Thread starter ninety5eclipz
- Start date
You're using a form of chlorine that adds something else to you pool in addition to chlorine - either CYA or calcium - which we generally do not recommend.
Welcome to the forum. What you will find is that this cost comparison has been addressed many, many, times. Without getting into that, the concern here is that those powdered shocks add either CYA or CH (Calcium Hardness) to your pool. Buildup of these can have negative consequences over a pretty short amount of time. This is why we don't recommend either of these as a single, permanent source of Chlorination.
Read around on the forum, check out Pool School, and let us hear back from you. It is very helpful to put all the information about your pool in your sig as well.
Again, welcome to TFP.
Read around on the forum, check out Pool School, and let us hear back from you. It is very helpful to put all the information about your pool in your sig as well.
Again, welcome to TFP.
Welcome to TFP 
Depending on the active ingredient in the powder you are using (most likely either dichlor or cal-hypo), you could be setting yourself up for problems later.
If the powder is dichlor, it adds almost as much CYA as it does chlorine. Chlorine gets depleted daily as a normal part of the sanitation process. Therefore, you need to add chlorine daily during the swim season. CYA, however, accumulates as it does not get used up. More chlorine is needed at higher CYA levels for proper sanitation. If you are adding the same amount each time, FC levels will stay the same as the CYA continues to accumulate. Then, one day you will wake up to an algae bloom and have no idea why.
If the powder is cal-hypo, it adds calcium along with the chlorine. If calcium gets too high, you run the risk of scaling. Like CYA, calcium continues to accumulate. So, with each addition of the powdered chlorine you are also adding calcium.
The bottom line is you need to consider the side-effects of the chemicals you are using (specifically the cost to remedy those side-effects) and factor that into the cost. Bleach may or may not be the lowest cost alternative when looking solely at the price of the product. However, the main reason we recommend it is that it adds chlorine without adding anything undesirable to the pool that could cause problems later.
Depending on the active ingredient in the powder you are using (most likely either dichlor or cal-hypo), you could be setting yourself up for problems later.
If the powder is dichlor, it adds almost as much CYA as it does chlorine. Chlorine gets depleted daily as a normal part of the sanitation process. Therefore, you need to add chlorine daily during the swim season. CYA, however, accumulates as it does not get used up. More chlorine is needed at higher CYA levels for proper sanitation. If you are adding the same amount each time, FC levels will stay the same as the CYA continues to accumulate. Then, one day you will wake up to an algae bloom and have no idea why.
If the powder is cal-hypo, it adds calcium along with the chlorine. If calcium gets too high, you run the risk of scaling. Like CYA, calcium continues to accumulate. So, with each addition of the powdered chlorine you are also adding calcium.
The bottom line is you need to consider the side-effects of the chemicals you are using (specifically the cost to remedy those side-effects) and factor that into the cost. Bleach may or may not be the lowest cost alternative when looking solely at the price of the product. However, the main reason we recommend it is that it adds chlorine without adding anything undesirable to the pool that could cause problems later.
Thanks for all the info. Didn't realize it added that extra stuff. Should I have noticed something by now with algae? It's been just over 2 months that I've been using this and haven't had any algae buildup or any type of scaling. I had the water tested from a reputable pool store and they said everything looked good except the stabilizer.
Depends on where you are located and you pool and whether it is a seasonal pool or open year-round. Around here, people who are using the "Pool Store Method" usually start to have problems that begin in in late-July or August. Their once a week shocking with dichlor combined with daily trichlor puck usage drive CYA up as they continue to maintain the pool-store accepted ideal FC of 3 ppm. Just a matter of time before an organic contaminant of some sort rears its ugly head.ninety5eclipz said:
Two years ago, several people in my neighborhood had a battle with "red algae" (actually not an algae but a bacterium), and it all seemed to start in early August. Guess who was one of the few in my neighborhood who didn't have this problem?
BTW, a couple of things to help us help you...
- 1. Please add to your profile the state and nearest city in which you live. Your climate is important to the advice you receive. By doing this, it will appear in all your posts without you having to enter it each time.
2. Suggest adding information about your pool and related equipment in your signature. By doing this, it will automatically appear in all your posts so you do not have to re-enter it each time. If you have a SWG, please include those letters in your signature so it stands out as the advice for SWG vs. non-SWG is often different.
You say it all looks good except the stabilizer. Stabilizer = CYA. Is it too high or too low? Can you post the ingredients of what you've been adding? Can you post a full set of test results?
Stabilizer was too high. It wasn't dangerously high just a little elevated. I'm guessing because of the CYA from the shock plus the fact that I was adding stabilizer separately?! I've been putting in about 8 oz of Aqua Chem 3X concentrated algaecide per week, about 1/4 cup of Aqua Chem shock treatment powder mixed in a gallon of water per week, occasional baking soda to adjust Alkalinity. I also have a in-line chlorine feeder that I put about (3) 3inch chlorine tablets in. If the chlorine level drop between the week I add the shock mixture I just turn the chlorinator on to bring the level back up. I don't still have the test results that were given to me last week. I usually just use the test strips. I think I have everything in my sig block now. I am from the Philly area.
As we expected, the balance is off. FC of 2.7 is too low for a CYA of 91 - if those numbers are accurate. Your minimum FC should be at 7, with a total range of 7-12.
Using tablets has caused your CYA to be too high. The only way to lower CYA is to partially drain the pool and refill with new water.
Using tablets has caused your CYA to be too high. The only way to lower CYA is to partially drain the pool and refill with new water.
You should read the pool school link in the upper right to get an understanding of pool chemistry and how with numbers like yours it is likely to all come tumbling down before long.
The odd thing is that your pool looks great... but your CYA is high, your FC is low and adding more dichlor (shock) is only going to make your CYA worse and may not be enough FC to keep the algae away. This is just one pair of factors... see the PoolSchool article about the Chlorine CYA relationship. FC is your simple most important factor in my mind.
Thanks for all the help. Think I'm gonna drain a bit and add some fresh water to try to bring the cya down, then ill retest and see where I'm at.
Your signature does not say, but it looks like you have a vinyl liner pool, in that case you never want to let the bottom of the shallow end have less than about a foot of water over it, getting lower than that chances having wrinkles form on the bottom.. With your current CYA range you will need to drain about 50% of your water to get into the 40-50 ppm suggested range, this may require doing multiple partial drain / refill cycles.
Good idea. Another good idea would be to get a quality test kit. With a good test kit you'd be able to do some partial drains and still maintain the great looking water you have in there now. If we get rain like we've had the last few years in the beginning and end of season and draining for winterizing, you'll be down to a better number with no disruption in swim time.ninety5eclipz said:
Now's the time to switch to liquid Chlorine. Aldis and my local pool store are the cheapest I've found. About 23 cents per ounce of pure Chlorine for both. Any price increase in Chlorination will be offset by not needing any Baking Soda and algaecide.
Yeggim.......Aldis sells chlorine? I'm actually in SJ. I have an Aldis right down the street but they don't sell it here.
Like rdhetrick says, it's bleach. Unscented plain bleach is just a weaker concentration of pool store liquid Chlorine.ninety5eclipz said:
A quick calculation will let you compare the cost of actual Chlorine content. Price/(ounces x strength)
Aldis bleach cost me $1.38 for 96 ounces of 6% bleach.
$1.38/(96 ounces X .06)=0.239 cents or 24 cents an ounce of pure Chlorine.
5 gallon of 12.5% bleach from the pool store costs me $18.60
$18.60/(640 ounces X .125)=0.2325 or 23 cents an ounce