Bleach how often how much

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newguyjosh

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Jun 6, 2010
92
Central Indiana
Trying to figure out the best way to sanitize my pool (first time owner). Most of you guys here recommend liquid chlorine/bleach. I am concerned with the time and amount of liquid chlorine I have to store for this method. Can you tell me how often I would typically need to add bleach and how much I would usually need
to add each time? How many gallons would I go through per week?
 
Liquid chlorine or bleach is the best way to add chlorine to your pool. No side affects from it like other forms. It doesn't take a lot of time to test and add some bleach everyday.

I can't tell you how much bleach you will use each week or how much each day. Pool math will tell you how much to add each day. If your going to manually dose you will have to add each day. I know on my pool it's about 3 cups to a quart a day. Every pool is different.
http://www.troublefreepool.com/calc.html
Plug in your numbers and it will tell you how much to add.
 
It depends on a lot of things. Bather load, CYA and sun exposure among other things.

You'll typically go through 2-3ppm of chlorine in a day. For your pool, about a half gallon a day.
 
Its impossible to accurately guess, but off the top of my head I'll say three gallons a week or a bit less would be a good amount to plan for. That really isn't much time, money or storage space, even if it were more. This is a rough guess, but not too far out of line, and its really the warmer months we are talking about here. If you get four or five jugs to start the season, then pick up a couple each time you're at the big store its easy. Obviously if you are rural and don't go to town much, it's a little more effort.

Sorry John T, I didn't see you had posted.
 
Ok well we live kinda out in the middle of nowhere so going to the store every week is not ideal. Also, I'm fine with going out and checking the chlorine everyday but not sure about having to calculate and add bleach all the time. What I'm am wondering is if there is a way to use a automated tablet chlorinated set on low to maintain some level of chlorine without adding too much cya over the summer and then supplement with bleach every 3-4 days? Then I could also run the chlorinator higher when out of town.

Thoughts?
 
In theory you could do that. You would need to stop with the pucks when your CYA level got to the upper end of the range or a tick higher. I think your aware of the problems when that level gets too high.
Your pool volume is the same as mine so you'll probably dose close to what I dose everyday. I run my CYA level at 40 and I target my FC level at 7. That gives me plenty of wiggle room for burn off so I don't fall below my min FC range. At most I use a quart and a cup on high use days and pool temps in the 90's. Play with pool math. It's not hard to figure out. You just have to plug the correct numbers in.

I keep a log so don't even use pool math everyday. I just take the test and dose.
 
You can not just add the FC portion of the tablets without the CYA portion. If you turn it too low, you may not have enough FC in the water to prevent algae, and the CYA will always be climbing. If you get a LOT of rain and have to drain water, then if might be possible use tablets, but you need to watch your levels very carefully.

Have you looked at PoolMath? It does the calculations for you. Very quickly you would come to learn what your pool needs and after your FC test, know how much bleach to add without using a calculator ... or just make yourself a chart that tells you how much to add.

Or get a SWG (as you have been inquiring about in other threads). Or get a automatic bleach injection system ... you would still have to lug the jugs, but not have to add the bleach yourself every day.

How you maintain your pool is up to you. If you understand the chemistry and what the tablets are adding / doing, then there is no problem using them. The TFPC method is really just about understanding your pool’s chemistry and through accurate testing, adding only what the pool NEEDS ... not about using specific chemicals.
 
Thanks for all the help so far. Sorry for all the questions but trying to understand.

So is it a given that if I used tablets that the cya level will get too high by the end of summer? My uncle used only those and insists he has no problems. Also, that's what the pool stores recommend so how do they keep people's pools clean with them? I'm not doubting that it can be a problem, I'm just asking is the problem pretty much unavoidable if I use tablets?
 
What you propose could work, but you are trading regular Chlorine dosing, for a constantly moving target and you would need to regularly test or calculate your CYA level in addition to the more conventional FC and pH testing. Personally I don't see the gain, but also don't know your life style, are you commonly away from home overnight, etc. The time it takes to manage a pool with bleach and manual dosing really is not that much, you don't neccessarilly have to test each time you add chlorine once you get the hang of how your pool responds. Many of us only test 2 or 3 times per week, and blindly dose between testing, but this is something you should only do once you get a good feel for your pool. Think of it sort of like learning to drive, at first you have to always watch the speedometer, gas gauge, etc. but at some point it becomes second nature, and you can tell just by feel about how fast you are going, ....

Ike
 

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I use Walmart bleach. Last time I bought it it was 2.89 for 121 oz. I have an Ollie's somewhat close and when they have their 12.5 % chlorine on sale I buy a case of that. 4 one gallon jugs for 10 dollars and some change.
 
newguyjosh said:
Thanks for all the help so far. Sorry for all the questions but trying to understand.

So is it a given that if I used tablets that the cya level will get too high by the end of summer? My uncle used only those and insists he has no problems. Also, that's what the pool stores recommend so how do they keep people's pools clean with them? I'm not doubting that it can be a problem, I'm just asking is the problem pretty much unavoidable if I use tablets?
Click to expand...

Pool stores recommend them because A.) They are authorized dealers for chemical manufacturers and that's what the manufacturers tell them to do, and B) they generate more revenue than bleach.

People that swear by pucks usually get by because they partially drain the pool every winter which reduces the CYA, and they are lucky enough to not get past the CYA buildup point of no return before they dump half their water. What we notice on the forum is that people start using pucks, and right around August of year 2 or 3 of pool ownership, they have algae running out of control and no matter how much they spend at the pool store, it won't go away, and no one knows why. We, of course, know exactly what the problem is. But, I digress....

If you use only tablets, it is a given that your CYA will get too high. How fast depends on a couple of things. Lots of sun and lots of use means lots of tabs, so the CYA will build fast. Low sun and low use, and it will build slowly, plus a partial drain for winter will prolong the "disaster zone" to every other year.

We're not down on pucks. We're just very against the idea of blindly using pucks and hoping everything turns out fine. As long as you understand the ramifications of pucks (pH goes down, CYA goes up, TA will need to be replenished every now and then, overall on a unit basis they're more expensive...can you see I'm biased? :D ) and are ok with a major drain every now and then, go for it. It's understanding the underlying chemistry that counts.

As for the bleach, it's less work than you think it will be. There's a learning curve, sure, but once you get the pool dialed in, maintenance is almost mindless. I went through about 32 gal of 12.5% last summer over 4 months, and I have a 23K gal pool. Since I know exactly how my pool behaves, I can test every other day and dose every 2nd or 3rd. At first you will need to test and dose every day, but once you learn what the pool needs, you can spread it out a little bit.
 
You can also tell the date it was produced. On the bottle there will be a series of numbers like this 13 154 03:33 P1 Va. The first numbers are the year and day of the year it was produced and time.

Produced on the 154'th day of 2013.
 
Once you get some practice, many people use the "glug" method and pour the bleach directly in. I used to go to the nearest half bottle or so. It does not have to be exact ... and usually better the less you handle it (especially the acid)
 

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