How often do you add your bleach?

AV8TOR · Dec 12, 2008

Some of you may have read in one of my other posts that we bought a home with a pool and although it looks great the numbers are high from years of tab chlorine. I will be doing a partial water change to get my CYA down from 100 and will be a BBB user. I have not added any chlorine since we moved in because FC is still high at 16. I am however curious though in the meantime on your cycle of adding bleach to your pool. Are you adding a little every day or every other day or so?

JasonLion · Dec 12, 2008

Most people add bleach once a day, best done in the early evening though that is not crucial. When your CYA level is very high you can usually get away with adding bleach less often, sometimes much less often depending on your CYA level.

HarryH3 · Dec 12, 2008

During the summer I was adding 3 quarts each day. Now that the water has cooled down and the sun is shining on it less each day it only needs 3 quarts about once every 5 days or so. :shock:

I suppose I could add a quart every couple of days, but I don't think about the pool much this time of year...

frustratedpoolmom · Dec 13, 2008

My normal routine is to test daily, keep my FC in the proper range according to the CYA chart. Most of the time I would add bleach every other day, setting it at the high end of the range and adding more bleach when the FC tested at the low end. I never let it get below minimum. Works for me. Once your water is balanced, and you have a basic pool like me (no water features like spa, fall, etc.) it really is 5 minutes a day. That's what is so great about BBB.

revstriker · Jan 2, 2009

In season, I test daily and add bleach daily. I need MA every couple of days.

In the winter, I test weekly and add what's needed weekly. Even after 7 days, there really isn't much of a change.

Swimgirl · Jan 14, 2009

I usually add some every day in the summer. I never had any problems if I had to skip a day though. I just would use my little OTO tester to tell me how much to add. After awhile I knew about how much my pool consumed in a day, so if I just had a few seconds, well, dump in the 2 cups of bleach and call it good. :-D That's another cool thing about BBB. You get to know your pool! (But don't add chlorine very often without testing, and don't do it until you have a good idea how much to add. Otherwise, you will underchlorinate and get an algae bloom or overchlorinate.)

Cherie · Feb 14, 2009

In the summer, I test daily and add daily, unless I add a little more than necessary one day so I can skip a day. This is our first winter with our pool (we opted to leave it open adn running) and I'm finding that it's hardly using any chlorine at all. In fact, I've only bought a couple of 174 oz Wally World bottles since the cold weather moved in. But because of the high winds, I do watch the ph and add MA as necessary. I check my skimmer every couple of days to pull the neighbors' leaves out of it! So far, it's pretty much been a maintenance-free pool this winter.

cubbybeave08 · Feb 27, 2009

In the summer, I test before i leave for work about 8:30 am...If needed I add before the kids swim, I always test in the evening after 6 pm. This is when i add the chlorine Most of the time...If I add in the evening it is usually 2-4 cups and that keeps me in the appropriate range...i try to stay at 3 - 5 PPm, and sometimes more. My pool sits in direct sunlight for at least 9-10 hours per day. This means that I do lose more chlorine due to burn off. My CYA usually sits at 40 to 60 ppm. Still at this rate I have to add at least 2 cups of Chlorine every day...I have kids who have friends...at any given day there are atleast 4-6 people in our pool through out the day...God knows i am in every night after work and all weekend. I will say this. The BBB method is really easy to do, it may seem like it is a lot of work, but it mostly is just testing and making sure you stay in balance...To be honest...I make points with my wife because she thinks I am working really hard to keep the pool fresh and clean for her to relax in all day...She doesn't know that it really is easy...the hardest thing I do really is throw the auto vac into the pool in the evening. WHOO HOO! More time to enjoy the pool...less time in the pool store. Pool Mom...don't tell!!! I don't want my secret out!!!