Warning About Walmart Liquid Chlorine

Jump to latest Follow Reply
Status
Not open for further replies.
JoyfulNoise said:
Smell is not a good indicator. Fresh bleach will have almost no detectable odor to it. What does cause a "bleach" smell is the bleach vapors getting up into your nose and then the hypochlorite reacts with the mucous membranes in your nose causing chloramines to form. The chloramines are what causes you to "smell" bleach and everybody's nose is different with different threshold levels of detection. If you pour the bleach into your pool and you get the expected FC rise, then the bleach was roughly the correct concentration.
Click to expand...

I agree; for me, the lack of smell just confirmed my suspicion that the chlorine was degraded. The proof was in my test measurements and the lovely shade of green in my pool. ;)

But, for what it's worth, I don't think I've ever purchased bleach (6%) or liquid chlorine (10% or >) that DIDN'T have a bleach smell. Maybe my nose is more sensitive or maybe I just never noticed?
 
DeadAquaRite said:
If you have insulin syringes, the above process equates to 10 units of bleach per 1L of water.

This seems to yield 1/10,000 reduction. Bleach is approximately 10ppm/ percent. That means 5.25% should test at 52.5ppm. Is that your experience?
Click to expand...


I used the process from here. That post indicates that 0.2ppm = 0.2% concentration (using the 25mL FAS-DPD test). I did the 10mL FAS-DPD test instead, so each drop is the normal 0.5ppm. I used 19 drops, leading me to a 9.5% concentration.
 
weird_tolkienish_f said:
Man I don't know how people deal with that aspect of the BBB method. I find it way more convenient to buy tubs of 12.5 % Chlorine (unstabilized) from a pool store.
Click to expand...

12.5% chlorine is not easy to find in all areas of the U.S. I haven't yet found it around here -- the three pool stores I checked didn't have it. I have read that some states and municipalities have tight restrictions, and other areas don't.
 
bordelond said:
12.5% chlorine is not easy to find in all areas of the U.S. I haven't yet found it around here -- the three pool stores I checked didn't have it. I have read that some states and municipalities have tight restrictions, and other areas don't.
Click to expand...

Hey Neighbor! ;)
Yeah, I haven't been able to find that, either. 10.5% at Pinch-a-Penny is the highest concentration I've seen so far....
 
JoyfulNoise said:
3. Improper storage is by far the most common problem. When bleach is allowed to be stored in excessive heat, the breakdown of hypochlorite is faster.
Click to expand...

I keep my chlorine in my garage, and my acid in the shed. Both environments get extremely hot in the summer, obviously, but I cannot foresee a WAF of stacking boxes of chlorine jugs inside the house anywhere. She already doesn't like that I have to keep the test kit indoors. I guess I just have to stick with buying it as fresh and I can and using it quickly without letting it sit around for too long. Kind of sucks if I catch a great sale and want to stock up.

Eventually a SWG will save me, I suppose.
 
rinaldok said:
I keep my chlorine in my garage, and my acid in the shed. Both environments get extremely hot in the summer, obviously, but I cannot foresee a WAF of stacking boxes of chlorine jugs inside the house anywhere. She already doesn't like that I have to keep the test kit indoors. I guess I just have to stick with buying it as fresh and I can and using it quickly without letting it sit around for too long. Kind of sucks if I catch a great sale and want to stock up.

Eventually a SWG will save me, I suppose.
Click to expand...

Some people have installed Stenner pumps with the chlorine tank buried in the ground to keep it cooler. Surprisingly it works quite well.

SWGs are good too. I would not want to own a pool without one.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
rinaldok said:
I keep my chlorine in my garage, and my acid in the shed. Both environments get extremely hot in the summer, obviously, but I cannot foresee a WAF of stacking boxes of chlorine jugs inside the house anywhere. She already doesn't like that I have to keep the test kit indoors. I guess I just have to stick with buying it as fresh and I can and using it quickly without letting it sit around for too long. Kind of sucks if I catch a great sale and want to stock up.

Eventually a SWG will save me, I suppose.
Click to expand...

Careful about chlorine, it will rust metal badly. Even if sealed properly.
 
JoyfulNoise said:
I would not want to own a pool without one.
Click to expand...

I don't, either. It's definitely on my list, it's just a matter of buying/installing it. I have a lot of other things that are getting prioritized at the moment, so for now, I'm a jug-pourin' fool.

- - - Updated - - -

weird_tolkienish_f said:
Careful about chlorine, it will rust metal badly. Even if sealed properly.
Click to expand...

I thought about storing the jugs outside by the equipment pad. It's shaded, and, honestly, likely a good bit cooler (well, less hot) than being inside the garage where the temps quickly elevate to well above ambient.
 
I've been watching this because I bought some walmart pool essentials 10% a few weeks ago.

I'm still learning what it takes to keep consistent FC in my pool. I had my FC in the acceptable range, but I was trying to inch it up day by day to the mid range for my CYA of 35. By the Pool Math calculator and the new app, it said I should only have to add a couple cups to get my FC up to the median range (3 to 5). I started with 2 and the next day I was back at the lower limit. I tried 2.5 then 3 then 4 and with 4 cups I finally raised my FC by 1 ppm (3 to 4).

When I ran out of the Walmart, I started using some Clorox I bought around that same time a few weeks ago. I used the pool math app to get a comparable amount of 6.5% to the 4 cups of 10% and it was just over 6 cups of 6.5. I dumped that in last night and today my FC was 5.5. That tells me the walmart brand was not 10% and might have actually been less than the 6.5% clorox.

I had two bottles, both were 17 132 date code.
 
Kim,
Thank you!
My testing of the 2 bleach strengths got sidetracked.
Now our pump quit working so I am stirring it with the long pole .
I really just want the pump to stir my chlorine instead of me...hahaha I'm tired of stirring the pool with the pole!:stirpot:
Sherry
 
Yesterday I added some of the 'old' Pool Essentials (10%) and never got to my target. Then I added regular brand Walmart bleach (new date) and met my target. Then last night I added more Pool Essentials (10%) but from a fresh date and met my target. So I'm thinking as long as I use the fresh dated Pool Essential chlorine it should be okay. But I was planning on monitoring it for awhile. But now I'll have to wait until I get the new pump.....which better be real soon.....BILL!!!!! LOL
Sherry
 
Thanks for the tip off. I was dumping about 10 to 15 gallons of bleach last night to clear my green swamp out I used a mix of pool essentials and, walmart brand bleach and noticed the same thing in didn't have that bleach scent and smelled like water. I ran it over my fingers and they turned hot and slippery so I figured it was still good.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
Status
Not open for further replies.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply