Warning About Walmart Liquid Chlorine

[HarryMichael]

Pinch a Penny opened about 3 years ago here in Baton Rouge ...they sell two 2 1/2 gal jugs of 13% for $15. Never had an issue in 3 years.

 

[meccanoble]

Have you looked at Lowe's or Home Depot? In California they carry the 10%, just a few cents more than what Walmart is charging (though Walmart is sold out here too as of a few weeks ago).

We also have a local pool supply that sells 4 gallon cases of 12.5%, though at $22 it's slightly more expensive per % than the Lowe's or HD stuff.

You can also check with local janitorial supply companies, or google your city name and "sodium hypochlorite" to find an industrial supplier nearby.

I would check out the ones in Home Depot/Lowes near me even when Walmart was in abundance and they were always super old. Even the boxes they came in were super dusty like they were sitting for months prior. I gave in and picked up 4 pack from local pool store yesterday. Slightly higher price than the one you mentioned but this should buy me some time while I look for a better source.

A short while ago, I seen Walmart website advertising a 2 pack of the liquid chlorine online but no availability or options to buy nor pricing. We are approaching the end of the summer so I understand why its not as readily available but down south, swimming weather can be up to late September...

 

[Dreamchaser1976]

Hi All,
I just want to share my experience with you in hopes that it will prevent someone else from going through this hassle...
I have been a (mostly silent) member of this forum for many years and I come back each spring to refresh my knowledge and keep updated on swimming pool care. I have been managing our pool's chemistry for almost 17 years and I started using the SLAM/Bleach method about eight years ago.
This spring, I noticed that my local Walmart had started selling Pool Essentials (brand) Liquid Chlorine (10% Sodium Hypochlorite) for a really good price. I decided to try it and was delighted with the results. I used it to slam my pool and tested carefully, every day, to get my chemistry just right. My pool was pristine, sparkling and balanced as of three weeks ago. Then, suddenly, about a week later, I noticed some algae starting along the walls and steps. We've had quite a lot of rain down here so I attributed it to an alkaline rain. I tested, meticulously, and treated with acid and chlorine. Nothing seemed to change.
We were getting ready to leave town for 12 days and I had promised our house-sitters use of our pool while we were away, so I purchased more liquid chlorine from my local Walmart and kept testing... My Calcium Hardness was great (300), my CYA was 30, and my TA was at 90, but for some reason, my chlorine levels were barely inching up (that should have been my first clue, but I was stressed about other things that were happening right before our trip -- both my washing machine and clothes dryer broke down, and then my kitchen sink developed a leak!).

Desperate, the night before we left on vacation, I tested and added 4 more gallons of liquid chlorine to the pool. I also left a couple of gallons for our house-sitters to add while we were gone. We arrived home last night to dark, GREEN SWAMP! Not only did my guests NOT get to use the pool, but my once perfectly balanced pool now looks like the nasty fish tank from "Finding Nemo!" At midnight last night, I added some acid and my last gallon of liquid chlorine thinking it would be better than nothing, but I swear, this morning it looked WORSE. I went to Walmart, bought several more gallons of liquid chlorine and was in the process of pouring them in when it suddenly occurred to me that I couldn't smell the chlorine. I cautiously lifted the jug to my nose: NOTHING. It smelled like stale water. I have a very sensitive nose, but I never bothered to check the chlorine I was pouring in my pool, probably due to all the stress before our trip, the chaos of getting ready to leave, etc. Anyway, it never occurred to me that the chlorine was bad! And ALL FOUR gallons I bought today are bad. They all smell like water, without a hint of chlorine.
I know for a fact that the chlorine they were selling at the start of the season was good stuff, but either Walmart has been sold some bad chems or they are clueless about how to store liquid chlorine and they are ruining their own merchandise! I will be returning the still full bottles first thing tomorrow and I doubt I will ever buy chemicals from Walmart again!

It is August 1st 2019 and I have been putting bottle after bottle in my green pool because earlier this summer this stuff worked really well. I opened the next brand new bottle and had NO smell of chlorine!!! Purchased 4 gallons from Walmart 1 week ago (Pool Essentials Chlorinating liquid 19 071 19:39 B2 TX-01 is on side of last bottle, I am thinking they were all bad, my pool is super green and I have never had this happen. I hope this helps others.

 

[anotherpyr]

It is August 1st 2019 and I have been putting bottle after bottle in my green pool because earlier this summer this stuff worked really well. I opened the next brand new bottle and had NO smell of chlorine!!! Purchased 4 gallons from Walmart 1 week ago (Pool Essentials Chlorinating liquid 19 071 19:39 B2 TX-01 is on side of last bottle, I am thinking they were all bad, my pool is super green and I have never had this happen. I hope this helps others.

Return it and let them know. It may have set outside.

The date on mine is 19 201

 

[zea3]

It is August 1st 2019 and I have been putting bottle after bottle in my green pool because earlier this summer this stuff worked really well. I opened the next brand new bottle and had NO smell of chlorine!!! Purchased 4 gallons from Walmart 1 week ago (Pool Essentials Chlorinating liquid 19 071 19:39 B2 TX-01 is on side of last bottle, I am thinking they were all bad, my pool is super green and I have never had this happen. I hope this helps others.

Hi, welcome to TFP! 19 071 means it was bottled on March 12, 2019. If it wasn't stored correctly it could have significantly affected the strength. What do your current test results look like?

 

[DeadAquaRite]

I opened the next brand new bottle and had NO smell of chlorine!!!

19 071 means it was bottled on March 12, 2019. If it wasn't stored correctly it could have significantly affected the strength.

I ran a pressure washing business for 5 years and we bought 200-400 gallons of 12.5% a week. I know good bleach like Dean Martin knows a good martini. And there are a couple of pieces of semi-incorrect info above.

Chlorine smell comes from chloramines, impurities, and degradation. Fresh hot bleach doesn't smell like chlorine. You have to test it, or as we often did, stick your finger in it. Hot bleach will decompose the dead skin on your finger (turning it white) in seconds. It will feel warm, and your finger will feel greasy. It will also scar you if you don't wash it off.

12.5% bleach decomposes to 8% in about 30 days, and 7% at 60+ days, but decomposes very little more after that. Sun and heat accelerate this process, but do not significantly affect the final value. We used to store our drums outside, but shaded, in 90°F heat. And then load it onto sun baked flatbeds in translucent tanks. And it still worked fine in a process where 0.5-1.0% final concentration meant failure. To make bleach useless as a sanitizer in 6 months would require almost a conscious effort.

It's more likely that some of the dollar store grade bleach (~2.5-3%, usually not marked with concentration) got mispackaged as 10% and no one cared to correct it.