Please help with chlorination method

[CarlD]

Janet's pretty much said it all except:

Do not be afraid to add bleach to your pool. It won't fade your liner unless you pour it down the side. The ways I like to add it are 3:
1) Slowly into the skimmer while the pump is on. Should take a minute to add a gallon jug.
2) Slowly into the return stream so it immediately pushes it around the pool.
3) Walking around the pool dribbling the bleach in at arm's length. Make the gallon last the whole perimeter.

All of these work and won't fade your liner.

[waste]

Janet's pretty much said it all except:

Do not be afraid to add bleach to your pool. It won't fade your liner unless you pour it down the side. The ways I like to add it are 3:
1) Slowly into the skimmer while the pump is on. Should take a minute to add a gallon jug.
2) Slowly into the return stream so it immediately pushes it around the pool.
3) Walking around the pool dribbling the bleach in at arm's length. Make the gallon last the whole perimeter.

All of these work and won't fade your liner.

Just a note on Carl's #3 method (which btw is the one I usually use):

You might want to practice a few times with a chlorine bottle filled with water to get the flow right and see how it splashes. You don't want the jug to 'glug', and you need to minimize the splashing/ splattering - just ask the cuffs of my work pants .

[mwsmith2]

I'm a BIG fan of #1, mainly because you use the circulation system of the pool to "spread the love" all the way around the pool, automatically. It also gives a big WHAMMY of chlorine to your filter system, which is definitely not a bad thing, especially if you have some stuff lurking in there. It also helps with the "splash" factor, as you can pour it quite close to the water's surface.

Michael

[vanhout]

I thought I read once that pouring chlorine directly into the skimmer wasn't a great idea because it subjects your pump to a low ph bath and can prematurely corrode it. Seemed to make sense, so I always pour it around the perimeter of the pool.

[aylad]

Bleach has a pH of 12 or 13, I forget which......so low pH isn't going to be a problem.

Janet

[CarlD]

Janet's right--Bleach is high pH. Di-Chlor and Tri-Chlor are low pH.

Still, I keep the pump running for several hours after I pour in the bleach, so thousands of gallons are flushing it anyway--that's its job. So unless you are letting the stuff sit in there with the pump off, I don't believe it's an issue.

[jrv331]

If you use a inline feeder should you turn it off if pouring bleach in the skimmer?
Thanks
John

[aylad]

I would just not pour the bleach into the skimmer--pour it slowly into the return stream.

Janet

[mwsmith2]

The pH of bleach is 11.

Michael

[Watermom]

Bleach which is poured into the skimmer is so quickly dispersed into the pool, that it isn't a problem.

Watermom