How to Use Chlorine Tablets & Add 3″ Tabs to Pool Water

Chlorine Tabs for Pool WaterChlorine Tablets

If you’re wondering how chlorine tablets make pool water safe, keep reading because you’re about to find out…

First, let’s consider what’s in your oasis.

Aside from H2O, your swimming pool water probably has dead bugs, debris, sweat, urine, poop, and various body oils from swimmers. Gross, right?

Chlorine from chlorine tablets or liquid kills bacteria, algae, and other organisms living in your pool’s water, tiles, cracks, and crevices.

Second, you might also be wondering:

Best Pool Chlorine Brand

1. Is Chlorine in both forms the same chemical used in underground and above-ground swimming pools?

Yes and No. Liquid Chlorine is generally only Chlorine.

Meanwhile, tabs contain various other chemicals depending on the brand – read the labels for more info.

2. What’s the best pool chlorine brand to buy?

For my pool, I prefer Clorox XTRA Blue tablets, but there are a lot of choices, and most are the same chemical and prices.

XTRA Blue seems to do a better job in my pool controlling algae with fewer tabs per week…

Follow a Regular Pool Maintenance Schedule

Without chlorine in your pool, bacteria and algae will take over and turn the pool water green and dangerous.

But this mess can be avoided with regular maintenance.

Here’s the plan:

Follow a pool maintenance schedule that includes testing the chlorine levels in your swimming pool weekly (when the pool is opened).

This will help keep your pool chemistry results more accurate and keep you from adding excessive amounts of chlorine tablets at once.

Chlorine Testing

When testing your pool water, get the water sample 10 – 12 inches below the surface…

Another thing to note is to take the sample away from the pool’s water edge or up against the wall.

I know how easy it is to just reach down along the pool’s edge with the test tube but it’s not a good practice.

Best Pool Chlorine BrandPool Testing Kits

It’s insane how many different swimming pool water test kit supplies you can buy to keep track of your chlorine levels.

I recommend you buy a pool test kit that offers these three different types of test results:

  1. Free Available Chlorine – the free available chlorine is the amount of chlorine in the water available to sanitize. This chlorine test result is the most important.
  2. Combined Chlorine – combined chlorine is something you don’t want too much of because it measures negative compounds in the water. If this number is high, there’s a sure indication the water in the swimming pool has enough free chlorine.
  3. Total Chlorine – the total chlorine is the combination of free and combined results.

Your pool service schedule should include weekly testing of chlorine and chemicals, adding chlorine tablets or liquids as required, adding shock, running the pump, backwashing, cleaning the pool filters, and brushing.

Effects of Low Chlorine Levels

When swimming pool water doesn’t have enough chlorine, swimmers can become ill from the bacteria and algae that may be living in the water.

Adding chlorine to pool water with low chlorine may cause the water to turn cloudy. It’s a good practice to wait until the water clears up before entering it. The cloudiness is a reaction of the living organisms to the chlorine.

Effects of High Chlorine Levels

Too much chlorine in a swimming pool can get absorbed through the skin and cause sickness. It will also cause the eyes and nose to burn. A strong gaseous smell is a good sign that a pool has too much chlorine.

Caution! These indications can also mean enough chlorine but too much acid. The only way to know for sure is to test the pool water weekly and adjust your chemicals based on the results.

Watch this interesting Pool Chemistry Video about all the chemicals in pool water… 

Swimming Pool Chemistry 101 Transcript
My name is Dr. Russell Betts. I’m the chief scientist here at Goat Chemist. I’m here today to present our next video in the series of video is called pool chemistry 101 your backyard swimming pool is a dangerous chemical cocktail designed to eliminate pathogens from growing or propagating in your pool to make it more pleasant to swim in shall we say but those chemicals are extraordinarily dangerous and it would be nice if there was a safer more convenient alternative to this chemical concoction that we’re throwing into our pool every weekend and maybe in a subsequent video we’ll learn a little bit more about that but for right now let’s learn about the chemical soup in our backyard we all know that chlorine goes into our pools to help eliminate pathogens we all know that but chlorine is really a gas chlorine is cl2 so it’s not really chlorine but it’s a variant of chlorine and there’s two of them that are commonly used the two that are commonly used is called sodium hypochlorite or calcium hypochlorite either one will do either one either one will do the same thing what they’re designed to do basically is kill bacteria and fungus analogy chemically they’ll chemically kill them but keep in mind though chlorine is light-sensitive it’s also heat sensitive the pool chlorine is heat sensitive which means that you have to keep adding it every weekend basically to keep the chlorine levels high enough so that things like bacteria and viruses can be eliminated if the pool if the pool chlorine 4 falls too low things like algae and bacteria will propagate in your pool making it unpleasant to swim in so you got to keep adding these chemicals now the industry has developed another chemical yes one more chemical that will help to protect your chlorine from degradation and that Kevin flow is called sine ARAG acid this is a structure of sine Eric acid right here this designed to help stabilize the coin in your pool it’s called a pool stabilizer all it’s designed to do really is to help prevent the degradation and the heat degradation of your chlorine in your pool that’s all it really does lately or more recently on the market has come another chemical yes one more chemical called trial or tryke lawyers right here trial or as you can see is very similar to cyanuric acid in fact it’s chemically related to it this molecule or chemical can form so they label chloride in your water and cyanuric acid at the same time it’s a much more chemi Windows 98 cal use but it still gives you the same two chemicals you’re not adding less chemicals to your pool.

Best Pool Chlorine Brand

You’re just adding the same amount of chemicals at one time that’s how try Clorox now we all know all of us backyard pool owners know that when you add chlorine to your pool you also have to measure the pH the pH is simply a measurement of acidity the higher the number of the pH they around pH 14 that’s very basic the lower the pH numbers say around pH 1 or 2 that’s very acidic for example the oceans pH is about 8.1 slightly basic a can of coke about 3.5 very acidic your pool wants to be right around 7.4 that’s the optimum pH for sodium hypo chloride to work in order to keep it there you have to add either an acid or a base depending on what your pool pH is so you go to on a Saturday morning take a sample from your pool water find out the pH and your 500 it’s 9 pH 9 that’s way too high you’ve got to bring it down in order to bring the pH down you have to add an acid and there are two commonly used assets in pool chemistry one is muriatic acid which is right here near your attic acid is simply hydrochloric acid it’s a dangerous industrial chemical you have to be trained professional to use it or you could get very hurt there’s a skin hazard you can burn yourself or there is also an inhalation hazard you can burn your lungs if you inhale it it’s very dangerous the industry has responded to that by providing what’s called a dry acid a dry acid is sodium bisulfate sodium bisulfate is another industrial chemical it’s also dangerous in the wrong hands you have to know what you’re doing to use it I’ve got a PhD in chemistry . I’m comfortable using it, but you probably don’t have this. I don’t have the experience of handling Kevin Lister most of your career so it might be a little bit intimidating for you so it really can be dangerous you have to be careful so let’s take for another example you test your pool you’ve added too much acid now your pools acidic you’ve got to bump it back up it’s kind of like we call it here go camels we call it chasing the pH the pH is too high you got to bring it down now it’s too low you got to bring it up kind of frustrating kind of annoying kind of a lot of work to do on a Saturday afternoon if your pool chemistry is too acidic you have to get more basic to do that you add another chemical yep one more chemical this is sodium bicarbonate it’s a very commonly used pool chemical this is baking soda it’s pretty harmless to you but you still have to buy it you still have to throw in your pool and this one’s sodium carbonate sodium Curtis another way to bump your pool pH back up to 7.4 it’s also relatively harmless they’re not dangerous at all but you still have to buy them and you still have to do it keep in mind the pool chemistry must be maintained very specifically in order for it to be effective this does sound like a lot of work this is a lot of work. I was a chemist and would not want to do this on Saturday afternoons when I’d rather play with my children, so let’s think about a more convenient, safer, and more effective way to prevent your pool from growing bacteria or fungus in subsequent videos. I will show you that there is a more effective method. I hope that you’ve enjoyed this video. I want to say again that my name is Russell Bass. I’m the chief scientist here at Go Camelus. I hope you’ve enjoyed this video. Thank you very much.

How to use Chlorine Tablets

How to add chlorine tablets to poolNote: Handle Chlorine Tablets with Care

It’s always best to use precautions (eye protection and gloves) when handling chlorine tablets because they are highly concentrated, and the chlorine can be easily absorbed into your skin.

Also, chlorine is bleached and will ruin clothes (think Clorox). If you get it on your clothing, remove the clothing immediately and wash them…

Chlorine tablets may have harmless powder or dust, but the chlorine powder will still cause staining and irritation, so wash hands and clothes immediately.

#1.  Comparing Before Buying 3 inch Pool Chlorine Tabs

OK, let’s review three different best-selling brands of chlorine tables…

And just in case you’re wondering, I used to get my chlorine tablets at Lowe’s or Leslie Pool Supplies, but now I buy pool supplies and chlorine tablets online.

#2. How to add chlorine tablets to the pool (Usage):

Chlorine tablets are the most common form of chlorine and are easier to use than liquid. When purchasing chlorine tablets, buy a quality brand and keep them stored in a cool and dry location away from pets and children. Fresh is the best!

Remember it’s not about buying the cheapest or most affordable chlorine tablets…

Below is a chart of how many chlorine tablets to add to your pool water. This chart is for reference only but should help keep your chlorine level close to the correct levels.

#3. How Much Chlorine Should You Add to Your Pool?

3″ Jumbo Tabs / 8oz. PER GALLON OF POOL WATER

Note: For reference only.

Chlorine Tablets Per Week

Adjust chlorine doses as needed and always read labels.

#4. How to Properly Add Chlorine Tablets to Your Pool

 

Easy, right?

Congratulations! If you’re a beginner, you’ve learned to use chlorine tablets.

Oh, BTW, you’ll need a chlorine dispenser like the one in the video, but do you know they come in all sizes and designs? I’ve had to replace my dispenser every 3 years because the sun cooks the lid, which eventually breaks. I recommend the one in the image below – it’s heavy-duty.

Conclusion

Floating Pool Chlorine DispenserWhile chlorine is essential to caring for your swimming pool, it’s dangerous, so you need to be careful and protect yourself when handling it. Chlorine tablets make adding chlorine to your pool easy, but they can be misleading.

A regular DIY pool service schedule includes adding chlorine tablets as needed to maintain the proper level.

Caution! Most test kits advise adding ounces of liquid chlorine rather than tablets so this may take some learning to get used to their affect on your swimming pool. Careful not too much.

If you can’t figure out the best pool chlorine brand, please get professional pool service assistance.

Recommended reading if you’re looking for the best pool chemicals and supplies for your DIY pool care: Swimming Pool Chemicals (Updated Daily)

Ads last updated on 2024-03-25.

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