(Newswire.net — January 16, 2019) — The idea behind shocking your swimming pool is to kill all microorganisms and contaminants in the pool. It requires a lot more chlorine than usual. Although shocking’s meant to decontaminate your pool, proper pool management etiquette dictates that your pool be shocked on schedule, instead of waiting for it to get too dirty or cloudy. Below are the steps on how to shock your pool and what the best time of day to shock pool is.
How To Shock Your Pool
1. Know what size of pool you have. This will help you estimate the right amount of chlorine to use while shocking your pool. The appropriate measurement is 1 to 2 lbs of chlorine for every 10,000 gallons of water.
2. Check that the swimming pool water is at a normal level so that the quantity of chlorine used is effective. Top it off if the water’s below normal level.
3. Test the water, ensure the pH is between 7.2 and 7.6 ppm, and alkalinity between 80 to 120 ppm.
3. Select your shock treatment and prepare it according to the instructions on the packaging. Some treatments will instruct you to dissolve it with water before pouring in your pool, others aren’t so picky. If you’re dissolving your treatment, slowly add it into warm water (not the other way around) and stir, then pour it into the pool.
4. Since shocking the pool will kill all contaminants (not get rid of their matter), run your pool filtration system for at least one full day afterward.
Hint: Scrub visible stains before running the filter so you won’t be left with any debris.
When Is It Safe To Swim After Shocking A Pool?
It’s very dangerous for the body to swim in a pool with a very high chlorine concentration. Whatever treatment you use will suggest a waiting period. For chlorine based shock treatments, it’s at least 8 hours. Other non chlorine treatments wait time is usually just 15 minutes. If you’re still not sure, it’s best to test the level of chlorine in the pool. Anything from 3 ppm downwards is fine. If you’re too impatient to wait, you can use a chlorine reduction agent, and cut your wait time in half.
What’s The Best Time To Shock A Swimming Pool?
It’s best to shock your pool when the sun is down. You shock your pool at sun down because the sun’s ultraviolet rays depletes the amount of chlorine in the water before it’s effective enough to kill microbes. If you absolutely have to shock your pool during the day, get a stabilizer like cyanuric acid, so your pool’s properly shocked.
How Regularly Should Your Pool Be Shocked?
That depends on how frequently you use it. For general maintenance, pools should be shocked every two weeks, shorter (say one week) if the pool’s used daily.
Other factors that determine how often your pool should be shocked include:
● High temperatures: microorganisms thrive in hot climates, so shock your pool more often during the summer
● After heavy rain: heavy rainfall will both introduce foreign bodies into your swimming pool and dilute the chlorine content of your pool, so you need to top it off.
● If you measure the free chlorine level in your pool and it’s below 3 ppm.
Bottom Line
Shocking a pool kills all microorganisms and contaminants that may be floating in the water. Although shocking your pool regularly is important, knowing when to do so is equally as important. So, what is the best time of day to shock pool? It’s best to shock your pool when the sun is down so that the UV rays from the sun do not deplete the amount of chlorine in the pool water.