The Shocking Benefits of Shocking Your Pool
If you own a pool, then you’ve probably heard people mention “shocking” the pool. There is a lot of confusion surrounding this term. So, if you’re not quite sure what it means, don’t feel bad. Some people think of “shocking” as using pool shock, a specific type of powdered chlorine, in their pool. Others prefer to use a non-chlorine oxidizer. But no matter how you do it, “shocking” your pool is really just adding chemicals to the pool with a specific goal in mind. Common reasons for shocking include:
· Breaking up chloramines
· Killing bacteria
· Improving water balance
Regardless of your reasons, shocking your pool can be extremely beneficial. For proof, just consider these awesome advantages.
Avoid Algae
Are you anticipating an algae bloom? Maybe the weather has been very warm lately or you’ve had a problem with your filtration system. Whatever the case may be, if you’re worried algae may rear its ugly head, go ahead and shock your pool to help keep it at bay. If it’s too late and algae is already present, don’t panic. Shocking your pool should do the trick to get rid of it too. If not, using a chlorine accelerator can help to make your shock treatment more effective.
Obliterate Odors
Does your pool smell way too strongly of chlorine? If so, you may need to shock it. Adding in more chlorine and more chemicals may seem counterproductive but can actually be very effective. Often, bad, chemical odors are due to too much combined chlorine in the water. This is chlorine that isn’t free to sanitize your pool and that needs help in the form of shocking. A good shock can release that combined chlorine and get your pool smelling more neutral and less chemical.
Tidy Up
Finally, shocking is a great way to safely rid your pool of icky human byproducts. Whenever people are in your pool, so are their skin cells, hair, body products, sweat, and more. So, after you’ve had people over, it’s never a bad idea to go ahead and shock your pool to keep things sanitary.
Shocking isn’t something you have to do extremely often. But, there are certainly some situations in which it’s warranted. Next time you find yourself in one of them, get to work with confidence, especially now that you know the benefits of pool shocking.