Chlorine & Bromine

Sanitizers:
Sanitizers or disinfectants, are used to kill germs and other unwanted bacteria in the water. In order for a sanitizer to work there always needs to be a certain minimum amount, called a residual, of sanitizer in your water. When you add your sanitizer, make sure you are adding enough to kill any existing contaminants in the water and create a residual that can neutralize any dirt, debris or germs that may get into the water before you next treat it.

Chlorine:
Chlorine is by far the most popular chemical used for water sanitation. One reason is that chlorine is both a sanitizer and an oxidizer, which makes it extremely effective. Although like most chemicals, chlorine has a point at which it has used up all its sanitizing power and can no longer protect your water.

Chlorine levels are also heavily influenced by evaporation, splash out and destructive UV rays, not to mention a low pH. Once added to the water, the "free available" chlorine (that is the portion of the unused chlorine) will sanitize and oxidize the water by attacking undesirables such as bacteria, algae, sweat and oils from your skin, residual soaps, shampoos, perfume and, yes, urine.

As it uses up its sanitizing ability, the chlorine becomes ineffective or it combines with the contaminants and remains in the pool and spa water in the form of chloramines.

FYI: It is the chloramines in your pool and spa water, not too much "unused" chlorine, that causes a “chlorine-like” odor and can irritate your eyes and skin. When a pool or spa exudes a chlorine odor and you begin to hear complaints of skin and eye irritation, this is a sign that there is not enough chlorine in the water. If this is the case, you should test the water and add the appropriate amounts of sanitizer as soon as possible.

The recommended level of free available chlorine to keep in your pool is between 1.0 and 3.0 ppm or parts per million. For spas, the recommended level of free available chlorine is between 1.50 and 3.0 ppm.

Chlorine is extremely susceptible to sunlight and needs to be regularly monitored. But just as we use sunscreen to protect our skin from the sun, chlorine uses a sunscreen of cyanuric acid. Used this way, cyanuric acid is also commonly called a stabilizer or conditioner.

Some chlorine-based sanitizers are sold with a dose of cyanuric acid already mixed into the product. One such product is trichlor tablets, which are usually placed in a floater, chemical feeder or in the skimmer basket. Another commonly used product is sodium dichlor, which is a granular substance usually dispersed directly into the pool or spa water, or added via the skimmer.

Bromine
Another popular chemical sanitizer is called bromine. Do note, however, that bromine cannot be stabilized with cyanuric acid. As much as 65 percent of a bromine residual can be depleted by the sun in a two-hour time period. Because there is no known way to retain a reliable level of bromine when exposed to sunlight, many experts recommend it for indoor pools or spas only.

FYI: The acceptable range of bromine for your pool or spa is from 2.0 to 4.0 ppm.

Bromine also has no odor, and dispensing it your spa via a feeder allows it to dissolve at a slow, constant, desirable rate. Just be sure to remove the feeder when your spa is in use.

A final note: When using bromine as your sanitizer, you will need to occasionally shock the water with large doses of a non chlorine-shock to oxidize waste material still in the water.

Home  |  Our Store  |  Pool Care  |  Service & Repair  |  Locations  |  Contact Us  |  Downloads