It’s Not the Chlorine

By Jim Manning

A frequent comment about pools is that there is a distinctive unpleasant odor that is blamed on chlorine.

But it’s not chlorine.

Strong smelling pool water usually indicates the presence of chloramines.

This is a mixture of spent chlorine that has done its job and what is left of the contaminates such as dead algae and bacteria.

Chloramines are not effective in disinfecting pool water. A well maintained pool has little noticeable smell.

If there is a faint odor, it is like the aroma of Clorox. Chloramines have the stench of filthy sweat socks or an unkempt gym locker room.

To get rid of chloramines add chlorine. That’s right, add chlorine.

With a chlorine level of 10 parts per million or slightly greater it will burn off or oxidize the chloramines and associated dead organisms.

The additional chlorine literally cleans the water. It is like bleaching a stained porcelain sink. This process, called “shocking,” will temporarily raise the chlorine level. Having done its work, the chlorine level will return to an ideal 1 to 3 parts per million in a few hours. When you shock your pool in the evening, it will settle back to a normal level overnight.

And while we are on the subject, chlorine does not cause human hair to turn green. It doesn’t make sense. City tap water that is used for cooking, bathing and shampooing contains about the same chlorine concentration as pool water and shampooing in the shower doesn’t cause green hair.

Copper is the green hair offender. It is an ingredient in some algaecides. Copper is not used as much in algaecides as it was a few years ago, and
copper hair stain washes off with a thorough shampooing.

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