This blog is about swimming pools, spas and hot tubs and how to maintain them.
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By swimmingpoolchemicals.co.uk
Our best selling product is Stabilised Chlorine Granules, but one that is rapidly catching it up is Multi-5 Chlorine Granules (Multifunctional Chlorine Granules). Like Multifunctional tablets they will do an awful lot of the work necessary to keep your pool clean and clear.
They are simply rapid dissolving stabilised chlorine granules with extra ingredients;
- Chlorine – To quickly kill any bacteria or viruses that get into the water.
- Stabiliser – To stop sunlight breaking down the chlorine in the water.
- Algaecide – To help prevent algae growing in the water.
- Flocculant – To ensure your water is looking at its sparkling best!
- Alkalinity – To balance and adjust the pools pH.
Multi-5 Chlorine Granules have 5 powerful actions;
- Disinfecting – Like Stabilised Chlorine Granules, Multi-5 Chlorine Granules will dissolve rapidly so they will quickly boost the chlorine level in the pool water and kill anything growing in the water.
- Protecting chlorine from sunlight – The tablets also contain a stabiliser called Cyanuric Acid. This is particularly important for outdoor pools as the stabiliser will prevent the chlorine being broken down by sunlight.
- Buffering the acidity – The chlorine is provided by a chemical called Sodium Dichloroisocyanurate which is neutral so it does not increase the pH of the water. This is particularly useful in soft water areas. There is also extra alkalinity builder (sodium bicarbonate) which will stabilise the pH further in soft water.
- Preventing Algae – The copper sulphate in the tablet is a powerful long lasting algaecide which will help prevent algae.
- Clarifying – The last ingredient is a clarifier (aluminium sulphate) which makes particles of dirt stick together so they are filtered out more easily.
Dosing Rates
- Pool (Regular Dose) – 100 grams increases the chlorine level by 1ppm in a 10,000 gallon pool. Either sprinkle the granules around the pool (you will see the blue particles of algaecide and white particles of clarifier on the bottom, as they are slower dissolving) OR mix up in a bucket of pool water and add to the skimmer.
- Pool (Shock dose) – Use as above but add 500 grams per 10,000 gallons.
- Hot Tub or Spa - 5 grams (a teaspoon) increases the chlorine level by 2.5ppm in a 1,000 litre spa. Add directly to the skimmer.
Multi-5 Chlorine Granules are slightly more expensive than the basic Stabilised Chlorine Granules, however when you take into account the multiple functions they provide, they offer a good value for money option for maintaining your pool.
Warning – Never use any product containing copper in a swimming pool or spa if you are using bromine. The combination of copper and bromine will cause unnatural blonde hair to go green which most people consider undesirable.
By swimmingpoolchemicals.co.uk
I recently had a call from a customer who had a problem with his endless pool (swim spa). It had gone cloudy after he had added stain and scale inhibitor to try and get rid of some scale deposit and some brown staining . The pool contains 10,000 litres of water and is filtered using a large cartridge filter. In the previous 3 years of operation it had always remained crystal clear. He had always used calcium hypochlorite tablets as his sanitiser.
To get a proper understanding of what was happening I asked him to send us a small sample of the pool water to analyse. (We will usually do this free of charge for our customers).
| Pool Results |
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Unit |
Result |
Standard |
Comment |
| Free Chlorine |
ppm |
6 |
1.5 -3 |
High, as it has just been shock dosed |
| Combined Chlorine |
ppm |
2 |
0 to 2 |
OK |
| pH |
pH units |
7.8 |
7.2 to 7.6 |
Slightly high |
| Alkalinity |
ppm |
180 |
80 to 180 |
OK but at the top end of the scale |
| Calcium Hardness |
ppm |
1100 |
80 to 400 |
Extremely high |
| Total Disolved Solids (TDS) |
ppm |
2500 |
1200 max |
Extremely high |
| Cyanuric acid (stabiliser) |
ppm |
0 |
0 |
Absent as it should be. |
As you can see from the results above;
- There was an extremely high level of calcium in the water which will have led to the cloudiness when the stain and scale was added.
- In this water, scale will easily form on the heater, in the pipes and on the surfaces.
- The TDS is very high as not enough water is being thrown away when backwashing.
- The only way to reduce calcium levels and TDS is by throwing away water.
The reason why the calcium had built up was because the filter on the endless pool like all cartridge filters needed to be backwashed. In any pool everything that is added to the pool, be it chemicals or pollution from bathers stays in the water until it is thrown away, usually when the filter is backwashed. The cartridge filter removes the dirt from bathers extremely well but the dissolved salts from the chemicals just stays there.
In this case I recommended emptying the pool and starting again. To prevent this build up of calcium happening again I recommended draining about 500 litres of water from the pool each month. You might think that an answer would be to switch to a different disinfectant such as liquid chlorine (sodium hypochlorite) or stabilised chlorine. However whilst this might have helped in the short term, problems would still occur when these chemicals built up to unacceptable concentrations.
So the important lesson if you are using a cartridge filter for your pool is that you should still get rid of some water otherwise your water will end up like the Dead Sea.
By swimmingpoolchemicals.co.uk
The cartridge filter is the most important component for keeping the water in your hot tub clean and safe to use. If the filter cartridge is kept clean and the chemical levels are maintained, the water in your hot tub will stay clear and safe, be comfortable to bathe in and will last for up to 3 months before it has to be replaced.
Cartridge filters are expensive items especially when bought from the hot tub dealer (have a look at our discount range). Therefore to keep costs to a minimum it pays to thoroughly clean your filter at least once a month.
To remove grease and grime, strong detergents are required. These chemicals tend to cause water to foam severely even if a small amount is left in the filter after rinsing. We had some complaints from customers that they got some foaming after they had cleaned their filters. We always listen to any complaints from customers so we reformulated our filter cleaner and introduced a new low foaming Filter Cleaner. The new product has one of the lowest foaming detergents available but still has market leading cleaning properties.
Dosing Instructions
- Remove cartridge and other screens from unit.
- Flush any soiling from the filter body, cartridge and screens.
- Add 250ml of Filter Cleaner to 10 litres of warm water.
- Soak the filter cartridge and screens overnight.
- Rinse thoroughly. Reassemble the filter and return to service.
- Carry out this procedure at least once every month.
By swimmingpoolchemicals.co.uk
Happy New Year to you all and welcome to our first blog post of 2012. Our biggest selling product of 2011 was Stabilised Chlorine Granules which came as no surprise as it is the most popular pool and spa chemical on the market. But what exactly are Stabilised Chlorine Granules and what makes it such a popular product amongst domestic pool and spa owners?
What are Stabilised Chlorine Granules?
Sodium Dichloroisocyanurate is the chemical that forms Stabilised Chlorine Granules and it has an available chlorine content of 56%. You may also see it referred to as troclosene sodium dihydrate. They are a white granular solid and are manually dosed to the pool or spa as and when needed. They have a pH close to neutral (7) so will have little effect on the pH of the pool water. As well as containing chlorine, they also contain cyanurate which acts as a stabiliser to prevent the chlorine being broken down by the sunlight. A trait most welcome in outdoor pools.
Advantages
In addition to the advantages that the cyanurate provides, Stabilised Chlorine Granules also have many other benefits. It can perform many roles as it is one of the few chemicals on the market that can be used on both pools and spas that run on chlorine. In addition to this it can also be used as a sanitiser and a shock treatment on small above ground pools and spas where the water is emptied regularly. As it appears in a granular form and is very soluble, it means you can use them to provide a quick boost of chlorine if you have a low chlorine level. This can be priceless if you wake up on a hot summer’s morning to find you have no chlorine in your pool!! The final and probably most important benefit from a customer’s point of view is the price. Stabilised Chlorine Granules offer excellent value for money and are generally a lot cheaper than stabilised chlorine tablets and unstabilised chlorine granules (chlorine shock).
Disadvantages
Although Stabilised Chlorine Granules have many benefits it is important to note that they do have some drawbacks compared to other forms of chlorine on the market. Its chlorine content of 56% is low compared to stabilised chlorine tablets and unstabilised chlorine granules. If used as a sanitiser it can also be difficult to maintain an adequate level of chlorine in the water. When you add the chlorine granules to the water there is an immediate boost in chlorine content which gradually reduces. If the pool is busy it can be used up quite quickly. This is not the case with chlorine tablets as you have the peace of mind that you have a slow releasing dose of chlorine at all times. If you use stabilised chlorine granules as your only sanitiser you will need to test and dose the pool very regularly to ensure that algae or other micro-organisms do not start to grow in the pool (this is particularly true in hot tubs where chlorine disappears very quickly).
Conclusion
I believe that every pool or spa owner who uses chlorine should have a small amount of Stabilised Chlorine Granules on stock as they are excellent for a quick boost of chlorine. However regardless of what size pool or spa you have I wouldn’t necessarily recommend using them as your only source of sanitiser. I would always recommend using either Stabilised Chlorine Tablets or Multifunctional Tablets as they provide that constant dose of chlorine at all times and you don’t have to mess around with dosing.
By swimmingpoolchemicals.co.uk
I don’t know about you but every Christmas my house is full of guests and they normally bring their bathers so they can have a dip in the hot tub. Christmas time can be a time where our hot tubs and spas experience a higher bather load than normal so it is important that we look after them accordingly. Please find my top 5 tips below for maintaining your hot tub or spa this Christmas.
- If you know you are having visitors, then make sure you test your water well in advance so that you can make any chemical adjustments in time.
- Keep the sanitiser (chlorine or bromine) level at the higher end of the range.
- If you experience a high number of bathers at once, your water may go cloudy. To rectify this shock the spa by adding Oxy Shock or Stabilised Chlorine Granules after everyone has been in the hot tub.
- There is nothing like a nice cold drink of wine in the hot tub. However any spillages could lead to foaming so in this instance add a small dose of Antifoam.
- If you do have drinks in the hot tub then make sure they are NOT IN GLASSES. Broken glass is almost impossible to find in hot tubs which means you have to empty all the water.
By swimmingpoolchemicals.co.uk
We recently came across this story in the Daily Telegraph. The crew of ITV show Wild at Heart were given a surprise when they turned up on set to find a nine-year old giraffe in their swimming pool. Lucy the giraffe, who is 14 months pregnant, was reluctant to get out of the pool and after various unsuccessful attempts by the crew, the Fire Brigade were called. In the end they had to demolish one end of the pool so Lucy could walk out unscathed.
By swimmingpoolchemicals.co.uk
Sodium Hypochlorite is a liquid form of chlorine that can be used as a sanitiser or a shock treatment in swimming pools. It doesn’t contain any cyanuric acid (stabiliser) therefore it is an ideal source of chlorine for indoor swimming pools that are not exposed to much daylight. With regards to outdoor pools it can be used as a shock treatment particularly when there is a large amount of algae present in the pool. The reason for this is it is much easier to dose than a granular form of chlorine shock. Sodium Hypochlorite can be added directly to the pool and it distributes through the system very quickly killing any algae that is present in the pool.
The only disadvantage that comes with using Sodium Hypochlorite is that it loses strength when it is in storage. We recommend you buy no more than 3 months supply at a time.
We now sell Sodium Hypochlorite 14/15% strength online.
5 litres is £9.99
20 litres is £29.99
By swimmingpoolchemicals.co.uk
We all like to have a drink when we are relaxing in the hot tub, however did you know that standard drinks glasses are not suitable for use in a hot tub? If the glass was to break whilst in the hot tub it would be almost impossible to find the broken pieces of glass, requiring you to empty your hot tub immediately.
With this in mind, we have a range of shatterproof drinks glasses which are ideal for use in a hot tub. Whether it is a hot cup of coffee or a cool glass of wine, we have the glass to suit. Made from polycarbonate, the glasses are shatterproof and better still, they look like the real thing!
By swimmingpoolchemicals.co.uk
With Halloween fast approaching we thought we would share some pool and spa tricks with you that will hopefully help you when maintaining your pool or spa.
- If you have an indoor pool, consider using unstabilised chlorine instead of stabilised chlorine. This will prevent the stabiliser level from getting too high and prevent the need to
 dump any water.
- When dosing granular chlorine always dissolve the required amount of chlorine into a bucket of water before adding it to the pool. This will ensure that no chlorine goes to waste and also prevent any bleaching of the pool liner.
- When altering the pH level always ensure the alkalinity level is correct first as this has an effect on the pH.
- If you have a green pool you may need to double or even treble the normal shock dose in order to kill the algae. As there is no way of measuring algae it can be difficult to give an exact amount but always overdose rather than under dose or else you could end up going round in circles!
- When buying Chlorine Shock just purchase enough for one season. Due to the nature of the chemical if it is kept in storage for too long it can start to attack the packaging, making it brittle and weak.
- Over the winter in addition to winterising your pool, keep a large floating dispenser in your pool with a 200g Multifunctional Tablet in it. This will further enhance the condition of your pool when you open it up again in the spring.
- After refilling your spa or hot tub, use either Bromine Spa Starter or Chlorine Granules to quickly establish a bromine/chlorine level. If you only use tablets it will take a while for you to establish a suitable sanitiser level in your spa.
- Use Oxy Shock to shock treat your spa as it is faster dissolving than chlorine shock and it fully dissolves. Also it doesn’t produce the chlorine smells you get with a chlorine based shock.
- To improve the clarity of your water, shower before using the spa. This will get rid of any lotions and perspiration that would normally cloud the water.
- Drain and refill your spa on a regular basis. As a rough guide a 1000 litre spa should be drained after 100 bathers.
In addition to our tricks why not have a treat? As it is Halloween we are giving all our blog readers 10% off. To claim your 10% discount please type BLOGTREAT into the gift voucher redeem box when ordering online. There is no limit to how many times you can use the voucher and it is valid until 30th November 2011.
By swimmingpoolchemicals.co.uk
Dechlorinator is a sodium thiosulphate solution that allows you to safely remove chlorine from your pool should accidental over-chlorination occur. It isn’t recommended to swim in water that contains more than 3ppm of chlorine however you shouldn’t use Dechlorinator unless the chlorine level goes above 10ppm. If your chlorine level is between 3 and 10ppm it is recommended that you stop dosing your pool with chlorine and allow the chlorine level to come down naturally over time. The reason for this is if you put too much dechlorinator into the pool then you will need to add a lot of chlorine to establish a chlorine level again. This is good for chemical suppliers profits but not for your pockets!!!
Before you add any dechlorinator it is important that you ascertain an accurate chlorine reading. This may involve doing a dilution test if the chlorine is bleaching out your test reagent. Once you have an accurate chlorine reading, pour the required amount of dechlorinator into a bucket of water and then distribute evenly around the pool. Allow the pool water to turnover twice before testing the pool water again.
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