Uh oh! Your pool isn't sanitised. Middle ear infections and a green or cloudy pool is on the horizon. Luckily, we can help you fix that.
Chlorine is THE chemical that is in charge of keeping your pool safe to swim in by killing nasty algae and bacteria, which in turn helps every other pool chemical do their job properly. Sanitisation first!
Before you can fix, maintain or enjoy your pool, you have to test it! Test your pool water using the Water TechniX 7 in 1 Test Strips. These handy test strips test your pool water quickly and accurately, letting you know in seconds if you chemical levels are too low, too high or just right.
First time treating your pool? Check out our in depth guide by clicking here.
Free Chlorine
Chlorine Levels too Low
What does it mean?
Your pool isn’t sanitised. Middle ear infections and a green or cloudy pool is on the horizon!
Reasons it could be low:
- Not enough salt in the water for your Chlorinator to produce chlorine (salt should sit around 5000 PPM.
- Salt cell needs cleaning. Check our chlorinator cleaning guide for more information.
- Salt cell needs replacing. Salt cells have an average life span of 4-6 years.
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Chlorinator needs replacing. Chlorinators can die for a number of reasons:
- 8 to 12 years old is the average Chlorinator life span
- The Power Board or PCB Board (the brains of the Chlorinator) has seized.
Sometimes it's better and easier on your back pocket in the long run to replace than fix. - If you're not sporting a Chlorinator (shame on you), you’re not manually dosing it with enough liquid or granulated chlorine.
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Your Cyanuric Acid (UV Blockout) level is low, therefore majority of the chlorine in the water is getting evaporated by the sun.
How to fix it
- If you're sporting a Chlorinator, add salt. Salt should sit around 5000ppm (parts per million). Each 20kg bag of salt equals roughly 500ppm for 60,000L pools.
- Clean your salt cell (give it an hydrochloric acid bath in 10% acid 90% water for 3-5 minutes until majority of the calcium bubbles up and dissolves).
- Replace your Chlorinator Salt Cell.
- Replace your Chlorinator.
- Use granulated chlorine instead of liquid chlorine and add 1-2 cups - it's much stronger. Always choose NON-stabilised granulated chlorine.
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Dose your pool with Cyanuric Acid (UV blockout/stabiliser). Always follow dosing instructions on the back of package and never add more than 500g-1kg of Cyanuric Acid at a time.
We're not able to ship Chlorine as it is a dangerous good, though we have some of the lowest prices for Liquid Chlorine and Non-Stabilised Granulated Chlorine at our shop front in Gosford, NSW. If you're from the area, do drop by and say "Hi!".
For more information, check out our comprehensive guide on how to test and fix pool water.
Worry-Free Chlorination
One of the best ways to ensure that your swimming pool's chlorine levels are always where they're supposed to be is an investment in a salt & mineral chlorinator. No more forgetting to add chlorine, simply set your timers and you're good to go. Having a salt & mineral chlorinator makes maintaining pool chlorine levels a breeze.
Are your cyanuric acid levels in check? Maybe your pool just needs some long-lasting stabilised chlorine. We have the best deals on stabilised chlorine online (and offline!).
Do you have any questions about this topic or the featured products? No worries, we're here to help! Drop us a question down below and we'll get back to you ASAP.
Happy swimming :)