A key element in the use of swimming pool chemicals is the “shock” treatment of the water. This refers to the process of adding sanitiser to a pool in an especially high concentration. Such an infusion of shock chemicals effectively “deep cleans” pool water through the killing of algae, bacteria, and other pathogens that could otherwise pose a risk to health if left unaddressed.
It is normally chlorine that is used for the shock treatment of pool water, although this isn’t always the case. Indeed, here at Pool Warehouse, we stock both chlorine shock and non-chlorine shock at excellent prices, and that can be depended on to act quickly.
5 situations that call for the use of pool shock treatment
While getting sanitiser levels up in a rapid and drastic way can be useful in the maintenance of your pool, it might be less clear to you what specific circumstances necessitate the use of shock treatment.
Below, we have set out a few examples of those:
• The pool is subject to particularly high usage
You know the kinds of circumstances we’re talking about. Maybe everyone in the family has been taking a dip in the pool over the last few days and weeks, or you have had visitors over from other households?
In such a situation, all manner of contaminants such as sweat, skin cells, lotions, bacteria, and urine can rapidly accumulate in the pool water. This, in turn, is likely to make the more frequent “shocking” of the pool necessary.
• The pool water has been changed
If you have replaced the water in your pool, a lack of chlorine in the new pool water will necessitate some of this chemical being added.
By applying a shock treatment in this circumstance, you can introduce the chlorine that will be vital for guarding against the growth of algae and bacteria.
• It’s the opening of a new season
It is typical in the UK for an outdoor swimming pool to be used from the spring until around autumn or the onset of winter.
If, however, you are “reopening” your pool for the start of a new season, and it has been left untouched over the winter, there will inevitably be some algae in the pool when spring arrives.
Depending on how well the pool was closed and looked after during its period of non-use, there hopefully won’t be a need for many treatments before it is ready for use once more.
• It’s the end of the pool season
Many people who are set to “close down” their pool for the winter decide to have it “shocked” to a higher-than-normal level. This helps slow down the inevitable algae and bacteria growth over the coming months of non-activity.
However, if this is the approach you will be taking, it is also advisable to check and treat your pool halfway through the closed season, to further combat these risks.
• There has just been rainfall or a storm
As raindrops make their way from the clouds towards your pool, they will accumulate contaminants from the atmosphere. A spell of rain, then, will alter the balance of your pool water, eventually leading to a situation where the chlorine is “used up”.
In such a situation, it may be necessary to apply shock treatment as a means of quickly raising the chlorine levels in the water.
Hopefully, you will now feel much more informed about the circumstances in which pool shock treatments become necessary. To follow on from this, why not read our previous article explaining what it means to “shock” a pool, or discover the latest great deals for chlorine and other swimming pool chemicals in our online store?
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