How to Get the Total Chlorine Higher in a Pool
- 1). Understand what constitutes total chlorine in the pool and why it might need to be raised. Total chlorine is the sum of the combined chlorine and the free chlorine in the pool. Combined chlorine is that chlorine which has combined with organics and is no longer available to disinfect. Free chlorine is that chlorine which is available to disinfect. By shocking the pool with large amounts of chlorine, the free chlorine gets raised and the combined chlorine is burned off, thereby raising the total chlorine.
- 2). Test the pool water and find out the total chlorine and the free chlorine levels. Subtract the free chlorine from the total chlorine in order to find out the combined chlorine. If the combined chlorine is higher than 0.2 parts per million then a shocking of the pool may be in order. When the combined chlorine gets too high there will be a heavy smell of chlorine and swimmers will experience more eye irritation.
- 3). Super-chlorinate the pool by adding chlorine at 10 times the amount of the combined chlorine. If the combined chlorine is not known then add 10 parts per million of chlorine. Normally the chemical used to super-chlorinate the pool is calcium hypochlorite and normally it will take 1 lb. of the chemical for every 10,000 gallons of water.
- 4). Close the pool to swimmers when super-chlorination is taking place. Usually the pool will need to be closed for several hours. Consult the directions on the chemical being used for the specific length of time for pool closure.