Chlorine is added to a pool for the purposes of sanitizing, disinfecting, cleaning and clearing bacteria/algae and overall keeping the pool safe and fun for swimming. You have to continuously add chlorine to the pool because it is unstable and will work until is no longer effective. Always remember to handle chlorine with care, it is a hazardous material and should be used safely.
There are two types of chlorine; powder and liquid. Both have their positive and negatives. Liquid chlorine has a high pH level of about 13. It is often used in large pools with high traffic because it can be added directly and a lot at one time. In smaller pools, liquid chlorine could cause some damage to the walls and bottom if not counteracted correctly. The high pH in a smaller pool needs to have acid to be added to do so. Even though this might be cheaper than other alternatives you are adding the cost of other chemicals and the cost might be more than the overall efficiency.
Powdered Chlorine is a little more expensive but is the more common form used by individual pool owners. it has a lower pH which makes it easier to balance and easier to use. Although there are different types of powdered chlorine. Di-Chlor has a pH of about 7, which means less acid used to balance the water. It is stable and can be used for shocking but is more expensive. It only contains about 62% of chlorine per pound. Lithium Hypochlorite has a pH of about 11 and is about 35% chlorine per pound. Yet, it dissolves quickly and reduces the chances of bleaching a vinyl liner. The most cost effect powder chlorine is Calcium Hypochlorite, making it one of the most popular. It has about 65% chlorine per pound and a pH of 12. But It is unstable and the fumes are dangerous sometimes.
Make sure you are choosing your chlorine based on the use of it and your pool budget. Both products will do a good job and keep your pool clean and clear. Also remember to check the manuals of all your equipment to be sure that there are no limitation on the chlorine you can use. Happy Swimming!
