By Request… COOLPOOL15 Discount Code Extended Until 2/10/2013!

Simply use discount code COOLPOOL15 to save 15% off regular prices on all pool and spa testing products for this weekend only… or just click this link and the code will automatically get loaded into your browser & shopping cart for you.

Importance of pool & spa testing

Water serves as a perfect breeding ground for all sorts of nasty, unwanted bacteria, parasites, insects, germs, diseases, etc. if not properly treated with sanitizing products like chlorine, bromine, ozone, ionizer systems, and other methods.

You will not KNOW that you have the correct amount of sanitizer(s) in your water unless you… test your pool/spa water on a regular basis.

So test chlorine/bromine and that’s it, right?

WRONG!

Other critical pool water parameters such as pH (is the water acidic or basic), total alkalinity (is the water properly buffered against radical pH changes), calcium hardness (does the water have enough calcium to keep it from becoming aggressive), chlorine stabilizer (self-explanatory), and dissolved metals (also self-explanatory) all play a vital role in helping to make sure pool water remains safe to swim in, pretty to look at, and not problematic for pool surfaces (i.e. liners, fittings, etc.).

Best test strip for testing a chlorine pool

Obviously WE believe strongly in testing for as many parameters as possible on a regular basis, but then again we actually enjoy testing water all the time. Ha ha. For the rest of the world, hitting what we call ‘The Big 5’ routinely ought to suffice:

• Free Chlorine — You main sanitizing agent.
• Total Chlorine — Helps you determine ‘good chlorine vs. bad chlorine’ count.
• pH — Is the water acidic or basic?
• Total Alkalinity — Is the water properly protected against sudden changes in the pH level?
• Calcium Hardness — Does the water have enough minerals to keep it from eating away at pool surfaces?

Most times if all these levels remain in balance a pool’s water will remain crystal clear and perfectly safe to swim in.

Tell us about saving money on pool chemicals

Pool owners who do NOT test their water for (at least) the basics on a regular basis tend to have a great number of algae outbreaks and problems with cloudy water than pool owners who do test their water regularly.

That means pool owners who do not test on a regular basis tend to need more algaecide, pool shock treatments, and clarifiers — all of which cost money.

Another way in which regular pool testing saves money involves not not adding more chemicals than your pool actually needs.

Testing the sanitizer level before adding more keeps you from adding too much and possibly either making the water unpleasant to swim in and/or making it harmful to various pool surfaces and components.

Moral of today’s story?

You will need to test your pool or spa water anyway so why pay full price in a few months when you can pick up what you need right now for 15% less money?

Plus picking up test strips will be one less thing your spouse will nag at you to do in a few months 😉

The links below will automatically load the COOLPOOL15 discount code for you!

Thanks for the question, Mandy!

When a person tells us they have no chlorine reading on their test kit usually one or more of the following factors has played a part in causing that to happen:

• Chlorine demand greater than chemical feeder system can supply
• Old or expired test kit reagents, test strips, etc. not properly reading chlorine levels
• Lack of pool stabilizer (cyanuric acid)

The fact that you can smell chlorine, however, tells us that you may have another situation on your hands. Quite possibly your pool has combined chlorine but not much free chlorine. If you do not know the difference between combined chlorine and free chlorine then please take a look at an earlier posting of ours called What is the Difference Between Total Residual Chlorine and Free Chlorine?

For those not interested in reading the long version, the following will explain free chlorine, combined chlorine and total chlorine:

• Free Chlorine does the active sanitizing of the pool water by neutralizing organic contaminants (i.e. bacteria, parasites, etc.). Traditional chlorine sanitized pools should have a healthy free chlorine level at all times.
• Combined Chlorine started out as free chlorine, locked horns w/ an organic contaminant, and now has become attached to the contaminant it neutralized. While still partially effective as a sanitizer, it has nowhere near the sanitizing power of free chlorine… and it plays a big part in producing the strong ‘chlorine smell’ most people associate with pool water.
• Total Chlorine represents the total concentration of free chlorine plus combined chlorine in a water sample.

So, Mandy, at this point we believe you should begin by making sure your test kit can test for both free and total chlorine. If it cannot then we suggest picking up a test kit such as the Poolmaster 5-Way Test Kit or, if you prefer a simpler chlorine testing method, the Pool Check 5-Way Test Strips should work quite well for you.

If your existing test kit can test for both free and total chlorine then you may need to replace your reagents (i.e. DPD-1 Test Tablets, DPD-3 Test Tablets, and/or DPD ReagentStrips). If stored near other pool chemicals, left out in the sun and extreme heat for long periods, or beyond their expiration date(s), your reagents may have gone bad.

Now that you have ruled out the test apparatus as the root of your chlorine troubles, test the pool for both free and total chlorine and then subtract the free chlorine concentration from the total chlorine concentration. Ideally you should get a very low number (zero would be perfect) but if you get more than a 0.5ppm difference you most certainly have a buildup of combined chlorine — and that would explain the strong chlorine odor you mentioned.

To get rid of the combined chlorine experts suggest ‘shocking’ (superchlorinating) the pool with a non-stabilized chlorine (contains no cyanuric acid) such as calcium hypochlorite powder or a non-chlorine ‘shock’ treatment such as monopersulfate (MPS).