What does "Shocking" a swimming pool mean, and why is it necessary? Pool shock is a granular pool chemical, which should be added to your swimming pool at least once each week. You should shock more frequently if the pool is used heavily, after you receive large amounts of rain, or during extended periods of hot, sunny weather. The chlorine tablets or granular chlorine that you constantly dissolve into your pool water seeks out and combines with bacteria and other organics on a molecular level, to neutralize these harmful contaminants. In the process of killing these harmful contaminants the chlorine becomes inactive, and the chlorine and bacteria that have combined together is called "Combined Chlorine". The combined chlorine must be removed from the swimming pool to keep your pool water safe and clean.
Which Shock should you use? There seems to be a very wide selection of swimming pool shock on the market, and each pool supply distributor works hard to make their product seem a step above the rest. When all of the products are compared side by the side, the only real difference on the labels is the concentration of the active ingredients in the product. The standard pool shock that most pool owners use has the active ingredient Calcium Hypochlorite. You should expect the label to read 65% Calcium Hypochlorite. Another more concentrated version of the pool shock may have as much as 75% Calcium Hypochlorite. Rather than the active ingredient Calcium Hypochlorite that is found in common Pool Shock, Lithium Shock contains Lithium Hypochlorite. Lithium shock uses lithium as a filler instead of the calcium, which allows this product to dissolve in water much quicker and does not affect the calcium hardness level of the swimming pool. Although Lithium Shock is superior to the common Calcium Hypochlorite based pool shock, this product is not used by most pool owners due to the higher cost. In addition to the chlorine based pool shock, you will find a product called Chlorine-Free Pool Shock.
This revolutionary pool chemical performs the same task of oxidizing bacteria and organics in your swimming pool water, but it does not contain chlorine or chemicals that are harsh on swimmers eyes and skin. Chlorine-Free pool shock performs just as well as a chlorine based swimming pool shock by using the active ingredient Potassium Monopersulfate. Chlorine free pool shock uses a unique chemical process to destroy bacteria, instead of raising the chlorine level of water to dangerous levels. You can actually swim in the pool only one hour after using Chlorine-Free Shock. Chlorine based pool shock (Calcium Hypochlorite) has a high pH, and will naturally raise the pH level of your swimming pool water, in addition to changing your chlorine level. Chlorine free shock has a neutral pH, and will not affect any of your pool chemical levels. Chlorine based swimming pool shock should always be kept on hand, because it is the ONLY pool chemical that will kill algae after algae has grown in the pool. If your water chemistry is properly maintained, and you shock your swimming pool at least once a week, you will never see algae or experience water problems of any kind!
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