POOL CLOSING

Think Liquid Chlorine is the best thing since sliced bread?

In order to properly shock your pool, the free chlorine level must be raised ten times higher than the level of combined chlorine. When this level is reached, breakpoint chlorination occurs—whereby all waste in the pool becomes oxidized. Also, any combined chlorine (inactive chlorine) will be rejuvenated and all odour-causing chloramines will be killed off.
But what type of chlorine most conveniently provides breakpoint chlorination at a minimal cost? Let’s look at how much shock is required both liquid and granular chlorine to effectively clean your pool.

Liquid Chlorine
1 Litre Liquid/10,000 Litres of water
Cal-Hypo (granular)
 150 Grams Cal-Hypo/10,000 Litres of water

 

Let’s say, for example, the volume of your pool is 60,000 Litres. We can calculate, based on what you pay for each chlorine type, how much it costs to shock this pool one time.

Liquid Chlorine @ $0.60 / Litre
1 Litre Liquid CL / 10,000 L of water
$0.60 X 6 = $3.60 per application
1.6 applications per 10 Litre Jug
 
Calcium Hypochlorite @ $39.95 / 6 kg
150g Cal-Hypo / 10,000 L of water
$0.58 / 100g X 900g = $5.22 per application
7 applications per 6 kg pail

It seems that liquid chlorine is the better deal, costing $1.62 less than granular per application. However, if you note that a 10 Litre jug of Liquid Chlorine yields only 1 application versus the 7 applications a 6kg pail of Calcium Hypochlorite will for the same pool, you may wonder whether or not it’s worth that $1.62 in “savings.” Considering that you have to make a trip to refill that 10 Litre jug every time you want to shock your pool, and assuming that you have at least a 5 km distance from your house to your pool store, you’ll be making at least five extra round trips in your car at 10 km per trip just to fill up those precious liquid chlorine jugs! With our current gas prices, can you really afford that extra 50 km in your car? For most cars that get 10km/L, these trips will cost you an extra $4.50 in gas alone. This doesn’t factor in the time you spend traveling…and we all know that time is money! Not only is granular chlorine much safer on vinyl liners, it is also the more convenient choice. Pick up a pail of Calcium Hypochlorite for only $39.95 (6 kg.)!

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