Why do I have total chlorine but no free chlorine?

Why do I have total chlorine but no free chlorine?

Chlorine lock can occur when there is too much cyanuric acid (also referred to as conditioner or stabilizer) in the water. This occurs when too much stabilizer is added to the water or when the swimming pool isn’t being partially drained and refilled periodically. if they don’t you likely have chlorine lock.

What does it mean when total chlorine is high?

If the numbers are higher, the pool may need to be shocked to get rid of the odor that comes with high amounts of combined chlorine. Having any combined chlorine in your pool water means that the free chlorine is currently breaking down some contaminants in the water.

What to do if free chlorine is lower than total chlorine?

If your total chlorine level is high, you will use a non-chlorine shock; if it is low, you will use a chlorinated shock. As a rule, you will need to raise free chlorine to 10 times your combined chlorine to hit what is known as “break point.” Therefore, it is good to deal with combined chlorine while it is still small.

How do I raise the free chlorine in my pool?

Raising pool chlorine can be much easier than trying to lower chlorine levels. Simply adding chlorine in the form of chlorine tablets, granular chlorine, liquid shock or powder shock will increase the total amount of chlorine within the pool.

Why is my free chlorine so high?

WHY IS MY CHLORINE LEVEL SO HIGH? Adding too much pool shock or putting too many chlorine tablets to the feeder can both result in very high levels of chlorine. A common way to over-chlorinate a pool, is when a liquid chlorine pump is left running all night; coming in the next day to a green-ish looking pool.

Why can’t I keep my chlorine level up in my pool?

If you test your pool water and can’t get a chlorine level reading at all it may be due to a very high chlorine demand. That means that oxidation levels have increased to a point where chlorine is being consumed faster than it can be put in to the water by either shocking or normal applications.

What is the highest chlorine level safe to swim in?

Safe chlorine levels range between 1 and 3 parts per million. At concentrations above 6 ppm, the pool is unsafe.

Can you swim in a pool with no free chlorine?

Statistically, a pool without chlorine is more likely to make you sick because of the possibility of being exposed to the things not contained or killed by chlorine. To be fair, you could swim in a pool without chlorine and probably be just fine, but the health and safety risks would be much greater.

Why can’t I get my pool chlorine levels up?

If you test your pool water and can’t get a chlorine level reading at all it may be due to a very high chlorine demand. Contamination, low pH or low chlorine stabiliser levels could cause this situation. The water might appear cloudy, the pool walls be slimy or the pool may look relatively OK.

How do you lower free chlorine in a spa?

We recommend that you allow the sanitizer levels to break down naturally. But if you have to use your hot tub, then you can add sodium thiosulfate to the water. Sodium thiosulfate will break down both chlorine and bromine in your water. This will lower the bromine or chlorine levels fast so you can soak sooner.

What is the difference between free chlorine and total chlorine in a pool?

Free Chlorine – This is the chlorine that you usually test for in your pool water. This chlorine is available to sanitize your pool. Your pool should have between 1 and 3 parts per million (ppm) in the water. Total Chlorine – This type of chlorine is the sum of both free chlorine and combined chlorine.

Why is free chlorine high?

What is the difference between free chlorine and total chlorine?

The key difference between free chlorine and total chlorine is that the free chlorine is the amount of chlorine that can inactivate pathogenic microorganisms present in the water whereas total chlorine is the sum of combined chlorine and free chlorine. The value of the free chlorine is always a lower than the value of the total chlorine.

Can too much chlorine be dangerous?

Too much Chlorine can be hazardous to human Chlorine can be found in the pool because it is a very common disinfectant. To be exact, it is elemental chlorine that is most commonly used. However, elemental chlorine at high concentrations is very dangerous for all living creatures, including human.

What causes high combined chlorine?

When substances such as ammonia are added to a chlorinated water supply to provide inorganic chloramines , they react with both forms of chlorine to generate combined chlorine. When combined chlorine rates are too high then negative effects such as irritation of the eyes, skin and mucous membranes may occur.

What happens if you swim in a pool with too much chlorine?

When too much chlorine is added to the water, a safe pool can become a pit of harmful chemicals. In fact, over-chlorinated pools threaten swimmers’ health in two ways.