- [Narrator] How often do I need to shock my pool?
Regularly shocking your pool
is one of the best ways to keep it clean and clear.
All you need to know are the seven shocking rules.
Check it out.
(dramatic music)
First, what is shock?
There is a difference between the actual chemical
which is called Pool Shock
and the action which is called shocking.
Pool Shock is a concentrated dose of Chlorine,
there is also a non-chlorine version too.
Shocking is the process of adding high amounts of Chlorine
to your pool that raise the free Chlorine level.
Why do we shock a pool?
Well it's like hitting a giant reset button.
Pull shock destroys the algae and bacteria
living in your pool and removes combined Chlorine molecules
called chloramines.
When you are buying Pool Shock,
look for the shock that contains at least 65 to 70%
Calcium hypochlorite.
There's also a non-chlorine shock that only helps
to remove chloramines that will not raise
the free Chlorine level in your pool.
So, how often do you need to shock your pool?
One, you wanna shock your pool when the free Chlorine levels
are off or when you smell Chlorine.
Regular testing will help you know if your pool water
is outside the recommended free Chlorine levels.
Free Chlorine should be between 1 and 3 Parts Per Million,
with 3 Parts Per Million being ideal.
And if you smell Chlorine,
this indicates that the Chlorine is combined with ammonias
and no longer sanitizing the water.
Shocking the water will free up effective Chlorine
and eliminate the smell.
Two, shock your pool when you open it.
This will help kill algae that has developed
while it was closed.
Balance your water first,
adjusting things like pH and alkalinity.
Then we recommend using a double shock,
which is twice the normal amount of shock
to give your pool an initial bacterial killing whammy.
Use two pounds of pool shock
for every 10,000 gallons of pool water,
or five pounds of liquid shock
for every 20,000 gallons of pool water.
Three, shock your pool every week for normal maintenance.
You will kill more and more bacteria
every time you shock your pool.
Weekly shocking is a great way
to keep your Chlorine levels up and prevent algae grow.
If no one has been swimming in your pool
and you don't get any weird weather,
feel free to skip a week.
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Four, shock after heavy use.
If you've had a party
or you've been swimming in your pool a lot,
you wanna push that big reset button
and give your pool a shock.
People carry lots of bacteria and the Chlorine level drops
when tons of people have been in the water.
Five, shock after a heavy rain
because it can carry contaminants into your pool
and mess with your pH levels.
So shocking is a great way to reset after a storm.
Six, shock after super sunny hot weather.
When temperatures get too high,
the strength of your Chlorine can decrease
and bacteria can grow.
And seven, shock when closing your pool.
Your future self will thank you for this one.
Shocking your pool before you close,
that means you probably wouldn't be greeted
by an algae nightmare when you open it up again next season.
Now you know how often to shock,
but when is the right time to add shock?
The answer, at night.
Chlorine in Pool Shock is unstabilized
and the sun will burn off the Chlorine very quickly.
So to get the most out of your shock treatment,
wait until the sun goes down
before adding shock to your pool.
And, wait at least eight hours after shocking
to go swimming again.
This is another great reason to shock overnight.
When you are ready to shock,
first check your pH and alkalinity levels
to make sure that they are balanced.
You can dissolve shock ahead of time
in a five gallon bucket of pool water and stir gently.
Be sure to always follow the instructions
on your Pool Shock package
since some shock doesn't need to be predissolved.
And if you do this,
wear protective chemical resisting goggles,
masks and gloves.
Run your pool pump and pour the shock mixture
from the bucket into the pool around the edges of the pool.
And then let the pump run for at least eight hours overnight
and then test the water the next morning.
You wanna wait for that free Chlorine levels to drop
down to at least 3 Parts Per Million
before you go swimming.
And that's it.
That's how often you should shock your pool.
If you missed anything, or have any questions,
please leave a comment to let us know
and to help your fellow pool owners.
And hit the like button if you found this video helpful.
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about pool maintenance and trouble shooting,
subscribe to our channel for more videos like this one
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at swimuniversity.com/pool.
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That's it,
thanks again and happy swimming.