Why Pool Chlorine Tablets Aren’t Enough (And What to Add)

Chlorine is one of the most widely used pool chemicals, and for good reason. It plays an essential role in sanitizing pool water by killing bacteria, algae, and other harmful organisms. Chlorine tablets are convenient and often considered the go-to solution for pool maintenance. However, relying solely on chlorine tablets may not provide complete protection for your pool water.

In this blog post, we’ll explain why pool chlorine tablets aren’t enough on their own, and what other chemicals you should add to your pool to ensure balanced, clear, and healthy water.

What Pool Chlorine Tablets Do (And What They Don’t)

Chlorine tablets are designed to sanitize your pool water by releasing chlorine gradually over time. They help kill harmful bacteria and microorganisms, making your pool safe to swim in. However, while chlorine tablets play a vital role in keeping the water clean, they have limitations when it comes to other aspects of pool water maintenance.

What Chlorine Tablets Do:

• Sanitization: Chlorine tablets are primarily used to disinfect and kill bacteria, viruses, and algae in the water.
• Continuous Chlorine Release: Chlorine tablets are slow-dissolving, providing a steady release of chlorine over time, which helps maintain proper sanitation levels.
• Algae Control: They help control algae growth in the pool, but they are not a long-term solution for algae outbreaks.

What Chlorine Tablets Don’t Do:

• pH Balance: Chlorine tablets do not address the pH levels of your pool. Over time, chlorine tablets can actually lower the pH, making the water more acidic, which can lead to skin irritation and damage to the pool surfaces.
• Alkalinity: Chlorine tablets do not affect the alkalinity of your pool, which is essential for stabilizing the pH levels.
• Calcium Hardness: They do not address calcium hardness levels, which can lead to scaling or corrosion in the pool.
• Water Clarity: Chlorine tablets alone cannot clear cloudy water caused by debris, oils, or minerals suspended in the water.

Why Pool Chlorine Tablets Aren’t Enough

While chlorine tablets are crucial for maintaining a disinfected and algae-free pool, they cannot maintain all aspects of pool water chemistry. Several factors contribute to balanced pool water, and chlorine tablets alone don’t provide the complete solution. Here are the key reasons why they aren’t enough:

1. Chlorine Tablets Lower pH Levels

Chlorine tablets, particularly trichlor tablets, are acidic in nature. While they disinfect the water, they gradually lower the pool’s pH levels. If left unchecked, low pH levels can lead to:

• Corrosion of Pool Equipment: A low pH can cause damage to metal pool components, such as ladders, rails, and heaters.
• Skin and Eye Irritation: If the pH is too low, the water can irritate your skin and eyes, making it uncomfortable to swim.
• Ineffective Sanitization: Extremely low pH can reduce the effectiveness of chlorine, preventing it from sanitizing the pool properly.

2. They Don’t Address Alkalinity Imbalances

Total alkalinity (TA) is another key element in maintaining proper pool chemistry. Alkalinity acts as a buffer for pH levels, helping to prevent rapid fluctuations. However, chlorine tablets do not affect the alkalinity levels of your pool. Without the proper balance of alkalinity, your pool’s pH can fluctuate wildly, leading to potential problems:

• Unstable pH: A low alkalinity can make the pool’s pH levels unstable, causing frequent changes that can damage the pool and irritate swimmers.
• Corrosion: Unbalanced alkalinity can result in pool equipment and surfaces becoming corroded.

3. Chlorine Tablets Don’t Solve Calcium Hardness Issues

Calcium hardness refers to the concentration of calcium in the water. If calcium levels are too low, the water can become corrosive, damaging the pool surfaces and equipment. If calcium levels are too high, it can lead to scaling on pool surfaces and plumbing. Chlorine tablets do not address these calcium hardness levels, so it’s important to monitor and adjust them separately.

• Ideal Calcium Hardness: The ideal range for calcium hardness is between 150 and 250 ppm. Anything outside of this range can cause scaling or corrosion, even if the pool is properly sanitized with chlorine.

4. Cloudy Water and Other Pool Issues

Chlorine tablets are excellent at sanitizing the water, but they do not help with water clarity issues caused by suspended particles, dirt, or oils. If your pool water is cloudy or contains debris that isn’t being filtered properly, chlorine tablets won’t be able to fix the problem. You will need additional chemicals, such as clarifiers or flocculants, to clear up the water.

What to Add to Your Pool for Complete Water Balance

To maintain a healthy, balanced pool, it’s important to add other chemicals in addition to chlorine tablets. Here’s a breakdown of what you need to add to your pool water for optimal results:

1. pH Adjusters

As mentioned earlier, chlorine tablets can lower your pool’s pH over time. To correct this, you will need to use pH adjusters.

• pH Increasers: If the pH of your pool water is too low (below 7.4), you can use a pH increaser (sodium carbonate or soda ash) to raise it back to the ideal range of 7.4 to 7.6.
• pH Decreasers: If your pH is too high, use a pH decreaser (sodium bisulfate) to bring it down to the appropriate level.
• Tip: Always adjust alkalinity before adjusting pH to stabilize the water chemistry.

2. Alkalinity Adjusters

To maintain stable pH levels, you also need to adjust the total alkalinity (TA) of your pool water. If alkalinity is too low, it can cause pH fluctuations, making it difficult to keep the water balanced.

• Alkalinity Increasers: Use sodium bicarbonate to raise alkalinity levels if they fall below the ideal range of 80-120 ppm.
• Alkalinity Reducers: If alkalinity is too high, use a pH decreaser to bring it back into balance.

3. Calcium Hardness Increasers

Chlorine tablets do not affect calcium hardness, which can lead to issues with scaling or corrosion. To maintain proper calcium hardness levels:

• Calcium Hardness Increasers: Use calcium chloride to raise calcium hardness if levels are too low. The ideal range for calcium hardness is between 150 and 250 ppm.

4. Pool Clarifiers and Flocculants

If your pool water is cloudy, chlorine tablets alone won’t clear it up. You can use pool clarifiers or flocculants to improve water clarity by removing small particles that are too small for the filter to capture.

• Clarifiers: These chemicals bind small particles together, making them large enough to be filtered out.
• Flocculants: These are stronger than clarifiers and cause particles to settle at the bottom of the pool, where they can be vacuumed up.
• Tip: If you use a flocculant, be sure to manually vacuum the pool to remove the particles after treatment.

5. Stabilizers

Cyanuric acid (CYA) is a stabilizer that helps protect chlorine from being broken down by UV rays from the sun. While chlorine tablets contain some stabilizer, you may need to add more if your pool is exposed to a lot of sunlight or if the stabilizer levels are too low.

• Ideal Cyanuric Acid Levels: 30-50 ppm is ideal for most pools. If the level is too low, chlorine will dissipate quickly under sunlight.

Maintaining a Balanced Pool with Chlorine Tablets and Other Chemicals

While chlorine tablets are an important part of pool maintenance, they aren’t a one-size-fits-all solution. For optimal pool water balance, you need to incorporate additional chemicals that address other aspects of pool care, such as pH, alkalinity, calcium hardness, and water clarity. By using chlorine tablets in conjunction with other chemicals, you can maintain a clean, clear, and healthy pool all season long.

Regular Pool Testing

To ensure that your pool remains properly balanced, test the water regularly, at least once a week. This will allow you to catch any imbalances early and adjust your chemicals as needed. By staying on top of your pool’s water chemistry, you’ll reduce the risk of cloudy water, algae growth, and other pool problems.

• Tip: Keep a log of your water test results to track changes over time and adjust your chemical additions accordingly.