Introduction

Swimming in a pool with lush, clear water is everyone’s desire, but due to bacteria, algae, and other viruses, pools are not always clean, and the pool water with these infectious substances is very harmful to swimmers. A common technique called pool shock treatment or pool shock protects the water from infectious substances. In this treatment, pool water is purified by raising its chlorine level to kill bacteria and other substances. Because of the use of chlorine for purification, this treatment is also called super chlorination. Chlorine makes water clean and safe for swimmers and protects them from harmful effects.

Interpretation of Pool Shocking

Below is a little interpretation of pool shock treatment about how it works and what the techniques are:

Chlorine’s role in pool water:

Chlorine performs the following roles in pool water:

Role as a disinfectant:

Chlorine acts as a disinfectant. The excretion of hypochlorous acid and hypochlorite ions makes it harmful for the microorganisms in pool water, and water creates the ability to kill these microorganisms. Chlorine also averts algae growth in water. The greenish cloudiness of water due to algae can be staved off with the help of chlorine.

Role as an oxidizing agent:

While swimming in pools, swimmers could cause the addition of sweat, oil, and urine in the pool water. This secretion from the human body acts as a toxin in pool water. Chlorine acts as an oxidizing agent against these toxins; it breaks down these toxins and prevents the formation of chloramines. Chloramines are the agents formed due to the secretions of toxins in water and could irritate skin and eyes. The oxidizing ability of chlorine helps prevent these problems.

pH equilibrium:

Even though chlorine is not a pH stabilizer, it has a minor role in stabilizing the pH equilibrium in pool water.

Clarity maintenance of water:

As discussed above, chlorine helps prevent water’s cloudiness by preventing algae growth. There is an addition to this statement: chlorine and algae also prevent the turbidity and cloudiness of water formed because of other microbial toxins.

The procedure of Pool Shocking:

Below is a step-by-step procedure of how pool shock treatment is usually performed:

Selection of Shock:

Different pools of water have different chemistry. Pool shock treatment could only be performed if we knew how our pool water would react when a certain shock substance was added to it. Different shock substances are available in the market, including hypochlorite, sodium dichlor, and some non-chlorine shocks.

Quantity of Shock:

After selecting the right shock substance, the next step is determining the correct quantity for the shock. Remember that this is the key step of the shocking process because any wrong amount of shock substance addition would change the water’s nature, a lesser amount of shock substance would not purify the water completely, and a higher amount could cause harmful effects on the skin and eyes. So, while determining the quantity of shock substance, ask someone who is an expert or get proper knowledge yourself.    

Preventive Measures:

Taking precautions is necessary before doing any work involving chemical substances like chlorine. Before performing pool shock treatment, it’s necessary to wear gloves, goggles, and proper safety gear to protect yourself from chemicals.

Addition of Shock in Pool:

The next step is the addition of an amalgam of pre-dissolved shock in water. The right way to perform this step is to slowly add shock in the pool while the water pump is running so the shock can equally mix with the pool water.

Wait Overnight:

After adding the shock substance to the pool water, wait for at least 12 to 24 hours till the water and the amalgam get mixed completely.

Test the Chlorine Level:

After resting for 12 to 24 hours, test the level of chlorine in the pool by using the pool water testing kit. If the chlorine level has reached the safe range in water, you can go for summing. The safe level of chlorine in pool water is 1-3 ppm.

Conservation of the Chlorine Level:

After the process, you must recheck the chlorine level in pool water after every interval. It is to prevent the reoccurring of bacteria and algae. You don’t need to add the same amalgam of shock substance every time. This time, if the chlorine level is reduced in the pool, you can add the tablets easily available in the markets.

Benefits of Pool Shocking

Below are a few benefits of pool shock treatment:

Reduction of Infectious Substances:

Infectious agents like bacteria, algae, and chloramines are always in the water. They are very harmful to the human skin and often cause itching on the body and eye irritation. Pool shock treatment causes the reduction of these infectious organisms by killing them.

Easement of Swimmer:

Clear and purified water is always a cause of attraction for swimmers, and if it’s good for the hygiene of the swimmer’s body, then they will feel easement in swimming. Purified lush water would increase the enjoyment of the swimmer.

Reduce the probability of Illness:

Protecting the water from bacteria, algae, and other harmful substances would reduce the possibility of Illness in the swimmer’s body. Swimmers would be safe from all kinds of infections and other gastrointestinal diseases, which are highly occurring due to the intake of contaminated water in the stomach or intestine.

Increase Life of Pool Equipment:

Contaminated water also causes harmful effects on pool equipment like pumps, filters, etc. This equipment would get rusty because of some harmful substances in contaminated water, but with the help of pool shock treatment, we can prevent this issue.

Conclusion

Maintaining a pool by preventing it from any harmful substance is a necessary practice for residential and commercial pools. Pool shock treatment is one of the fundamental things to do when you are a pool owner. Always ensure your pool water is free from toxins and safe for swimming. If you are living in Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia, it’s a very necessary practice for your pool.