How Long After Using Shock Can You Swim

Shocking a puddle is part of the regular pool maintenance that pool owners need to conduct out to keep the pool water quality in good condition. It is of import to know how long later you shock a puddle tin you lot swim and exist safe.

In general, after shocking a pool, no i should swim in the pool for a minimum of 6 hours and up to 24 hours. This time can vary depending on the type of shock used and the free chlorine levels, which you lot should test to brand sure it is lower than 5ppm before anyone swims, no matter how long it is since shocking the pool.

For this reason, I normally shock my pool in the evening and so leave the pool pump running overnight. That way the swimming pool water is normally condom to swim in by the adjacent morning. Read on for a full description of how long should you look to swim after putting shock in the pool.

How long after shocking pool tin can y'all swim

It is very like shooting fish in a barrel for pool owners to give in to pressure from children and others, who are desperate to get in the pond pool and swim, and not wait long enough after shocking a pool for the level of chlorine in your pool water to reach a prophylactic level. But stand house!

When it comes to how long does it take for puddle daze to piece of work, the accepted rules of thumb in the swimming pool industry for how long after adding pool shock can I swim are:

Wait 24 hours

Many say that once you use puddle shock, no-one should swim for 24 hours. Certainly, if you exercise wait this long and then it is near definitely going to be rubber for people to swim by and then.

Simply many people don't want to await this long and, to be honest, in my experience, it is non normally necessary. However, you shouldn't just presume that if you leave information technology overnight that it is and then safety for swimming. You should check the level of chlorine first, as below.

Exam free chlorine levels

This is the method I use.

Later on shocking a pool I wait for at least a few hours – actually, since I normally shock my puddle in the evening, and then run the pump overnight, it is normally more than eight hours anyway, often more than like 12 hours since I am certainly not an early riser.

I then exam the pool water using a test strip to cheque the level of free chlorine.

Provided these are at 5ppm or less then the pool is rubber to swim in. If they are higher then I leave it some other 60 minutes or so before testing again but, to be honest, it is quite rare that the levels haven't dropped beneath these levels overnight.

When to daze a puddle

There are a number of different reasons and events that will go far necessary for a pool owner to shock a pool. Shock your pool when:

Starting time up or opening
When you beginning start up the pool or open information technology at the beginning of the season.
Subsequently heavy rain
Pelting can bring with it contaminants and mayhap also lower the pH level (as rain is often quite acidic).
Heavy apply
After the pool has received heavy use, perhaps after a children's pool party or some similar event.
Complimentary Chlorine level low
If you test your pool water and the free chlorine level is zero or just above then shocking is a adept idea to increase the gratis chlorine levels.
Algal Blooms
If there is a sudden Algae blossom so you will demand to shock your pool past super-chlorinating (using up to 4 times the normal dosage)
Water temperature
If the temperature of the pool water increases due to a spell of very hot conditions this can increase the growth rate of bacteria.
After an "blow"
Perhaps you lot have had a young kid in the pool whose swim diaper didn't do as good a task every bit it should have done.
End of season
Shocking when y'all close your pool in wintertime can make life easier when you reopen information technology in spring.

Types of pool shocks

how long after shock can you swim Types of pool shock - Chlorine or Oxygenizer

Different types of stupor can make a departure to how long after shocking you can swim so the offset piece of advice would be to read the manufacturer's instructions on the packaging. This should tell you how long later shocking your pool to wait using that particular type of pool stupor.

Chlorine shocks

There are two main types of daze (that is, shock containing Chlorine) which are Calcium Hypochlorite (often referred to as Cal-Hypo) and Dichloroisocyanuric acrid (often referred to as Di-Chlor).

Cal-Hypo is the ane you volition see for sale about frequently, primarily I guess because it is not but the cheapest but strong as well. It is very quick to dissolve (e'er in a saucepan or container pre-filled with water earlier existence added to the puddle).

A very popular Cal-Hypo shock available on Amazon is the In The Swim Chlorine Pool Shock which comes in 24 x 1 pound numberless.

Di-Chlor is a granulated, stabilized chlorine. Information technology is slower dissolving than Cal-Hypo and the stabilizer volition heighten the cyanuric acrid level in your pool. In the Swim Sodium Di-Chlor Chlorine Stupor is bachelor in 24 1 pound bags on Amazon.

ALWAYS READ THE INSTRUCTIONS AND PRECAUTION WARNINGS ON THE PACKAGING!

Liquid chlorine daze

You tin can also buy a liquid chlorine shock which doesn't require pre-mixing or dissolving earlier pool shocking. Adding liquid chlorine tin be more expensive but information technology is a very easy manner of shocking your puddle only won't make whatever difference to how long after shocking you have to look earlier you can swim.

A popular liquid chlorine shock available on Amazon is made by Champion.

Liquid Chlorine Pool Shock - Commercial Grade 12.5% Concentrated Strength - 1 Gallon

Non-chlorine shock

Not-chlorine shocks are known equally Oxidizing shocks or chlorine gratuitous shocks. They contain no chlorine but instead employ oxygen to remove contaminants from the swimming puddle.

With this type of chlorine gratis daze, you can normally swim in equally petty as twenty minutes after adding information technology to your puddle. Nonetheless, Oxidizing stupor will non go rid of algae growth then yous volition need chlorine shock for that.

One of the about pop on Amazon is the In The Swim Chlorine-Free Oxidizing Pool Stupor which comes in 24 handy one pound bags.

Testing the water after shocking a swimming pool

how long to wait after shocking pool Testing the water after shocking

Yous tin test the puddle h2o using test strips, a liquid examination kit or an electronic h2o tester to establish how long later on daze can you swim. The full general consensus is that the level of gratis chlorine should be below five ppm and ideally below 3ppm before pond resumes.

You should get out the chlorine daze to work for at to the lowest degree 4 hours after shocking a pool before you first exam the pool h2o.

You should keep the pool pump running later shocking.

To explain the different chlorine terms I have written a post to help – Free Chlorine vs Full Chlorine vs Combined Chlorine Explained

Pool Maintenance Course

When I first bought my house with a swimming puddle, I knew naught nigh cleaning and maintaining it. I was recommended Swim University'due south Pool Care Handbook and video course so I bought it and have never regretted it.

Information technology was probably the best money I spent that twelvemonth as I have saved thousands by doing it myself.

What happens if you swim in a shocked pool?

Swimming in a pool that has just been chlorine shocked can be potentially dangerous (as opposed to oxidizing daze – come across above).

Swimming before the levels described above are reached can potentially result in ane or more than of the following problems:

stinging eyes
peel irritations
potentially worse conditions such as lung irritation.

If in uncertainty, don't swim! Examination the water and but go in when the levels are correct.

Read my total post What happens if you swim in a shocked pool?

Can you over daze a pool?

Well in a way you can only in practice information technology generally just means that you will have to look longer for the chlorine levels to reduce to a condom level before swimming in the pool again. Perhaps up to 48 hours.

If you lot have severely over shocked and take a vinyl liner the strong chlorine solution may bleach information technology.

You can aid reduce the chlorine levels by adding sodium thiosulfate granules to the puddle. You lot can buy this on Amazon – Pool Dechlorinator Sodium Thiosulfate Pentahydrate 15 lbs by Cesco Solutions

So the lesson is, follow the instructions and ensure that you only stupor to the level recommended.

Warning

As with adding any chemicals to a pool, always add the chemicals to h2o, Not H2o TO CHEMICALS.

In other words, if y'all will be mixing the shock solution in a bucket always make full the bucket with h2o start and then sprinkle in the shock. Do not put the shock into the empty bucket and and then make full it with h2o.

How long should you wait to swim when adding other chemicals?

Although some of the other chemicals y'all may add to your pool are relatively harmless, at least when compared with chlorine, it is generally not a skillful thought to swim in the pool immediately after adding chemicals.

Information technology is a good idea to wait at least 15-30 minutes for the chemicals to mix with the pool water so there are no "strong" areas for chemicals such as adding flocculant, algicide, hydrochloric acid, pH plus or minus or clarifier.

When adding Calcium Chloride to raise calcium hardness levels information technology is ordinarily recommended to await longer than 30 minutes, maybe at least four hours. Follow the guidelines on the pack to be safe.

My top iii pool cleaning tools

These are the pool cleaning tools I have found the near useful since I take had my pool.

Pace and corner vacuum castor

This is a really useful tool for getting into the areas that a standard vacuum caput only cannot reach. Aquatix Pro Puddle Step & Corner Vacuum Brush

Leaf rake cyberspace

If, like me, yous get enough of leaves at the lesser of your pool and so a good leaf rake/net is a must. The Stargoods Puddle Skimmer Net gets under the leaves hands.

Robotic puddle cleaner

These are quite expensive and information technology was a number of years earlier I flake the bullet and bought one. I take never regretted it. The Dolphin Nautilus CC Plus is the most recommended puddle cleaning robot on all of the pool forums. It not only cleans the bottom of the pool simply also the sides and the waterline.

FAQs

Tin can I swim 12 hours afterward shocking pool

Normally 12 hours is plenty of time to wait after puddle shocking before you swim although information technology tin have 24 hours. To be completely certain you should test the chlorine level in the h2o kickoff.

How long after adding bleach to pool tin you swim?

Bleach is a very weak chlorine solution and then you need to put plenty in a puddle to daze information technology. Yous should be safe if y'all get out it at least 4 hours just make sure you test the level of chlorine in the water beginning

When can you swim after shocking a saltwater pool?

How long to await afterward shocking a saltwater pool is no unlike to shocking a chlorine pool. A minimum of four hours and oft more than 12 hours. To be completely sure you should exam the level of chlorine in the water first.