How to keep the water clean in a pool

#1: A weekly routine keeps pool water sparkling clean

A weekly pool care routine is the best way to keep your pool water sparkling clean. Not only will it prevent small issues from becoming big (costly) problems, but it’s also an easy way to keep your pool water crystal clear all year long. Here’s a quick reminder of the recommended steps:

2X PER WEEK

Test your water using HTH™ Pool Care 6-Way Test Strips, then choose one of the following options to receive personalized results:

• Get fast and accurate test results in the palm of your hand with the HTH Test to Swim™ app (available on iOS and Android)
• Or text a photo of your test strip to 484-123 to receive personalized pool care instructions in seconds

1X PER WEEK

Sanitize, clarify and protect your pool water with HTH 3” Chlorine Tabs Advanced

1X PER WEEK

Shock weekly to prevent 90% of pool problems within 24 hours* using HTH Pool Care Shock Advanced – a Cal Hypo formula that prevents chlorine lock! (See below for details)

1X PER WEEK

Keep algae away with a weekly dose of HTH Pool Care Algae Guard Advanced – it kills and prevents all types of algae!
*Based on most common pool problems

#2: “Chlorine lock” is a thing – and it’s preventable

Some people think “chlorine lock” is a made-up term – but rest assured, it’s real. Here’s how it happens:

• Many chlorine sanitizers and shock products, such as Trichlor, are stabilized with a chemical compound known as cyanuric acid (CYA).
• CYA’s primary function is to protect chlorine from being quickly degraded by the sun – it’s like sunscreen for your pool!
• However, CYA does not burn off in the sun like chlorine does.
• So, when stabilized chlorine products are added to pool water, the CYA builds up and causes overstabilization — commonly known as chlorine lock.
• This means the chlorine in your pool water has essentially stopped working and is far less effective at sanitizing your water, giving it that cloudy look and requiring additional chlorine. Sometimes, but not always, you may also notice your water has turned green when this happens.
• The reduced effectiveness also leaves the water unsafe for swimmers, susceptible to algae, contaminants and bacteria with the ability to damage pool surfaces over time.
  
  The high-cost solution is to drain your pool and rebalance your water. A better solution? Prevent it from happening in the first place with HTH sanitizers and shocks, which use Cal Hypo chlorine Cal Hypo is a unique chemistry that does not contain a CYA stabilizer, so it does NOT contribute to the buildup of CYA and will NEVER cause chlorine lock.