Traditional Method of Swimming Pool Care

The Traditional Method of pool care will use a combination of chlorine, 3” Tri-Chlor tablets, Phosphate Removers and Enzymes. This together with regular testing and shocking of the pool, when needed, is a method adopted and used by most pool service companies and many pool stores.

This method is highly effective if you have a very large pool, a pool that gets heavy use, and one you want to check and balance only once per week. If you don’t have a Saltwater Generator that adds chlorine to the pool for you this method works well.

The Traditional method will allow you to keep your chlorine level stable at 3.0 ppm each week. To keep algae and organics from weakening the chlorine effectiveness you would also, add a maintenance dose of a Phosphate Remover like PhosFree and an Enzyme like Pool Perfect (I refer to these as Chlorine Enhancers). You can of course do the Traditional Method without these added products, but they have been

proven to help reduce chlorine use and in the long run, are cost-effective. You will use less liquid chlorine, shock and 3” tablets in your pool each week if you use one or both of these Chlorine Enhancers. You can also use a PoolRX as your Chlorine Enhancer with this method.

Again, the advantage of this method is that you can maintain your pool's chlorine level at 3.0 ppm and prevent algae growth and poor water quality with weekly chemical checking and dosing. It is a convenient method if you take care of your pool yourself and only want to add chemicals once per week. You would shock your pool weekly if the chlorine level drops below 3.0 ppm and you would use the Tri-Chlor tablets to help maintain the chlorine level all week long. The process is easy and simple and cost-effective.

For example, if the chlorine has dropped to 1.0 ppm you would add liquid chlorine or a bag of a shock to bring it back up above 3.0 ppm. From there you would add two or three of 3” Tri-Chlor tablet to a floater or in-line chlorinator to help keep it at 3.0 ppm the rest of the week. The tablets slowly dissolve and add chlorine to your pool all week long. Each week you would test the water, shock to pool if needed and add more tablets. You would also add the Chlorine Enhancer of your choice to help make the chlorine more effective.

One of the drawbacks of the Traditional Method is that you may need to partially drain your pool ever so often since the 3” Tri-Chlor tablets do add Conditioner to your pool (Cyanuric Acid).  As the CYA level gets over 100 ppm, you will need to use more chlorine to maintain a 3.0 ppm-level. This is not a completely bad thing since adding freshwater also lowers the Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) and Calcium Harness in a pool. Freshwater really doesn’t hurt anything, it actually makes things better.

The Traditional Method is time-proven and effective and one that many pool owners subscribe to.