CHEMICAL STORAGE AND HANDLING
Most of the chemicals found
around the house are labeled with warnings to keep them
away from children. This is because they can be dangerous
and are potentially hazardous. Pool/spa chemicals are no
exceptions. These chemicals are concentrated and therefore
can be very dangerous.
All concentrated sanitizing compounds are oxidizing agents.
This means that they are capable of causing a fire or explosion
if they come into contact with reactive organic materials,
such as turpentine, kerosene, gasoline and some other pool
chemicals including certain algaecides. When chlorine is
involved in a fire, the fumes and smoke are toxic.
Chemicals used for pH control
are potentially dangerous if allowed to contact your skin,
hair, or clothing. Severe burns can result from the misuse
of these chemicals. For example, Lo-N-Slo, a dry acid, is
much safer to handle than the liquid muratic acid.
A responsible adult should always
handle chemicals. A child, no matter how mature, should
never be allowed to transport, administer, or “play”
with chemical containers. “Empty” chemical containers
are also dangerous. Small amounts of the chemical remain
in most containers after they are emptied. For this reason,
you should never reuse a chemical container unless you are
absolutely certain you have cleaned the entire chemical
out of the container. You should never use an old chlorine
pail or drum to store your pH adjusters! The combination
of any chlorine and acid will release toxic chlorine gas!
Read and then follow
the label instructions exactly! We hear the
horror story every year of someone putting the wrong chlorine
in an automatic feeder. The feeder explodes and someone
is hurt. Just following the instructions on the container
would have prevented this type of accident.
NEVER, NEVER, NEVER
mix chemicals together! The late night movie
character of the mad scientist comes to mind – pouring
this in and that in and then a little more of this. This
type of careless pouring may get you hurt! Always
allow time to pass before you add different chemicals to
a pool or spa. You must allow the first chemical
you added to dissolve and mix with the water before adding
the next. All pool shocks are not the same – Do
not mix different brands or compositions -
you could be seriously hurt if the wrong reaction takes
place. Never add water to dry chemicals
– always add chemicals to a bucket of water and then
add the diluted mix to the pool. This is not necessary for
all chemicals, but is crucial for some. Are you sure you
know which chemicals will create a violent reaction and
which won’t? Why take a chance?
THINK! – READ THE LABEL!
CHEMICAL SANITIZERS
NaOCl Sodium
Hypochlorite – Liquid Chlorine Bleach
This product comes in 5%,
10%, and 15% strength and has a high pH of approximately
13 and acid is required to reduce the effect of the high
pH. It is unstable in storage and usually loses much of
its strength before being used.
Ca(Ocl)2 Calcium
Hypochlorite – A dry granular chlorine
This product varies from 44%
to 65% available chlorine and has a pH of almost 12. Acid
is required to reduce its effect on pH. Because it rapidly
dissolves, it is an effective Shock Treatment Chemical.
It is not stabilized and is easily removed from the water
by the sun. This product contains insoluble Calcium and
can cloud the water, clog up filters, and cause scaling
with long use over time. CLC, HTH, SUPER SHOCK & BURN
OUT are all brands of this formulation.
LiOCL Lithium
Hypochlorite - A dry granular chlorine
This product has 35% available
chlorine and has a pH of almost 11. Acid is requires to
reduce its effect on pH. Because it rapidly dissolves,
it is also an effective Shock Treatment. Because the chlorine
available is about less than Calcium Hypochlorite, it
takes a little more to shock the pool. It is totally soluble,
but unstable in sunlight. It will not cloud the water
and can be poured directly into vinyl liner pools. Burn
Out 35 is our brand.
C3N3O3Cl2Na
Sodium Dichloro-S-Triazinetrione – a dry granular
chlorine called “Dichlor.”
This product has 62% available
chlorine and a pH of around 6. Balance Pack 200 or soda
ash may be required to reduce its effect on pH. It is
stabilized and totally soluble with no residue. It dissolves
rapidly and stores easily.
C3N3O3Cl3 Trichloro-S-Triazinetrione
– Can be a powder with 99% available chlorine
but is usually found as sticks, tablets, or three inch pucks.
“Trichlor”
This product normally has 89 to 90% available
chlorine, stabilizer and some type of binder mixed together
to hold the material in the form desired. It has a very
low pH of approximately 3 and therefore will usually require
Balance Pack 200 or Soda Ash when using Trichlor. It is
slow to dissolve, but does dissolve completely. It is
the only product that is safe to put into any automatic
chlorine feeder. Professional brands of Trichlor do not
contain gummy binders, but some products do. Stingy Sticks,
Skimmer Sticks, Slow Dissolving Tablets are brand names.
C5H6BrClN2O2 Bromo-chloro-dimethylhydation
– Bromine
Bromine can be found in a two-part system
using either a liquid or powder Bromine Salts and a Potassium
monopersulfate activator, or compressed into tablets using
Chlorine as the activator. The only Bromine compound that
is really effective in a pool is tablets. This Bromine
feed through an automatic erosion feeder. Compressed Bromine
cannot be placed in the skimmer, or floaters as Trichlor
Chlorine can. Never mix the two-part system through any
feeder. Bromine has a pH of around 4 and Balance Pack
200 or Soda Ash may have to be used to correct the effect
of Bromine on pH.
