bleach when chlorine number is high? help help help

[miller36]

well....you lost me with the diluting...I am sorry and embarrassed I am so dense but....I might just get the expensive kit...WILL I KNOW HOW TO USE IT?????????????? thanks...Anne

the water is clear but still really high chlorine, both test and smell....should I not put 1" tab in filter until it drops???

[Backglass]

the water is clear but still really high chlorine, both test and smell

Not to jump in on chemgeeks excellent advice, but if you SMELL a lot of chlorine, this usually means you don't have enough and need to shock. A test that can tell you FC and TC will tell the tale.

When chlorine eats organic material (algae, pee, etc), it turns into chloramines (CC aka combined chlorine) which sting your eyes and smell like bleach. The answer to chlorine smell and stinging eyes is more chlorine...counter-intuitive I know, but usually the case and new pool owner mistake #1. They have a big bather load, people say they smell chlorine, and so the new pool owner thinks he has too much and doesn't add any at the end of the day. Unbeknownst to him the chlorine is overburdened eating up all the junk and giving off chloramines (and smell). The next day the pool is cloudy, chlorine is -0- and they are scratching there heads wondering where it all went!

Drop the cash for a better test kit so you will know for sure. You do it once and will keep it for years.

[chem geek]

By "dilution" I meant taking your pool water sample in a measured container and adding an equal amount of distilled or bottled water to it and mixing. Then test this new diluted mixture. Essentially by dilution, you cut the amount of chlorine in the water by half so that if you then measure it and it measures 4, then you double that number to mean that your pool actually has 8 ppm Free Chlorine. If you didn't dilute first, you'd only know that your pool had 5+ ppm Free Chlorine since the less expensive test kits won't measure above 5 ppm.

The good test kits have enough reagents to last typically for 2 years.

[miller36]

Ok....so the water has been clear for a few days but as I said the chlorine smell is still strong and from my test both strip and 3 way bottle tester the chlorine is off the chart...over 10....it is out in the sun...should it have gotten better by now....will this TF100 kit be easy for me to use....what if I don't get another pool next year....75 is a lot of money for one little 8 foot pool...before all this....I WAS PLANNING ON A BIGGER ONE....so backglass I should still be raising chlorine level even if water is clear...there is a lot of sediment on pool floor that my pool 'VACUUM' doesn't seem to be getting...could be algae or could be from the 30 50 foot white pines surrounding our house....I clean filter every day as it is always yellow and full of crap within 24 hours....and I keep pool covered when not using....should I be running filter 24/7.....thanks so much....ps TF100 is in my shopping basket, I am just so not wanting to spend that much...although I want to know the levels....and fix this....oh brother....Anne

[Backglass]

so backglass I should still be raising chlorine level even if water is clear

Maybe, maybe not...it all depends on if you have high combined chlorine or not. Let your test kit be your guide.