New pool owner- Chlorine

[Stephanie]

Please help. What is the difference between stablized and non-stabilized chlorine? How do I know what to use?

[pemoye]

Stabilizer is a chemical (cyanuric acid) that makes your chlorine last longer. Unstabilized chlorine breaks down very quickly when subjected to sunlight, contaminants (sweat, dirt, etc.). Go ahead and buy a good $50 test kit and read the WHOLE BOOK that comes with it (you can get one made by Taylor at poolcenter.com). Pool chemistry is complicated but doable - unless you want to be at the mercy of your pool store for testing and then you have to trust they will prescribe the right chemicals. A good test kit will allow you to test your chlorine levels (there is more than one kind of chlorine level), your pH, your alkalinity, calcium hardness, AND your stabilizer. Stabilizer has to be maintained at a certain level unless you want to waste money on chlorine. If you know what your stabilizer level is, you can make an informed choice about using stabilized chlorine or unstabilized chlorine.