If you have a chlorine pool you may have heard of the term chlorine shock. After chlorine does its job and kills bacteria or other organic materials, it creates chloramine. Chloramine is an inactive particle that simply floats around in your pool until forcefully broken apart. These chloramines are responsible for the common “pool smell” often associated with chlorine. These chloramines do more than smell, they also reduce the effectiveness of chlorine making your pool more susceptible to bacteria.
Chlorine shocks are meant to quickly raise chlorine levels to kill bacteria, algae, eliminate chloramines, and kill any other pathogens in the water. It’s common to need to shock your pool after heavy use, increased temperatures, heavy rain, or even as part of your regular maintenance routine. It’s also standard practice to shock the pool when you are opening or closing your pool for the season.