Cutting corners in chlorination can wreak havoc and can result in a dirty, unsanitary and algae-infested pool. Such a pool is not pleasing to look at, let alone take a bath in.
To keep your chlorine levels between the recommended range of 1 to 3 ppm, you might be expecting a hefty cost. But this unavoidable step can be completed without costing an arm and a leg.
Below we present to you the cheapest, most economical way to do just that.
What is the Cheapest Way to Chlorinate a Pool?
By far the cheapest way to chlorinate a pool is the use of Calcium Hypochlorite, also known as liquid chlorine. Liquid chlorine is added directly to the pool water in the recommended amount. The amount itself is usually very little, and does not require any dispenser or pool skimmer, so some bucks are saved there as well.
Liquid Chlorine retails for a relatively lower price than other forms of chlorine, i.e., tablets and powdered form. Most of the options available cost around $4.5 to $5 for 1 gallon, which is approximately 4.5 liters. Considering that you mostly need to add less than 0.5 liter to 50,000 liters of water, it is safe to say that liquid chlorine is a jackpot when the price point is concerned.
Moreover, the pH disruption caused by liquid chlorine is also lesser than the other options, which means that a lesser amount of pH neutralizer will be needed to counteract the effect.
How Much Liquid Chlorine Does Your Pool Need?
The way to go with liquid chlorine is fairly simple. Just test the chlorine levels of your pool with the help of a tester kit, consisting of a testing strip and a color chart. You can go with either a complete digital test kit that tests all parameters or the more economical chlorine test strips.
Then depending on the capacity of your pool, add the required amount of chlorine to reach the target range of 1 to 3 ppm. If you don’t know the water capacity of your pool, here is a simple formula:
[Pool Length in Feet] x [Pool Width in Feet] x [Pool Depth in Feet] x 7.5
This gives you the amount of water in gallons. For the chlorine, you will need roughly 50 to 100 ounces of the liquid chlorine for a 10,000 gallon pool. (Refer to the instructions on your bottle/box for exact quantity)
And there you have it!
Economical Liquid Chlorine Recommendation
From the discussion above, it is quite obvious that liquid chlorine formulations are your best friend if you want to keep the cost at a minimum. Below is a personal recommendation of mine, but you can go with any good liquid chlorine product.
HTH Spa Clear Chlorinating Sanitizer
Pros:
- Cheap
- Dissolves quickly
- Works fast
- No clouding
Cons:
- Low concentration
The HTH Spa Chlorinating liquid is my personal favourite because of its high solubility and ease of use. There is nothing more frustrating than adding chemicals to your pools and stirring them up, waiting for them to dissolve. HTH saves you from that headache.
On top of that, it is exceptionally high quality and efficacious. It does its job of killing bacteria well and leaves no odor. As a bonus, it will also help reduce sediments resulting in a more comfortable pool environment
The cherry on top is the price. At just $20 for a 2.25 pound bottle at Amazon, this thing is a steal. Sure you may need a few bottles, depending on the size of your pool, but this happens only once every now and then.
I have shared with you my personal chlorinating liquid but you can go with any good one that does the job well.
Is Bleach Cheaper Than Chlorine for Swimming Pools?
The trend of using household bleach for the purpose of chlorination is not a very old one. This hack naturally sparked curiosity among pool owners with the big question everywhere: Is bleach really a cheaper alternative to pool chlorine?
Can bleach be used for chlorination? Yes. Is it cheaper? No.
Household bleach itself is chlorine. However, it is a fairly diluted form, which means that it only contains around 5 to 10% of chlorine and the rest is water. Whereas pool grade chlorine is around 65 to 100% chlorine.
In simpler words, you will need a larger amount of bleach to reach the same level of sanitization as pool grade chlorine and hence, at a higher total cost.
Liquid chlorine vs Trichlor- Which is Cheaper?
Tablet form of chlorine is undoubtedly the standard for chlorination, and thus it is more widely available in a variety of brands with various price ranges. Some of them are quite cost effective too, but there is a bigger picture to look at.
Trichlor often requires some sort of dispenser to be placed into before being put in the pool. In addition to affecting the distribution of the chemical, this also adds to the overall cost of the process.
Trichlor requires 0.93 pounds of sodium chloride to neutralize the pH changes. This means that an additional $1.67 per pound will be required to balance the pH when trichlor is used. In comparison, the addition of muriatic acid to neutralize liquid chlorine adds a mere $0.09 to the overall cost.
The conclusion here is that the whole chlorination process involving liquid chlorine is noticeably cheaper than that involving trichlor.
If you were looking for the cheapest way to increase calcium hardness, we’ve got you covered there too.
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