The Truth About Liquid Pool Chlorine

Sunlight, strength, and shelf life decide whether your chlorine dollars deliver crystal water or fade by Friday. We unpack the real-world playbook for using liquid chlorine (sodium hypochlorite) as a primary sanitizer—what it is, how strong it should be, and why pairing it with the right stabilizer keeps free chlorine steady all week.

We start by clarifying the difference between commercial-grade liquid chlorine at 10 to 12.5 percent and household bleach at 5 to 8.25 percent. Then we get practical: how regional supply chains affect price and potency, why UV burns through unstabilized chlorine without 30 to 80 ppm of cyanuric acid, and how much FC you can expect to lose per day under ideal conditions. If you’ve ever shocked to 10 ppm and returned to a near-empty pool a week later, this explains it.

From there, we map clean strategies for pros and homeowners. Learn the advantages of using fresh liquid chlorine for fast, residue-free shock and algae control, plus where cal hypo and dichlor fit—and how their byproducts (calcium and stabilizer) change water balance over time. We show why sodium is the least disruptive contributor to TDS and how to handle saltwater pools when the cell is down. You’ll get clear storage guidelines to protect strength, buying tips to avoid old stock, and a simple hybrid plan: dose with liquid for control and use a few trichlor tablets to bridge the days between visits without spiking CYA.

• what sodium hypochlorite is and how it compares to bleach
• commercial strength vs household strength and why potency matters
• regional pricing, availability, and distribution effects
• unstabilized chlorine behavior and required CYA range
• weekly service limits and why chlorine fades between visits
• supplementing with trichlor tablets or a liquid feeder
• pros and cons vs cal hypo and dichlor byproducts
• shelf-life loss, storage best practice, and buying fresh
• algae control, shock tactics, and quick cleanup use cases
• the trichlor plus liquid approach to control CYA

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