The shock treatment of a swimming pool is for corrective purposes. If your water has lost its transparency and its crystal clean appearance, if it has changed color, tending towards green and if you are concerned that it will get worse in the next 24 hours, shock treatment is the best choice.
This is the last winning option in the face of water that has turned, before considering emptying, even partial, of the pool. Following a non typical event, a shock treatment may be necessary to restore clear and crystalline water.
Given the chemical load implemented by the shock treatment, its recommend shocking the pool at least once every 2 weeks in the middle of summer.
Basically, it depends above all on the care taken in maintaining your pool and the water it contains. Regardless, if the water begins to cloudy or turn green, don’t wait and act as quickly as possible.
For health reasons, it is not recommended to bathe during shock treatment . With the little ones, you must strictly prohibit swimming, explaining why. Depending on the case, this can last for 48 hours.
If the maintenance and filtration of the pool are properly carried out, then shocking a pool will not need to be done.
The water can then cloud quickly and be overrun with algae in less than 48 hours, taking on a bizarre coloring that is unappealing to swimming and potentially dangerous for your pool.
Faced with this type of inconvenience, the shock treatment is a radical solution that allows you to attain healthy and clean water . Its chemical load eradicates all microorganisms, bacteria, viruses, algae, mosses or fungi that have taken possession of the premises.
Although this is an exceptional procedure, as the water ages (chemists speak of the age of water), shock treatment will become less rare. Its goal is to use chemicals to find conditions suitable for swimming.
These are the times when a swimming pool will need shock treatment.
– Stop all swimming: explain to the little ones if necessary and close access to the pool if possible.
– Uncover the pool: it is probably already uncovered, otherwise, remove the cover or fold up the roller shutter. Shock treatment requires a visual check several times a day. If the inside of the cover or shutter seems dirty, spray them with water.
– Remove the accessories and objects that are in the water: toys, pipes. Clean and rinse them.
– Remove any large debris using a net and empty the baskets of the skimmers and the pump pre-filter.
– (not compulsory) Clean the swimming pool: walls, bottom, water line. If the water is really dirty and you cannot see what you are doing, it is wiser to wait until the treatment has started to act: risk of degrading the coating. Knowing that once the shock treatment is finished, it will be necessary to clean the walls, bottom, waterline, and the submerged parts (skimmers, nozzles, bung, plugs, and various equipment) again. It’s up to you to assess the situation …
– Check the condition of the filter (pressure in particular) and clean it if it seems too dirty to you: washing/rinsing if a sand filter or replacing the cartridge/bag.
– Analysis and adjustment of the water balance according to the shock treatment used, in particular the pH. Also, check the total alkalinity (TAC) and the lime content (TH). Make sure the settings are correct and don’t do anything else until they are: the most important is the pH.
– Put the shock treatment products in place. Read the instructions before proceeding. Check that there is no incompatibility.
– Put the filtration in continuous operation.
– Wait for the treatment to take effect by cleaning/replacing the filter if necessary (stop filtration during these phases).
Depending on the state of the water, it can last from 48 hours to a few days. Some water catching can take 2 to 3 weeks.
During this time, you must continue to check the water (pH, disinfectant level) and rinse the filter if it begins to build up pressure (rely on the pressure gauge).
If the water has become clear again but remains cloudy, use a flocculant or clarifier to conglomerate the residue and remove it more easily through filtration. It may be the remains of dead algae in suspension. Use only if the water has not become clear and crystalline again.
– clean the swimming pool: walls, bottom, water line, submerged parts, using brushes, vacuum cleaner, and/or robot cleaner to find clear water.
– recheck and re-clean the filter if necessary before returning to normal filtration mode.
If you need to, don’t forget that there are companies specializing in pool maintenance. They can intervene occasionally or take charge of the complete maintenance of your swimming pool.
