There are a lot of different types of chlorine. You can add to your pool, tablets, granules and even household bleach and some kinds of chlorine work better than others, depending on how you add it to the water. So here's everything you need to know about choosing the best chlorine for your pool, let's dive in real quick. If you want more help taking care of your pool, be sure to grab our free pool care, cheat sheet at swimuniversity.com, cheat sheet, it's totally free and will help keep your pool clean and clear all season long.

First, what are the different types of chlorine? The first difference you need to know about is stabilized chlorine versus unstabilized chlorine. Stabilized chlorine contains cyanuric acid, also known as cya or stabilizer. It protects your chlorine from being destroyed by the sun's uv rays. Unstabilized chlorine, on the other hand, doesn't contain cyanuric acid.

That means it dissipates more quickly and you'll have to add chlorine more often as it breaks down in the sun, liquid chlorine bleach and some chlorine shock like cal hyposhock are unstabilized chlorine, but most of the chlorine that's sold to keep your water constantly. Sanitized is stabilized. Chlorine and the most common stabilized chlorine is either trichlor tablets or dichlor granules, no matter what type of chlorine you use. The goal is to keep your chlorine levels between 1 and 3 parts per million with 3 parts per million being ideal and you'll also want to make sure your ph is in range before adding chlorine.

The ph helps your chlorine work more effectively. Your ph should be between 7.4 and 7.6 so which one is better: chlorine, granules or chlorine tablets. Chlorine granules are made from dichlor chlorine and dissolve quickly in water, helping them fight, algae and contaminants fast. They have a lower chlorine percentage of around 60 percent.

Granules are added directly to the pool water, giving you complete control of the dosage, but you do have to measure and add it yourself, which makes it more dangerous and cumbersome to handle. You'll also need to pre-dissolve any granules by adding a measured amount of the granules to a bucket of pool water, then pour the chlorine around the perimeter of your pool. Finally, granules won't work in automatic feeders, since they dissolve too quickly. Trichlor tablets, on the other hand, are placed in things like chlorine, floaters pool, skimmers and automatic chlorinators.

They contain up to 90 percent chlorine, but keep in mind that trichloro will affect your pool's ph. These tablets usually come in one inch or three inch. Pucks one-inch tablets are a smart option for smaller pools and three-inch tablets are ideal for larger pools. A three-inch tablet can sanitize up to 5000 gallons of water tablets are one of the most popular chlorine options, simply because they're so convenient versus, adding granular chlorine or even liquid chlorine to your pool by hand, they're slower, dissolving and provide sustained chlorination.

But if you want a quick boost of chlorine and cyanuric acid or you want more control over your chlorine amounts, granules will dissolve more quickly. So what's the best way to add chlorine tablets to your pool. Well, there are three common ways to add: chlorine tablets, floating dispensers inside the skimmer basket and in an automatic chlorinator, keep in mind that other things like your pool, water, temperature and water pressure can impact the amount of time it takes for a tablet to dissolve and A larger three inch tablet will break down more slowly than a one inch tablet. Floating dispensers will gradually dissolve your chlorine tablets, but at an inconsistent rate, it all depends on how they move through the water.

They can also get stuck in one spot in your pool. Like behind ladders, causing them to unevenly distribute chlorine, placing tablets in your pool skimmer will give you a steadier rate of dissolving the continuous water flow through the filter will evenly break down the tablet and send sanitized water back into your pool. But your pump and filter has to run every day, otherwise the chlorine will just dissolve and collect in and near the skimmer basket, and this can cause stains and erosion. The most reliable option for chlorine tablets is an automatic chlorine dispenser, also known as a chemical, feeder or chlorinator.

These are installed after your pool filter, sending chlorinated water into your pool without going through your filtration system, simply add several tablets into the chlorinator and set the rate you want. The tablets to dissolve chlorinators are the best set it and forget it, method, they're not extremely expensive, and they can be retrofitted to most pools. Now, what about liquid chlorine or bleach liquid chlorine and bleach have the same active chemical as other pool chlorine? Liquid chlorine is cheaper than tablets and granules, but it's unstabilized, so you'll need to add cyanide acid to help protect it from the sun, and it has an extremely high ph and is highly corrosive household. Bleach is also really affordable and very easy to find, but it has the smallest concentration of chlorine and it's also unstabilized.

That means you'll need to add a lot of it to your pool and frequently or you'll need to add a stabilizer. Finally, is there a way to use less chlorine in my pool using a mineral system can help sanitize your water without needing a ton of chlorine. These systems use minerals like silver and copper, to kill bacteria, and if your chlorine levels drop too low, a mineral system ensures that there's always something fighting. Contaminants you'll also need less chlorine with a mineral system only 0.5 to 1 part per million, and if you have an indoor pool, you don't want to use stabilized chlorine, since the chlorine won't be broken down by the sun.

Consider using a chlorine alternative like bromine instead and that's it if you need more help with pool maintenance, grab our free pool care cheat sheet at cheat swimuniversity.com, and if you found this video helpful leave a comment hit the like button and subscribe for more pool maintenance. Tutorials throughout the season, that's it thanks again and happy swimming.