Water ChemistryHow-to
How to Lower Chlorine in a Pool
Chlorine reading high? Make sure the test isn't lying, stop whatever is feeding it, and let the sun do the work. When a neutralizer is worth using.
10 minUpdated Sep 27, 2026
Topic
Pool Chlorine Guides
Chlorine is the workhorse of pool sanitation and the most misunderstood chemical on the shelf.
20 guides on this topic
EquipmentGuide
Tablet Chlorinators: Inline vs Offline, Setup and Safety
How inline and offline tablet chlorinators work, where they go in the plumbing, what the dial means, and the two mistakes that ruin heaters or start fires.
12 minUpdated Sep 26, 2026
RepairsTroubleshooting
Salt Cell Not Producing Chlorine? Check These Four Things First
Most dead salt cells are not dead. The flow switch, cold water, a salt reading that lies, and a controller set to the wrong cell — in the order to check them.
10 minUpdated Sep 26, 2026
Water ChemistryHow-to
Black Algae in a Pool: How to Kill It
It is not algae, it has roots, and it builds a shell over itself. Why chlorine alone never touches it, and the brushing protocol that actually clears it.
5 minUpdated Sep 8, 2026
Water ChemistryExplainer
How Long After Shocking a Pool Can You Swim?
The honest answer is not a number of hours. It is a chlorine reading — and knowing which one saves you a day of waiting or an evening of stinging eyes.
6 minUpdated Sep 8, 2026
Water ChemistryComparison
Chlorine Tablets vs Liquid vs Granular: Which to Use
Every chlorine product adds something besides chlorine — stabilizer, calcium or salt. Pick the one whose leftovers your water can still absorb.
5 minUpdated Sep 6, 2026
Spas & Hot TubsGuide
Hot Tub Water Chemistry: Targets and Sanitizers
Bromine versus chlorine in a spa, the target ranges that differ from a pool, and why 400 gallons at 102 degrees is a completely different problem.
8 minUpdated Oct 1, 2026
SafetyGuide
Pool Chemicals That Must Never Mix
The specific combinations that cause fires and gas, plus the five ordinary moments they happen in — a shared scoop, a topped-up feeder, a leaking shelf.
5 minUpdated Sep 6, 2026
RepairsTroubleshooting
Pool Won't Hold Chlorine? Work Out Which Demand You Have
Chlorine gone by morning means something is consuming it. The overnight test that tells you what, and why ammonia is the one that needs a shocking dose.
5 minUpdated Sep 6, 2026
ReviewsBuying guide
The Best Pool Chlorine and Shock in 2026
What to actually keep in the shed. Which chlorine to buy for daily dosing, which for shocking, and the two you should never store side by side.
5 minUpdated Sep 6, 2026
GuidesHow-to
How to Test Pool Water (And Why Strips Mislead You)
Sampling technique, which test kit to buy, what to test how often, and the reading errors that send people chasing problems they don't have.
5 minUpdated Sep 13, 2026
Water ChemistryExplainer
Free vs Total Chlorine: What the Numbers Actually Mean
That strong chlorine smell means you don't have enough chlorine, not too much. Here's what free, combined and total chlorine each tell you.
5 minUpdated Sep 13, 2026
Water ChemistryTroubleshooting
Cloudy Pool Water: Causes and How to Clear It Fast
Six things turn pool water cloudy and only one of them needs clarifier. Work through them in this order and you'll fix it in a day instead of two weeks.
5 minUpdated Sep 12, 2026
SafetyGuide
Pool Chemical Safety: Storage, Mixing and What Not to Do
Pool chemicals cause thousands of ER visits a year, almost all preventable. Storage rules, handling order, and what to do when something goes wrong.
5 minUpdated Jun 8, 2026
Water ChemistryHow-to
How to Shock a Pool (And Why Most People Do It Wrong)
Shock isn't a product, it's a level. Here's how to work out the right target for your pool, how much to add, and why the bag instructions fail so often.
7 minUpdated Jul 11, 2026
ReviewsBuying guide
The Best Pool Test Kits in 2026
Real models and real prices. Why a $150 drop kit beats a $20 box of strips, and what each one can and cannot actually measure.
6 minUpdated Sep 12, 2026
EquipmentExplainer
Saltwater Pools: How Salt Chlorine Generators Actually Work
A salt pool is still a chlorine pool. What the cell does, what it costs to run, when to replace it, and the myths worth ignoring.
6 minUpdated Jul 31, 2026
Water ChemistryTroubleshooting
How to Get Rid of Pool Algae (Green, Yellow, Black and Pink)
Four types of pool algae, four different fights. How to identify what you've got, kill it properly, and stop it coming back in three weeks.
6 minUpdated Jul 28, 2026
Water ChemistryExplainer
Cyanuric Acid in Pools: Ideal CYA Levels and How to Lower It
What CYA actually does to your chlorine, why 30-50 ppm is the sweet spot, and how to bring it down when tablets have run it up to 100.
7 minUpdated Oct 1, 2026
Water ChemistryGuide
How to Balance Pool Chemistry: Order, Targets and Timing
The five numbers that matter, the order to fix them in, and the doses that actually work. Written by people who've done this on real pools for 20 years.
9 minUpdated Sep 12, 2026