Pools without chlorine must be an eyesore. Because, the work of the chlorine chemical is to sanitize the pool and keep it free from bacteria, microbes, and algae.
But then what happens when chlorine is absent from your pool? and how long can such water sit in the pool? I would say a couple of days. And it’s also not advisable to swim in such a pool even after using a filter. In this article, we shall be exploring these questions and getting answers to them.
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Can Water Sit In a Pool Without Chlorine?
Of course, it can! However, having stagnant water without chlorine can be pretty difficult. Pool water without chlorine in it can last for a long while.
It can even sit in the pool forever until it evaporates. You will just notice that the water level keeps diminishing. Beyond it all, water will still be left in the pool, but it will be dirty, murky, and possibly greenish from green algae.
Will The Pool Water Without Chlorine Be Safe For Swimming?
No! Your swimming pool definitely has some debris, some bits of dead skin cells, a bit of human urine, and a host of other things that have now welcomed the presence of bacteria. Pool water without chlorine is actually dangerous to humans both adult and kids.
Chlorine chemical and the filtration system takes care of these things but ever since you stopped adding chlorine to your pool water, it became dangerous. So here is what you should do if the pool water has been sitting without an atom of chlorine then it’s time to get it chlorinated.
What Happens If There Is No Chlorine In A Pool?
A pool without chlorine is like bathing without soap. You will possibly get infections. So seeing an unhealthy pool is likely to make you sick.
Because by the time you take a swim in it, you become exposed to microscopic organisms. Besides, a pool of water without chlorine is completely equal to stagnant, cloudy, and murky water.
How Long Can You Keep The Same Water In A Pool?
The water without chlorine in your pool can stay up to five years. But well-maintained pool water can stay up to seven years or even more before you replace it with a fresh one.
All that matters is to keep your pool well maintained and chlorinated and you won’t have to deal with algae/bacteria-infested pool water.
Read: Is It Safe To Swim In A Pool With No Chlorine?
How Do You Keep A Pool Clean Without Chlorine?
Do you desire other options to chlorinate your pool asides from using chlorine? Well, there are different ways you can sanitize your pool. One of the ways is through the;
1. Saltwater Sanitizers
This in recent years, has become an alternative to chlorine. Traditional chlorine requires you to add a tablet, liquid, or granular measures of chlorine to your pool but the saltwater sanitizer is different.
It is a process whereby salt is converted through a process into chlorine gas. Now, this gas is then injected back into the pool water. The salt sanitizer is swift enough to kill bacteria, algae, even viruses, and other microbes.
The salt is placed in an electrolytic converter that regenerates salt into chlorine gas to disinfect the water.
Pools disinfected with saltwater sanitizer give swimmers a more comfortable swimming experience. Also, your sanitized pool would require less maintenance, unlike the traditional chlorinated pool. Also, with sanitizers like this, you can be sure of having a long-term result, unlike the traditional chlorinated pool.
When this saltwater sanitizer is used in your pools, it will naturally eliminate the need to store any form of chlorine away in the store for subsequent use.
However, saltwater sanitizer also has its own limitation. Asides from the fact that salt as a substance is corrosive, Saltwater has the tendency of wearing down certain steel, and stonework materials used for your pool. It can also wear down the deck as well because the repeated splashing of saltwater will weaken some of these materials.
Even if you have flowers and other plants around the pool, you should be watchful because the constant splashing of saltwater might destroy the plant life.
2. Ozone pool purification
This is another approved way of keeping your pool clean without using chlorine. Ozone pool purification is a powerful oxidant that can destroy microbes and deposits situated in the pipes, waterlines, etc.
Most pool owners who have tried this method, see it as one of the natural ways of purifying pool water. This process leaves no toxicity behind. This purification process requires an Ozone generator with the use of a UV bulb, and then ozone is created when a third molecule of oxygen atom is added.
Ozone is then passed through a diffuser which in turn produces bubbles and is then saturated within the ozone. Then these ozone bubbles are mixed with the pool water, which automatically breaks down pathogens and other bacteria. Now your pool water is ready for swimming!
Benefits Of Using Ozone Pool Purification?
This method may sound foreign to you but it is actually the most widely used purification system in most parts of the world. It is more powerful than your traditional chlorine.
So if you have seen pool water without traditional chlorine, it must have been disinfected with Ozone pool purification or not. Now when this purification system is used, the pool water becomes gentler on the skin of swimmers.
The pool water automatically sparkles and becomes inviting to swim in. it also helps remove calcium and other metals from forming scale build-up on your tile and wall surface. This also doesn’t have the common side effects that traditional chlorine has. Such as itchy eyes, and skin.
However, this mode of purification has a short lifespan. Unlike the chlorine tablet that lasts for about one week, the Ozone purification has a short cycle of about 60 minutes only.
3. Ultraviolet pool sanitation
This is another powerful pool purification method that uses UV light to kill micro-organisms and deactivate them. It also destroys algae, bacteria, protozoa, and all forms of microbes in the pool.
This sanitation process is done with the use of light to destroy the DNA of harmful bacteria and other pathogenic organisms.
The process is done in an enclosed chamber, located in the pool, whereby, water passes through the chamber, and is then sanitized by the powerful UV rays. Now this treated water goes back via circulation into the pool. Thus, creating crystal clear, pool water.
How else can you treat your pool water naturally without chlorine?
Since you lack chlorine, and cannot go through the above purification processes, there are other natural products that you can use to treat that non-chlorinated water sitting in your pool. you can use;
1. Baking Soda
If you want a cheaper and less expensive cleaning method for any pool size, then grab the baking soda in your kitchen. With this soda, you can increase your pool’s alkalinity level if it is low, and to do this, you can add about 1.5 pounds of baking soda to your 10,000-gallon pool.
This baking soda can also clean up your pool tile, and your concrete surface including your stone pool deck. Make a simple paste with baking soda by adding a little water and that’s it! You’ve just gotten a fantastic abrasive!
2. Bleach
Your simple household bleach, also known as sodium hypochlorite, can easily scrub off stains from the tiles and floor surfaces that even your baking powder cannot get out.
Meanwhile, your household bleach can be used as a pool shock. it can raise the chlorine level of your pool to about 5 ppm. About 1/2 gallon of bleach should be enough for a 1000-gallon size pool.
Make sure you don’t make use of the scented bleach. Try to get the unscented bleach since you are using this for your pool.
3. Muriatic Acid
Muriatic acid isn’t entirely harmful. However, it is totally harmful when it is mishandled. Therefore, always wear gloves and eye protection goggles to keep you protected while using.
This natural treatment can be used to lower the alkalinity of your water. For instance, if the alkalinity is too high, it can act as an alkalinity decreaser instead of buying an alkalinity decreaser.
It is also less expensive compared to the alkalinity decrease. It can also be used to clean filter cartridges and pool surfaces. Read how to clean pool tile with muriatic acid
Final Thoughts
The water in your pool can sit for as long as you want. It would either evaporate gradually or sit in your pool forever. But you may not like the sight of non-chlorinated water in your pool. the sight may turn pretty awful with green growth everywhere.
The water will be murky and cloudy as well. Not habitable to swim in. And that is several methods of treating/purifying your pool water without the use of chlorine were listed above.
Instead of leaving the water to sit in your pool non-chlorinated, you can devise other means of purification if you don’t want to use the traditional method of chlorinating your pool.
Other methods like UV sanitation, saltwater sanitizer, baking soda, etc. when any of this is used, you can now leave your purified water to sit in your pool for as long as you want.
