Pool Store Xpress formerly A Real Pool Store has been serving Port St. Lucie and the Treasure coast area since 1997 and offers exceptional service to every customer. Not only do we hold the lowest prices on all chemicals and swimming pool supplies for your pool or spa, we offer same day delivery and free water analysis to our local customers. Today we’re taking a look at pool chemistry – it’s complicated! That is why myths are common around pool chemical use, or pool chemistry in general.

Today’s post is a curated collection of myths surrounding pool chemistry or pool chemical use. You’ve probably heard of some of these before, and some may challenge your belief system.

  1. Chlorine makes the eyes red. Like smelling a strong chlorine smell, red eyes can be an indication that the pool needs to be shocked, to remove chloramines in the water.
  2. It’s necessary to shock the pool every week. Shocking the pool is only necessary for 3 reasons, the first of which is to remove chloramines, second reason is to destroy visible algae, and the third reason is to oxidize the water, or kill any pathogens that have managed to escape normal, everyday chlorination.
  3. Test strips are just as accurate as test kits. Not true! Test strips are very convenient and quick to use for pool water testing, but the results can be vastly different when tested side by side with a liquid drop style test kit.
  4. All pool chemicals are the same. A long time ago, 30 years or more – this would have been true, but today chemists have fine tuned pool chemicals to perform better and have less byproducts or unintended reactions.