How to Properly Add Chlorine Tablets to Your Pool

How to use chlorine tablets:

1. Place in your skimmer
2. Place in your floating dispenser
3. Place in your automatic chlorinator

No matter how big or small your swimming pool is, sanitizing your water is always a priority. The most popular way to do this is through a chemical called chlorine, which comes in many forms — including in tablets.

However, not every pool owner is familiar with chlorine tablets, and many of them are unsure of how to use this convenient material. If you’re one of them, you’ve come to the right place. Here is our handy guide on how to use chlorine tablets in your pool:  

Why People Choose Chlorine Tablets For Pools

Before we get into our guide, let’s look into why chlorine tablets may just be the sanitizer of choice for your pool.

In general, chlorine tablets are easier to use than other forms, such as liquid chlorine. They’re also mess-free, and low-maintenance. Lastly, they’re slow-dissolving, which means they slowly leech into your pool water over time, keeping it sanitized with little effort on your part for about a week. 

You might be wondering, then, if they’re as effective as liquid chlorine — and the short answer is yes. They’re a powerful form of chlorine and can kill viruses, algae, bacteria, and other pathogens in the water like other forms of chlorine. 

The long answer is that chlorine tablets are actually better than liquid chlorine. This is because cyanuric acid is included in the tablets, which stabilizes the chlorine and allows it to last longer in your water. Plus, its pH is lower, meaning you have to use less dry acid HCT afterward to adjust your pool levels. It costs less over time, thanks to these two differences. 

How to Choose the Right Chlorine Tablets for Your Pool

Chlorine tablets may be an easy and convenient way to clean your pool water, but like everything else involved with pool chemistry, it’s important to find the right option for you. 

Chlorine tablets come in stabilized and unstabilized forms, wherein stabilized tablets have cyanuric acid (CYA), which helps protect chlorine from the sun’s UV rays. This means stabilized tablets last longer.

If you prefer a long-lasting option, find a stabilized chlorine tablet — which are “TCCA” or “TICA” tablets like this 90% Chlorine Tablet from Oktakem. 

To know how many tablets to use, you’ll need to check the dosage instructions that come with your chlorine. For our chlorine tablets, we recommend 1 tablet per 4000-5000 gallons of water. If you have pool volume that falls in the middle (for example, 7,500 gallons), we recommend rounding up, rather than using ½ of our tablets.

If you don’t already know the volume of your pool, check out our guide on how to do that here. 

Where to Add Your Chlorine Tablets

You might be thinking you can just throw in that handful of tablets into your pool and just wait for it to do its thing — but remember, you’re handling a powerful chemical! So, it’s important to disperse it the right way to prevent damage to your pool.

Here are a few ways you can add chlorine tablets to your pool water: 

Place In Your Skimmer

You can add chlorine tablets directly to your pool skimmer. When your pool filters are running, it pushes water through the skimmer and to your chlorine tablet. The chlorinated water is then returned to your pool through the return jets. This will help your chlorine tablets dissolve more effectively than if they were just floating in your pool. 

However, there is a potential drawback to this method. Your chlorine tablet will continue to dissolve even when your pool filter isn’t running, which will create a section of highly chlorinated — and corrosive — water in your skimmer. This can damage your pool equipment, so be sure to keep your pool jets running if using this method. 

Or, you can remove the partially-dissolved tablets from the skimmer when you turn your pool filters off, and keep them in a sealed container in the meantime. 

Place In Your Floating Dispenser

A floating dispenser is a piece of pool equipment that floats around your pool, dispersing sanitizer as the chlorine tablets it holds slowly dissolve. They’re convenient, but there are a few things to keep in mind.

This tool can be used in aboveground and inground pools, but make sure your pool manufacturer says it’s safe to use one. 

They’re also a passive method of adding chlorine tablets to your pool. This means they tend to spread chlorine out unevenly if there is no water current helping the dispenser to move around the pool.

They may also get caught in one location, which causes them to dispense too much chlorine in one area. If this chemical builds up in the water, it could discolor and even damage pool materials, such as your pool liner. 

Place In Your Automatic Chlorinator

The last chlorine tablet dispersion method is using an automatic chlorinator. This equipment is attached directly to your pump and filter system, which allows it to sanitize your water before it’s cycled back into your pool. 

You can place your chlorine tablets in an automatic chlorinator, and let it cycle water for a few hours. Then, check the chlorine levels with a test kit, until you reach the desired chlorine concentration. 

Key Takeaway

Chlorine tablets are a quick and easy way of ensuring your water is sanitized before you jump in for a swim. So, if you want to use this pool chemical, use our guide on how to use chlorine tablets to add them to your pool water properly and safely. With our guide, you’ll be able to use your pool with total peace of mind! Contact Oktakem if you need any chlorine tables or other swimming pool chemicals!