I recently purchased a house that came with a private pool. I have always been a bit of a water nut and love being near water, so this was the icing on the cake. Before I moved in, I had to ask the seller about the pool’s water quality.
He told me that the pool needed some chlorine in it due to the amount of sun exposure it got, and that he added a couple of drops of liquid chlorine to each gallon of water. I was a little concerned because, although chlorinated pool water is commonplace, how many drops of chlorine does one really need?
The answer to my question came when a few days later, I found a dead bug in the pool. Now, although I try to be a neatnik when it comes to keeping my pool clean, I do drink some beers around the pool occasionally. I had one particular beer just a few days after I added the chlorine and the next day after that, I found another bug floating in the water. I was a little frustrated, as this is not the type of place I wanted to be finding annoying insects, even if they’re just there for the food chain.
Adding another couple of drops of chlorination to the pool only made it smell that little bit stronger and I quickly realized that seven or eight drops might not be enough. It’s always good to test the water with an aquatic bug called a mosquito. These insects are attracted to the smell of blood, so by adding a couple of drops of blood to the water, you will be able to see how many mosquitoes are buzzing around.
I decided to test the water with a few more drops of blood, just to be sure. To my surprise, a few minutes later, I started finding mosquitoes inside and outside the house. It was at this point that I realized that seven or eight drops may not be enough. Once the mosquitoes land on your blood, it becomes food and they start laying eggs. It was also at this point that I remembered reading about a virus that can be transferred via the bite of an infected mosquito. The idea of getting seriously ill or even dying from a mosquito bite was more than enough for me to decide that I needed to add another 15 to 20 drops of chlorine to the pool.
If you are wondering how many drops of chlorine you should use to disinfect your pool, the answer is around 20 drops for every 10 to 12 feet of pool. Twenty drops of liquid chlorine are approximately equal to four tablets dissolved in water. Follow the instructions on the packaging and you will be able to enjoy your pool without worrying about waterborne diseases.