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• Release Time：2024-05-27 09:18
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【Summary】Reducing cyanuric acid levels from trichlor can be a bigger battle than reducing calcium hardness from cal hypo.   When it comes to pool sanitation, there are a lot of options. But, in this situation, it’s entire possible to have too much of a good thing. Two common options for pool sanitation are calcium hypochlorite (known as cal hypo) or with trichloroisocyanuric acid (known as trichlor). Both products add chlorine to the swimming pool, killing germs and sanitizing the water for swimming. However, both also introduce extra and different chemicals as well, some of which have their drawbacks when it comes to safety and performance. Pool operators who choose them have their reasons; cost is often a large factor. However, though some chemicals may seem more cost-effective up front, maintaining the sanitizer will also add up in hidden costs. Calcium hypochlorite increases pH, alkalinity and calcium hardness levels. Calcium hardness is important in water in that it protects surfaces, including plaster and metal, from corroding. Trichlor, on the other hand, reduces pH and alkalinity, but increases cyanuric acid (CYA). CYA helps protect chlorine from being decomposed in UV light. It is not recommended, however, for use indoors. Both chemicals, however, have their capacity limits. Too much calcium from cal hypo can turn the water cloudy and cause scaling to occur. And too much CYA from trichlor can render the chlorine less effective in the water, making its sanitizing process much slower. “Because CYA slows the disinfection rate of chlorine, there is a greater risk of illness from waterborne pathogens such as E. coli, giardia and cryptosporidium,"“With just 20 ppm CYA, the risk of illness from crypto is over 10 times higher and the risk of giardia infection is 29 times higher compared to just 2 pm free chlorine alone without stabilization.” When both chemical byproducts reach those limits, the only way to reduce them is by removing water – usually by backwashing the filter or physically removing water from the pool. Evaporation, however, is not an effective way to remove either calcium hardness or CYA, because they do not evaporate. This is where the unexpected costs begin – and is particularly difficult in drought-ridden areas, where emptying and refilling a pool is not an option. Differences between cal hypo and trichlor The real difference between the two chlorinators comes down to water levels and additional chemicals needed to maintain their byproducts in the correct levels. Sanitizing with trichlor requires almost six times the amount of water to retain the CYA within range than it does to keep calcium hardness in check with cal hypo. Similarly, to maintain pH levels, other chemicals are needed. One option for neutralizing increased pH caused by cal hypo is with muriatic acid, and sodium carbonate to neutralize decreased pH caused by trichlor. However, it requires far less muriatic acid—almost 10 times less—to neutralize a pound of cal hypo compared to sodium carbonate for a pound of trichlor. Though at a glance, sodium carbonate and trichlor are both far less expensive than cal hypo and muriatic acid, the amount of sodium carbonate and trichlor required to maintain the pool pH greatly exceeds that of cal hypo and muriatic acid.