While putting chlorine directly into your skimmer may seem like an easy way to sanitize your swimming pool, THIS IS A BAD IDEA.
Your skimmer is designed to keep your pool free of debris. The suction from your pool pump siphons water through the hoses connected to your skimmer. The water is then routed through your filter and clean water is pushed through the return jet of your pool.
Adding chlorine to this sounds like a good way to add it to your pool water, right?
Wrong. This does far more harm than good
– especially if you’re not running your pump 24/7.
With the pump off and no water flowing, the chlorine tablets will sit inside the skimmer and dissolve slowly. What you’ll end up with is a rich, extremely acidic amount of chlorine that can eat away at the skimmer walls and the basket.
The longer it sits, the more damage it does as it clogs up and eats away at the hoses.
You can save yourself so much work, damage, money and headache if you just sanitize your pool properly.
It’s so easy to do!
The simplest solution, if you decide chlorination is the way to go, is to purchase a floating chlorine dispenser. All you do is fill it with chlorine tablets and let it float around your pool. You can also plumb in an off-line chlorinator (we do not recommend in-line) specifically designed to house tablets.
The BEST option is to switch to a salt water system which makes caring for your pool as easy as possible. Salt water pools require less maintenance, provide softer water, and are more cost effective in the long run.