- Categories: Pool Cleaning
Pool Clarifier Guide: How to Use a Pool Clarifier
There’s a party in your pool, and you’re not invited! Tiny particles can take over your pool, creating a cloudy water effect that won’t fix itself on its own. The good news? A pool clarifier can help you kick out these unwanted guests and have your pool looking crystal clear once again.
As the experts on everything about pools, we’ve compiled the ultimate pool clarifier guide, teaching you how to use a pool clarifier, when to use one and just about any other question you could think of.
Here you will find everything about pool clarifier:
What does a pool water clarifier do?
Your pool filter will collect most of the particles in your pool. However, some smaller particles, like skin and body oils, will slip through the filter and continue circulating around your pool. The more particles slip through the cracks, the cloudier your pool water will become.
A pool clarifier works like a magnet for tiny particles that cloud your water. When added to your pool, the clarifier releases positively charged ions that attract negatively charged particles, such as dirt, oils, and other organic debris. These microscopic particles, which would normally slip through your filter, stick together to form larger clumps. Once they’re big enough, your pool’s filtration system can easily capture and remove them, leaving your water clean and clear.
What’s in a pool water clarifier?
Clarifiers can contain different chemicals, but they all have one goal: to create a polymer, a chain of molecules made up of many single molecules (monomers). This molecule will chemically link together (coagulate) when the positively charged ions in the pool clarifier collide with the negatively charged cell structure of organic material.
Clarifiers are just science doing its thing. Various polymerising pool water clarifier ingredients are derived from a variety of places:
- Aluminium chlorohydrate (cationic polyelectrolyte): A chemical created by combining aluminium hydroxide and hydrochloric acid. It’s widely used in deodorants, antiperspirants, and pool water treatments.
- Ammonium chloride (PolyDADMAC): Made by combining ammonia with hydrochloric acid, this versatile ingredient is also used in food production, such as bread and liquorice.
- Aluminium sulfate: Derived from clays, cryolite, or aluminium hydroxide mixed with sulphuric acid. It serves as a firming agent in foods, a bactericide in animal feed, and a common pool clarifier.
- Chitosan: A natural alternative to synthetic chemicals, chitosan is sourced from crushed crustacean shells. It’s a popular eco-friendly option for pool water clarification.
Safety Tips for Using a Pool Clarifier
- These chemicals are unsafe to eat, so don’t go storing your water clarifier in the food pantry.
- Always keep anything you add to your pool in a secure area, away from small hands, paws, and claws.
- Clarifiers should only be out and about when you’re using them in your pool, with caution.
Which pool water clarifier should I use?
Choosing the right pool water clarifier will depend on the type of filtration system you use and how quickly you need results. Let’s break it down to help you decide:
Clarifiers vs. Flocculants: What’s the Difference?
Both pool clarifiers and flocculants bind tiny particles into larger clumps to remove them from your water. However, they work in slightly different ways:
- Clarifiers: These chemicals bind particles together, allowing your pool filter to capture and remove them as the water circulates. Clarifiers work gradually over a couple of days but require no extra manual effort. They suit all filtration systems, including sand, cartridge, and diatomaceous earth (DE) filters.
- Flocculants: Flocculants coagulate particles into heavier clumps that sink to the bottom of your pool, where they must be manually collected by a vacuum. Flocculants work much faster (often within hours) but are best suited for sand or DE filters and require extra effort to clean up the settled debris.
If you want a low-maintenance solution over a few days, go for a pool clarifier. Flocculants are your best option if you need quick results and don’t mind manual vacuuming.
Best Pool Water Clarifiers to Consider
Here are some top-rated pool water clarifiers, each offering unique benefits:
- Ultrasheen: A highly concentrated, single-dose clarifier that delivers fast and effective results. Perfect for quick fixes and minimal fuss.
- Bling Clarifier: Known for its convenient single-dose formula and being easy to apply, this option is user-friendly and hassle-free.
- Waterpolish Ultra: An effective clarifier with a neutral pH, ideal for maintaining balanced pool chemistry.
- Waterpolish: A budget-friendly option with neutral pH properties, offering reliable performance without breaking the bank.
- Pink Sparklers: These multi-functional tablets clarify pool water while also acting as an algaecide, saving you time and effort when fighting algae blooms.
Which Clarifier Works Best for My Pool Filter?
Your pool’s filtration system plays a role in choosing the best clarifier:
- Cartridge Filters: Use a pool clarifier for safe and gradual particle removal. Avoid flocculants, as they can clog the filter.
- Sand Filters: Both clarifiers and flocculants are effective. Flocculants work especially well for quick clean-ups.
- DE (Diatomaceous Earth) Filters: Clarifiers are compatible with DE filters, but flocculants offer faster results for cloudy water.
When else you should use a pool water clarifier
A pool clarifier can be used as a preventative measure, stopping particles from building up and appearing as cloudy pool water. But if you find you need it regularly, there might be other things going on.
Typically, water clarifiers may need to be used at the beginning of your pool’s life, with a few more recommended situations below.
After clearing algae
Why: A water clarifier won’t clear algae blooms in your pool.
When: Use a water clarifier after you’ve killed an algae bloom, as it’ll help to coagulate dead algae particles in your pool water.
If you’ve got green in your pool, you’ll need to attend to that issue with chlorine and an algaecide before anything else, and fast.
After shocking your pool
Why: If you use a water clarifier with chlorinated pool shock, the polymers can be destroyed by chlorine before they ever get to coagulation.
When: Add a water clarifier to your pool at least a day after the shock treatment has finished.
You could use a combination of the two with Clean and Swim’s non-chlorinated shock treatment and pool water clarifier.
Pool water clarifier most frequent questions
Still scratching your head? Here, you’ll find a few commonly asked queries about it.
How long does a pool clarifier take to work?
You’ll need to be patient when using a pool water clarifier, as it can take two to three days to coagulate cloudy water and for your filter to collect the particles.
But time is on your side when using a flocculant, as it can take as little as four to six hours to coagulate those pesky particles – although you’ll need to vacuum the pool!
The time it takes for any water clarifier to work will also depend on how many tiny particles have infiltrated your pool.
Can you use too much pool clarifier?
Yes, too much clarifier in your pool is possible. Worse, too much pool clarifier can cause an adverse reaction where your pool water ends up remaining cloudy.
If this happens, it’s best to partially drain your pool and top it up with fresh water. You can then filter out the remaining pool clarifier overload. However, be careful: too much clarifier will clog your filter. If you’ve accidentally used enough clarifier to clear all of the pools in your neighbourhood, you’ll need to drain your pool fully.
It’s better to avoid adding too much clarifier in the first place by following the manufacturer’s recommended ratio of water clarifier to pool water.
Is there a pool clarifier substitute?
Using a household chemical like bleach is not a substitute for a pool clarifier. The only alternative to using a pool clarifier is to maintain role-model maintenance behaviour:
- Keep your pool water chemistry balanced constantly.
- Keep up with proper pool cleanliness, again, constantly.
- Circulate all of the water in your pool at least twice a day.
- But keeping on top of all of this can be difficult to do.
So, you might still need to use a clarifier on occasion. Even if you’re scrupulous about water chemistry, cleanliness and circulation, it’s inevitable that contaminants will enter your pool from swimmers.
Tip: To decrease the amount of these contaminants entering your pool, swimmers could do their bit by showering before they enter the pool.
This helps to reduce the amount of oils and dirt that wash off into your pool and cause cloudy water. But when the juices are flowing and the sun is shining, routines can easily be forgotten.
That’s when a pool water clarifier can save the day!
Crystal Clear Confidence with Dolphin Pacific
Cloudy pool water doesn’t have to spoil your fun. With the right pool clarifier and some know-how, you can quickly restore your pool to pristine condition.
Remember, while a clarifier is a great tool, consistent maintenance, proper water chemistry, and good filtration habits are your best defence against murky water. But when life gets busy, or you’re busy preparing your next pool party, a quality clarifier can swoop in and save the day.
For more help maintaining your pool, reach out to the experts at Dolphin Pacific today.
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Hey! I'm Adrian, founder and pool expert here at Dolphin Pacific. I love spending time with family, fishing, and have been known to brew my own beer.
