Why Is There No Free Chlorine In Pool After Shocking? (Explained)

When there is no free chlorine in the pool, you will need to figure out what’s going on and how it can be adjusted for the better.

You do not want to have a swimming pool with no free chlorine as that is going to create unwanted issues in terms of the overall water quality.

A good place to start is, why is there no free chlorine in the pool after shocking?

There is no free chlorine in the pool after shocking due to impatience and not waiting at least 8 hours for the water to settle. Additional reasons can include algae/debris in the water, not enough shock, or a high pH level that has to be adjusted.

This can happen when a pool owner is shocking the pool for the first time. There is an adjustment phase that has to be considered including staying patient.

It’s important to let things settle before determining whether or not the process worked.

This article will take a look at the main reasons for no free chlorine in pools after shocking.

Reasons For No Free Chlorine In Pool After Shocking

1. Impatience

It’s important to focus on the waiting period after shocking a swimming pool.

If there is no free chlorine in a swimming pool, it might come down to something simple like not being as patient as you need to be.

What does this mean?

You will want to wait at least eight hours for the pool to settle. You need to make sure the water has a chance to process the change as that is how the result will come.

Some people will start testing the water within an hour and that’s inefficient. It’s not going to work out as required.

In general, the rule of thumb is to wait at least eight hours for the swimming pool to settle. This is going to make sure the shock has time to dissolve and work out as needed.

If you rush the process, you will notice the water quality is not going to be as stable as you want it to be. This is natural because there is a waiting period that has to be accounted for when shocking a swimming pool.

no free chlorine in pool after shocking

2. Not Enough Shock

How much shock was used in the pool?

It’s possible you might not have added enough shock to the pool and this is the consequence of what you have done.

This is a common mistake made by people that are new to the process.

You might not understand the amount of shock treatment needed to increase the chlorine in a pool. This creates a situation where there is no free chlorine in the pool after a shock treatment.

The best option when this is the case is to go ahead and add more shock treatment to the water. This will help adjust the level.

3. Excess pH In The Pool

You are now going to want to take out a testing kit.

You should be testing the pH in the water after shocking it. The reason for doing this is to get a general read on the water quality.

If the pH is too high in the water, this is going to create a situation where there will be a lack of free chlorine in the pool.

You will need to take the time to adjust the pH in the swimming pool as soon as possible. Otherwise, the pool is not going to be usable.

4. Algae Or Debris

Now, it is important to make sure the pool is clean.

How are you going to do this?

You will want to take a look at what is inside the swimming pool. Is there algae or debris that is floating around in the pool?

This is something you will want to get rid of as soon as possible. You do not want the water to be contaminated with algae or debris because it will ruin the water quality.

Take the time to get rid of this debris as soon as you can. When you do this, it will become much easier to increase the chlorine level in the swimming pool.

Final Thoughts

Why is there no free chlorine in the pool after shocking?

There is no free chlorine in the pool after shocking due to impatience and not waiting at least eight hours for the water to settle. It is also possible there is debris or algae in the water and the pH is too high. The final reason can be not using enough shock treatment.

It’s important to follow the instructions when shocking a pool.

This is the only way you are going to get the water quality to stabilize in the swimming pool or it is not going to turn out as you want it to.