The idea of swimming in a pool of chlorine can be off-putting, especially if you have sensitive skin or asthma. But not all pools are treated with chlorine, and there are many chlorine-free alternatives. In the interest of finding out which alternative pool treatments are best, we researched pool chlorine alternatives and spoke to pool professionals to find the best options.
Read on to learn more about swimming pool chlorine alternatives.
Our Editor’s Best Swimming Pool Chlorine Alternatives Reviews
- Non-Chlorine Alternative: Use chlorine-free pool shock-oxidizer weekly to eliminate non-living matter, keeping your above ground or in-ground swimming pool water clean and safe
- Proper Water Balance: Quickly dissolves to provide fast results without raising or altering pH levels
- Reduce Chlorine Usage: Enhances the effectiveness of the existing chlorine in the pool, reducing the need for extra chlorine in your swimming pool
- Advantage: Minimizes skin and eye irritation from your swimming pool water
- Versatile Compatibility: Suitable for standard chlorine, salt chlorinated, mineral, and bromine-treated swimming pools, spas, and hot tubs
- Shockingly Quick Sanitation: Enjoy crystal-clear, swim-ready water faster with Champion Pool Shock’s powerful and potent 12.5 percent sodium hypochlorite formula, providing rapid sanitation for your pool.
- No Cloudiness or Stains: Keep your pool pristine with a formula that doesn’t cloud water or leave residue, preventing stains and ensuring a beautiful, clear swimming environment.
- Ready to Use: With no mixing required, it offers an effortless pool care solution. Simply pour it directly into your pool or feed it through a peristaltic metering pump for easy and effective sanitization.
- Cost-Effective Solution: Save on pool maintenance with a liquid chlorine that offers superior cleaning power at a lower cost, reducing the need for expensive alternatives.
- Reliable and Safe: Certified to NSF/ANSI 60 standards, this commercial-grade liquid chlorine ensures dependable and safe use in various aquatic settings. Available in convenient 1-gallon jugs, packed in a set of 4.
- When used regularly, it will eliminate organic contaminants and keep pool water crystal clear
- Apply 1 pound of this product per 10,000 gallons of pool water every two weeks for pools with light swimming usage
- For pools with heavy swimming usage, apply 1 pound of this product per 10,000 gallons of pool water every week
- Quickly oxidizes contaminants in your pool
- Improves sanitizer efficiency
- BENEFIT: Protect your swimming pool and enjoy clean, clear water with these easy-to-use chlorine-based tabs; Kills algae and bacteria
- CLEAN, CLEAR WATER: HTH Chlorine Tabs keep water clear while protecting against bacteria, algae and other organisms
- SLOW DISSOLVING, LONG LASTING: Sun protected for longer chlorine life, HTH Chlorine Tabs dissolve slowly and last up to one week
- COMPATIBLE WITH ALL POOLS: This product is great for all pool types, including saltwater systems; Use 1" tabs for above ground pools, 3" tabs for inground pools; Use in floater, feeder, or skimmer basket
- YOU’RE ALL CLEAR WITH HTH: For best results, use HTH 6-Way Test Strips twice weekly to test and balance your swimming pool water and keep chlorine levels between 1 and 4 ppm
- Fast-Acting Pool Shock: Instantly boosts chlorine levels to eliminate algae and contaminants, keeping your pool crystal clear.
- Pro-Grade Cal Hypo Shock: Made with 68% calcium hypochlorite and 65% available chlorine for powerful, long-lasting pool maintenance.
- Convenient & Easy to Use: Pre-measured 1lb bags ensure quick, hassle-free application—no measuring needed.
- Effective Dosage: Use 1lb per 10,000 gallons; for spring openings or heavy algae blooms, apply 2-3 doses for best results.
- Trusted Quality, Family-Owned: With over 50 years of pool supply expertise, Doheny’s provides high-quality products you can count on.
- Dual Action Sanitizer and Shock - Clorox Pool&Spa All-in-One XtraBlue Chlorinating Granules can be used to sanitize and shock your pool water clean and clear. Cleans and clears water in one step.
- Quick-Dissolving, Fast-Acting: These quick-dissolving, fast-acting chlorine granules not only kill bacteria but are also stabilized to protect against loss from sunlight, ensuring your sanitizer residual lasts longer in your pool water.
- For Clean, Algae-Free Water. Kill bacteria and stop green, mustard and black pool algae with All-in-One XtraBlue Chlorinating Granules. The multi-functional XtraBlue formula kills and prevents all types of pool algae, kills bacteria, and reduces eye irritation and chlorine odor.
- Improves Filter Performance: This product destroys contaminants to aid filtration, helping to clear dull water and enhance overall pool clarity. Enjoy a cleaner, more efficient pool filtration system.
- Clorox Pool App: Test like an expert anytime, anywhere with the Clorox Pool App. Solve common swimming pool problems and get personalized product and dosage recommendations
- Effective Sanitizer: Bromine is an excellent alternative to traditional shock sanitizers in swimming pools, spas, and hot tubs, effectively eliminating bacteria, viruses, and algae to maintain clean and safe water.
- High Bromine Strength: In The Swim 1-inch Bromine Tablets Plus offer enhanced sanitizing power with 98% active ingredient, an improvement over our regular bromine tablets that contain 96%, ensuring stronger disinfection in pools and spas.
- Stable in High Temperatures: Bromine is more stable than chlorine in higher temperatures, making it ideal for hot tubs, where heat can break down chlorine more quickly.
- Low Odor and Less Irritation: Bromine is less irritating to the skin and eyes compared to chlorine, making it a preferred option for swimmers with sensitive skin.
- Effective at Higher pH Levels: Bromine remains effective at higher pH levels and can be reactivated with an oxidizer, providing greater flexibility in water chemistry management and more efficient use with fewer additions.
- Cleaner, Safer Water: Our chlorine tablets remove bacteria, algae, and other organic contaminants to ensure your above ground or inground swimming pool stays clean and clear throughout the entire season
- Powerful Sanitization: 99% Trichloro-S-Triazinetrione with 90% stabilized chlorine. Tablets do not expire and are non-perishable, but best used within 2 years of manufacture.
- Long-Lasting Protection: Slow-dissolving to ensure consistent chlorination. Perfect for use in floaters or automatic feeders
- UV Protected: Sun-stabilized to resist depletion from harmful UV rays
- Usage: Ideal size for floaters or automatic feeders
- Active Ingredients - Our pool tablets are pro-grade made from 99% Trichloro-S-Triazinetrione and 90% stabilized chlorine
- Ready To Use - Size perfect for floaters, pool skimmer or any automatic feeder which bigger than 3 inch (Floating Tablet Dispenser Sold Separate ASIN: B07193P5HZ)
- Saving Money - Having our chlorinating tablets, you don't need change the frequently, 1-tab helps you saving about 5,000 gallons of water
- Versatile - The chlorine tabs are perfect for swimming pools, hot tubs, spa, hot spring pools, water parks, even for toilets
- Long-Lasting Chlorine Tabs - Each tab is pre-stabilized against the sun's UV rays to prevent premature chlorine burn-off, making them last longer
- Clear Balance Pool Maintenance Tablets use the power of pure ARM & HAMMER Baking Soda in one simple step to maintain your pool’s alkalinity and pH levels the easy way
- Formulated with trusted ARM & HAMMER Baking Soda to help chlorine work more effectively in your swimming pool; this Baking Soda product for pools also helps to protect pool surfaces from corrosion
- Contains pure ARM & HAMMER Baking Soda and comes in a convenient tablet form, so there’s no measuring or mess; simply add one tablet for every one chlorine tablet to optimize chlorine performance in your swimming pool
- Using this Baking Soda for Pool product results in crystal-clear pool water that feels better on your skin and eyes, and can help reduce the need for other corrective and often costly swimming pool chemicals
- This Baking Soda for Pool product contains 24 tablets in a handy container with resealable lid, so you can choose the size that works best for your swimming pool maintenance needs
Best Swimming Pool Chlorine Alternatives Buying Guide
Before choosing the best swimming pool chlorine alternative you should consider following options:
1. UV (ultraviolet) disinfection: UV disinfection uses ultraviolet light to kill bacteria and viruses. UV disinfection is simple to install and maintain, and it is one of the least expensive disinfection methods.
Although UV disinfection has minimal operational costs, it has drawbacks. UV disinfection doesn’t effectively kill some bacteria, viruses and parasites. Therefore, it is most effective for treating water that has low levels of organic matter.
Also, UV light can degrade and may require replacement every five years or so. Finally, UV disinfection isn’t effective in cold weather, when the water temperature drops below 60 degrees F.
2. Ozone generation: Ozone is a powerful oxidizing agent that kills bacteria and viruses. Ozone is effective in cold water and can kill microorganisms that UV disinfection can’t kill, including Giardia, Cryptosporidium and Legionella.
However, ozone has disadvantages. First, ozone is unstable and can be poisonous if it escapes from the water treatment system. Second, ozone is corrosive and can damage equipment. Also, ozone may require special treatment and disposal of the by-products.
3. Alum, copper and silver ion generation: Copper, silver and aluminum ions kill bacteria and viruses. These disinfection methods are effective in cold water and can kill microorganisms that UV and ozone disinfection can’t kill.
Although alum, copper and silver ion generation has benefits, it also has drawbacks. First, these disinfection methods can be expensive to install and maintain. Second, they may require special treatment and disposal of the by-products.
4. Combined UV, ozone and alum, copper or silver ion generation: Combining these disinfection methods improves water quality and reduces the number of disinfection by-products. However, it increases operational costs because of the expense of installing and maintaining multiple disinfection methods.
5. Ultraviolet photolysis: Ultraviolet photolysis combines UV light with ozone for enhanced disinfection. This dual disinfection method is effective in cold water, and it reduces the number of disinfection by-products. However, it increases operational costs because of the expense of installing and maintaining multiple disinfection methods.
6. Advanced oxidation: Advanced oxidation uses a chemical oxidizer for disinfection. Advanced oxidation has high operational costs because of the expense of installing and maintaining multiple disinfection methods. Also, advanced oxidation may require special treatment and disposal of the by-products.
What else you should know about swimming pool chlorine alternatives
1. What are the most popular swimming pool chlorine alternatives?
The most popular swimming pool chlorine alternatives are saltwater pools, mineral pools, and ozone pools.
2. What are the pros and cons of each alternative?
There are pros and cons to each alternative. For example, choosing to go to college may mean that you will have more job options and make more money, but it also may mean that you will have more debt.
3. How do I know which alternative is right for my pool?
If you have a pool, you should test the pH levels regularly to ensure that the water is balanced. You can use a pool test kit to test the pH levels.
4. How do I use chlorine alternatives in my pool?
There are many chlorine alternatives on the market, and each has its own set of instructions. Be sure to read the directions on the product you choose to ensure proper and safe use.
5. What are the common problems associated with using chlorine alternatives in swimming pools?
There are a few common problems associated with using chlorine alternatives in swimming pools. One is that they can be more expensive than chlorine. Additionally, some of them (such as bromine) can be corrosive to pool surfaces and equipment. Finally, chlorine alternatives may not be as effective at killing bacteria and other contaminants as chlorine itself.
Conclusion
On the market, there are numerous best swimming pool chlorine alternatives. Hopefully, the list of the top ten best swimming pool chlorine alternatives will save you time researching and deciding on the best one for you.