Stabilized Chlorine vs Unstablized Chlorine: What’s the Difference?

If you are a new pool owner, you may be confused by the various chemicals with different functions. Among the pool maintenance chemicals, pool chlorine disinfectant may be the first one you come into contact with and the one you use the most in daily life. After you come into contact with pool chlorine disinfectant, you will find that there are two types of such disinfectants: Stabilized Chlorine and Unstabilized Chlorine.

They are all chlorine disinfectants, you may wonder what is the difference between them? How should I choose? The following pool chemical manufacturers will give you a detailed explanation

First of all, you should understand why there is a distinction between stabilized chlorine and unstabilized chlorine? It is determined by whether the chlorine disinfectant can produce cyanuric acid after hydrolysis. Cyanuric acid is a chemical that can stabilize the chlorine content in the swimming pool. Cyanuric acid allows chlorine to exist in the swimming pool for a longer time. To ensure the long-term effectiveness of chlorine in the swimming pool. Without cyanuric acid, the chlorine in the swimming pool will be quickly decomposed by ultraviolet rays.

Stabilized Chlorine

Stabilized Chlorine is chlorine that can produce cyanuric acid after hydrolysis. Generally, we often see sodium dichloroisocyanurate and trichloroisocyanuric acid.

Trichloroisocyanuric acid (Available chlorine: 90%): ,usually used in swimming pools in the form of tablets, often used in automatic dosing devices or floats.

Sodium dichloroisocyanurate (Available chlorine: 55%, 56%, 60%) : Usually in granular form, it dissolves quickly and can be added directly to the pool. It can be used as a disinfectant or pool chlorine shock chemical.

Cyanuric acid allows chlorine to stay in the pool longer, making it more effective. You also don’t have to add chlorine as often as with unStabilized Chlorine.

Stabilized chlorine is less irritating, safer, has a long shelf life, and is easy to store

The cyanuric acid stabilizer generated after hydrolysis protects the chlorine from UV degradation, thereby extending the life of the chlorine and reducing the frequency of chlorine addition.

It makes your water care easier and more time-saving.

Unstabilized Chlorine

Unstabilized Chlorine refers to chlorine disinfectants that do not contain stabilizers. Common ones are calcium hypochlorite and sodium hypochlorite (liquid chlorine). This is a more traditional disinfectant in pool maintenance.

Calcium hypochlorite (Available chlorine: 65%, 70%) usually comes in granular or tablet form. It can be used for general disinfection and pool chlorine shock.

Sodium hypochlorite 5,10,13usually comes in liquid form and is used for general chlorination.

However, since unStabilized Chlorine does not contain stabilizers, it is more easily decomposed by ultraviolet rays.

Of course, when choosing chlorine disinfectants, how to choose between Stabilized Chlorine and unStabilized Chlorine depends on your maintenance habits for the swimming pool, whether it is an outdoor pool or an indoor pool, whether there are very professional and dedicated maintenance personnel for maintenance, and whether there are more concerns about maintenance costs.

However, as a manufacturer of swimming pool disinfectants, we have 28 years of production and use experience. We recommend that you use Stabilized Chlorine as a swimming pool disinfectant. Whether in use, daily maintenance, cost or storage, it will bring you a better experience.