Is It OK to Put Chlorine in Skimmer Basket?

Chlorine — one of the most frequently used sanitizers in pools, ensuring clean and clear water by killing bacteria and controlling algae growth. But when it comes to administering chlorine in your pool, the question many pool owners have is: is it safe to put chlorine in the skimmer basket? We will discuss the effects of putting chlorine directly into your skimmer basket and how this impacts your robot pool cleaner or pool vacuum and other cleaners in the pool.

What Will Happen When Put Chlorine in the Skimmer Basket?

The skimmer basket is an important component of your pool’s filtration system. It saves leaves and dirt from entering the pool’s filter and pump. However, adding chlorine tablets directly to the skimmer basket can cause things to go wrong. Let’s look into why this might not be the greatest idea.

They Use Too Much Chlorine in the Pump

Chlorine tabs placed in the skimmer basket dissolve when water flows over them. This injects a powerful jolt of chlorine straight into the system. When too much chlorine enters a pool in one go, particularly when the pool is at peak flow times, the pump and filter system get flustered. That, over time, may corrode the pump, filter, and even your robot pool cleaner. 

Chlorine attack:

1. Too much chlorine will corrode pool equipment, including sophisticated robotic pool cleaners such as the Beatbot AquaSense Pro, and pool vacuum robot.

2. High chlorine levels in the pool Sometimes your chlorine dissolves so fast in the skimmer basket, resulting in high chlorine levels in some parts of your pool. While you require a given level of chlorine, too much of it can lead to your skin, eyes, and respiratory system irritation. Unbalanced water affects the overall balance of your water, making it hard to balance your pH and alkalinity levels. When your water balance changes, your swimming pool robot cleaner and other pool cleaning robots will not work accordingly as they require a given level of everything.

3. Damage to the skimmer and pool equipment Chlorine is a strong chemical, when it gets into prolonged contact with your skimmer, your pool filter, and other pool equipment, it starts cracking and materials start weakening. You may find that your vacuum cleaner pool or robot pool cleaner does not clean perfectly if you renovate by putting chlorine tablets in the skimmer basket.

4. High Risk of Clogs At times pool chlorine tablets get stuck on the skimmer basket due to the lack of separation, especially if left for days. The chlorine tablets form petrol and get stuck on the pool system, and may even hang on the small mesh that only permits water to pass while obstructing water from passing easily. In that case, your pool vacuum or robot pool will not clean all the dirt as it requires a certain amount of water passing clearly for it to work properly.

How Should You Add Chlorine to Your Pool?

While you can technically throw chlorine in the skimmer basket, there are better alternatives for adding chlorine to your pool. Therefore, here are some alternatives to enable you to keep an appropriate level of chlorine while avoiding the risk of damaging your pool equipment.

Use a Floating Chlorine Dispenser

Using a floating chlorine dispenser is one of the simplest methods to provide an even distribution of chlorine throughout your pool. This device is used to store chlorine tablets and puts this chemical into circulation gradually so that it dissolves slowly while floating on the surface of your pool. This also helps to keep concentrated doses of chlorine from hitting your pool’s filtration system, which can help to reduce the risk of corrosion and other problems. While the dispenser does its job, you can still depend on your automated pool cleaner or vacuum cleaner for the pool.

Install a Chlorine Feeder

Using a chlorine feeder is a much more controlled and efficient way to add chlorine. This device is placed in the pool’s plumbing system, and it gradually adds chlorine to the water on an as-needed basis. Because they maintain thorough control of the dosing of this chemical, they ensure that your pool’s chlorine levels stay in the right range without bombing the robot pool cleaner and equipment.

Get the Chlorine Right in the Pool (Don’t Use the Skimmer)

If you prefer to add chlorine manually, it’s best to dissolve that in a bucket of water and dump it directly in the pool, ideally near the return jets. This helps distribute the chlorine equally throughout the pool without overworking the filtration system. Do not put chlorine onto the skimmer area, as well as the design area, around the pump, and so forth, that the problems we have discussed show up.

Keep a Close Eye on Pool Chemistry

Test your pool’s water chemistry regularly with a pool water test kit to keep chlorine, pH, and alkalinity levels balanced. Good water chemistry not only keeps your pool clean, it also makes sure your pool robotic pool cleaner and other cleaning devices work correctly.

Takeaway: How to Add Chlorine to Your Pool Effectively

You might be tempted to dump chlorine in your skimmer basket directly, which is generally a bad idea. If you put chlorine tablets in the skimmer, this can damage pool equipment, lead to excess chlorine levels, or cause clogging; any of which can affect how your robot pool cleaner and other devices such as the Beatbot AquaSense and pool vacuum robots work. Instead, use floating chlorine dispensers, chlorine feeders, or direct pool application to safely and effectively maintain balanced water chemistry.

Following these tips will make your pool clean and safe while maintaining your pool equipment, such as robotic pool cleaners and vacuum cleaners for pools.