Should combined chlorine be zero?

In clean water, the amount of total chlorine can be used to determine the amount of free chlorine in the water since combined chlorine should be at zero. Since this measurement doesn’t denote the different amounts of free chlorine and combined chlorine, it won’t be able to tell you much.

What is a good number for combined chlorine?

The recommended amount of combined chlorine is no more than 0.2 ppm. Combined chlorine or chloramines is the portion of chlorine that has reacted with the water and microorganisms contained in it.

Why is combined chlorine not desirable in swimming pools?

When chlorine in the pool water comes in contact with organic material, such as skin oils, urine or sweat, they react to form combined chlorine, also known as chloramines. Combined chlorine is the source of bad “chlorine” smell, red eyes and irritated skin from pool water.

Why is my combined chlorine so high?

Why do combined chlorine levels matter? Having more than 0.2 ppm of combined chlorine indicates that your chlorine is falling behind. Your chlorine is fighting a significant enough oxidant demand–particularly with nitrogen compounds like ammonia–that its ability to sanitize is becoming compromised.

What causes high combined chlorine in pool?

These may arise from bather pollution or reaction with cleaning products incorporating detergents in their formulation. In this case the pool water should be diluted by replacing some of it with fresh make-up water until the combined chlorine is reduced to less than 1mg/l.

Will combined chlorine go down on its own?

See, chlorine (more specifically, HOCl) is an outstanding sanitizer and disinfectant, but a relatively weak oxidizer. It gets reduced quickly by oxidants like bather waste. hence the name combined chlorine. Eventually they get destroyed, or in the case of chloramines, off-gassed into the air.