“Trichlor is 99% chlorine” sounds like a slam-dunk reason to buy tablets, right until you read what the label is actually saying. We sit down with Bob Lowry to untangle one of the most persistent swimming pool industry myths: confusing product purity with chlorine strength. Along the way, we translate the language on chlorine buckets into real pool math you can use on a service route, in a retail store, or when a homeowner asks why their water chemistry keeps drifting. We walk through why th...

Show Notes

“Trichlor is 99% chlorine” sounds like a slam-dunk reason to buy tablets, right until you read what the label is actually saying. We sit down with Bob Lowry to untangle one of the most persistent swimming pool industry myths: confusing product purity with chlorine strength. Along the way, we translate the language on chlorine buckets into real pool math you can use on a service route, in a retail store, or when a homeowner asks why their water chemistry keeps drifting.

We walk through why the industry uses “available chlorine” in the first place, using chlorine gas as the historical benchmark. Bob explains how that comparison can mislead people who assume the biggest percentage on the label equals the most sanitizing power in the water. We also talk about what trichlor really brings with it, including the stabilizer side of the equation, and why understanding cyanuric acid (CYA) is key to keeping free chlorine effective.

Then we tackle cal-hypo myths head-on. If you’ve ever heard that calcium hypochlorite “doesn’t add much calcium,” Bob gives a simple rule of thumb: for every 10 ppm of chlorine you add, you add about 7 ppm of calcium. That matters a lot in high-calcium fill water areas, and it changes how you think about long-term scaling, water balance, and product selection. We also get into how different available chlorine percentages change dosing, why some cal-hypo tablets require much more product, and how a basic spreadsheet can reveal the true cost per equivalent pound of chlorine.

If you care about pool chemistry, water balance, and choosing the right sanitizer for your market, hit play. Subscribe, share this with a pool pro who still quotes the “99%” line, and leave a review with the myth you want us to debunk next.

We clear up pool chemistry myths that keep getting repeated, especially the idea that trichlor is “99% chlorine” and therefore the strongest sanitizer. We also break down what “available chlorine” really means and why cal-hypo use can quietly drive up calcium hardness over time.
• why “99%” refers to purity of the compound rather than chlorine strength
• how chlorine gas became the reference point for available chlorine
• what “available chlorine” on the label is actually comparing
• why trichlor use also brings cyanuric acid into the pool
• the practical rule of thumb for cal-hypo and calcium hardness buildup
• why water region and fill water hardness change cal-hypo outcomes
• how different cal-hypo percentages affect dosing and cost
• using a simple spreadsheet to compare true chlorine cost

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