What use in Chlorine?
Chlorine is the chemical most often used to keep swimming pools and Jacuzzis free of bacteria that can be hazardous to humans. Chlorine kills bacteria though a fairly simple chemical reaction. The chlorine solution you pour into the water breaks down into many different chemicals, including hypochlorous acid (HOCl) and hypochlorite ion (OCl-). Both kill microorganisms and bacteria by attacking the lipids in the cell walls and destroying the enzymes and structures inside the cell, rendering them oxidized and harmless. The difference between HOCl and OCl- is the speed at which they oxidize. Hypochlorous acid is able to oxidize the organisms in several seconds, while the hypochlorite ion may take up to 30 minutes. The levels of HOCl and OCl- vary with the pool’s pH level. If the pH is too high, not enough HOCl is present and pool cleaning can take much longer than normal. Ideally, the level of pH in the pool should be between 7 and 8; 7.4 is ideal — this is the pH of human tears. Once th
