3 Things to Know About That Pool Smell

The smell is not chlorine That strong “chlorine” smell is actually chloramines — chemical byproducts formed when chlorine reacts with ammonia from sweat, urine, and other organic matter.

It means you need more chlorine, not less Low free chlorine can’t break down chloramines, so they build up and smell worse. The fix is a shock treatment to break the chloramine bond.

A persistent smell points to a bigger issue If your pool keeps smelling, you might not be shocking often enough or your cyanuric acid (CYA) levels are too high. A simple test strip will tell you.