Chloramines: What Causes That Chlorine Smell

It is a common misconception that when you smell chlorine either at home in your backyard at your pool or while visiting a pool park or waterslide. That it means there is too much chlorine. In fact it is quite the opposite. Now common sense would lead you to believe that if something smells it means there is a lot or it has been rotting, in chlorine’s case it means that it has been working.

Chloramines - What Creates That Chlorine Smell

Here is how it works. When you add chlorine to your pool water those tiny chlorine particles attach themselves to tiny debris or bacteria particles and create chloramines. These chloramines are basically killed bacteria or particles that have been taken care of by chlorine. But now that you have these chloramines they need to be disposed of. That happens by oxidizing or shocking your pool. This causes those particles to turn into oxygen, hence oxidize, and escape into the air. It’s at this point when that chlorine is no longer in the water but in the air allowing you to smell it. So what you actually smelling is the chlorine escaping out of the pool doing its job. However since you smell the chlorine in the air, it means that it may not be working to kill more in the pool water. When chlorine is in water you cannot smell it. It’s the tell tale sign that it is time for you to add more chlorine. I hope this has cleared this myth up!