The Best Chlorine Tablets: Shopping Guide and Recommendations (01/23)

Welcome to our big chlorine tablet test 2023. Here we present all the chlorine tablets that we have tested in detail. We have compiled detailed background information and added a summary of customer reviews on the internet.

We would like to make your purchase decision easier and help you find the best chlorine tablets for you.

You will also find answers to frequently asked questions in our guide. If available, we also offer interesting test videos. Furthermore, you will also find some important information on this page that you should definitely pay attention to if you want to buy chlorine tablets.

Summary

• Chlorine tablets are one of the most popular means of cleaning and keeping swimming pools clean in the private sector.
• A basic distinction is made between fast-soluble, slow-soluble and multifunctional chlorine tablets.
• Fast-soluble chlorine tablets are particularly suitable for shock chlorination, as they develop their effect particularly quickly. Slow-soluble chlorine tablets are excellent for continuous chlorination, as their effect lasts longer.

The Best Chlorine Tablets: Our Picks

Guide: Questions you should ask yourself before buying chlorine tablets

Decision: What types of chlorine tablets are there and which is the right one for you?

If you want to buy chlorine tablets, there are three alternatives to choose from:

• Fast-soluble chlorine tablets
• Slow-soluble chlorine tablets
• Multifunctional tablets

In the following section we would like to make your decision easier.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of fast-dissolving chlorine tablets?

Fast-dissolving chlorine tablets are suitable for both shock chlorination and continuous chlorination. As they dissolve particularly quickly, you have to top up fast-dissolving chlorine tablets every two to three days.

In the long run, fast-dissolving chlorine tablets are therefore more expensive than slow-dissolving tablets in most cases.

Fast-dissolving chlorine tablets are particularly recommended if you want to achieve the desired chlorine level again as quickly as possible after refilling your pool.

What are the characteristics of slow-soluble chlorine tablets and what are their advantages and disadvantages?

As their name suggests, these chlorine tablets only dissolve slowly and therefore develop their effect over a longer period of time. You therefore only need to add slow-dissolving chlorine tablets every five to ten days.

Over a long period of time, slow-dissolving chlorine tablets can therefore be much cheaper than fast-dissolving tablets.

Due to their properties, slow-soluble chlorine tablets are only suitable for continuous chlorination. Since you have to re-dose them less often, you save a lot of time and nerves with this alternative.

What are the characteristics of multifunctional tablets and what are their advantages and disadvantages?

Multifunctional tablets, also known as multitabs, all-in-one tabs, combi tabs or 3-in-1 chlorine tablets, are probably the most popular alternative among chlorine tablets.

These are slow-dissolving chlorine tablets that contain a flocculant and a pH stabiliser in addition to chlorine. The flocculant serves to bind the finest suspended particles and thus ensures clear pool water. The pH stabiliser increases the pH value of your pool and thus ensures the effectiveness of the chlorine.

The disadvantage of these multitabs is that the chemicals mentioned are contained in a fixed mixing ratio. This means that the wrong dosage can quickly occur. This is because the tabs cannot take into account special conditions such as the size of your pool, weather, type of use or filter type.

Purchase criteria: You can use these factors to compare and evaluate chlorine tablets

In the following, we will show you which aspects you can use to decide between the many possible chlorine tablets.

The criteria you can use to compare chlorine tablets with each other include:

• Place of use
• Pool size
• Dosage
• Organic or inorganic chlorine tablets

In the following paragraphs, we will explain what is important in the individual criteria.

Place of use

Chlorine tablets can be used in many different applications. Here we have listed a few examples:

• Swimming pool
• Children’s pool
• Paddling pool
• Jacuzzi / Whirlpool
• Garden fountain
• Rainwater
• Pond
• Drinking water

Depending on which of these applications you want to keep free of algae and bacteria, you will need different chlorine tablets.

Pool size

The size of the pool determines how much chlorine you need for your pool. To calculate the pool capacity, you can use the following formula:

Length (m) x width (m) x average depth (m) = pool capacity (m3)

The chlorine content of your pool water should always be between 0.5 and 1.0 mg per litre of water. How many chlorine tablets are required for the calculated pool content can be found in the respective product description.

Dosage

Since bleaching could occur in foil pools if you simply add the chlorine tablets directly to your pool, we present the most common dosing options for chlorine tablets here.

Chlorine tablets can be dosed in different ways. Many pool owners use so-called dosing floats (also called dosing containers or simply dosing devices). These are available in different sizes and thus for every pool size. You should always take the dosing float out of the pool for bathing.

A variant that you do not have to remove before using the pool is the dosing sluice, also called a chlorine dosing machine. This is installed in the return flow of the filter technology. Since the dosing sluice also has a higher filling capacity, you can easily go away for a longer period of time without having to ask someone to rechlorinate your pool.

Under no circumstances should you place chlorine tablets in the skimmer.

Since the skimmer is used by the pool pump to suck in the water, chlorine tablets dissolve in the skimmer more quickly than intended. Dissolving too quickly leads to over-chlorination of your pool and thus to bleaching of the pool liner.

Organic or inorganic chlorine tablets

Organic chlorine tablets contain cyanuric acid as a stabiliser. This slows down the reaction of chlorine and thus ensures a slower and more even effect.

Inorganic chlorine tablets are very reactive and are degraded relatively quickly, for example, by UV radiation, increased water temperature or increased pool use. This requires a daily check of the water values and an equally frequent re-chlorination.

Facts worth knowing about chlorine tablets

Are chlorine tablets dangerous?

Due to its high reactivity, pure chlorine is toxic to the human body. When diluted in water, however, chlorine is not harmful to health. By killing dangerous microorganisms, it reduces the risk of infection in the swimming pool.

copied to clipboard

Only our skin and hair can suffer from the effects of chlorine. Bathing caps can remedy this problem. For your skin’s sake, you should also shower thoroughly after coming into contact with chlorinated water and apply a moisturiser.

How should chlorine tablets be stored?

You should follow certain rules when storing your chlorine tablets, not only in winter, but ideally all year round. This is the only way to ensure their effectiveness.

The room where you store your chlorine tablets should be dry and well ventilated. This is because gases can form and escape in chlorine containers even though the container is well sealed. The storage room should also be as dark as possible; alternatively, you can also put the products in a cardboard box.

Containers with chemicals must always be tightly closed, otherwise they could become contaminated.

If you have several opened containers of pool products left over after the pool season, you should never put them together in one container. Store each product separately to prevent possible damage from a chemical reaction.

Of course, you should keep chlorine tablets out of reach of children and animals. It is best to lock the affected storage area to be on the safe side.

The water in my pool is cloudy – what can I do about it?

If the water in your pool is cloudy or milky, this is due to suspended particles in the water. This can have various causes.

On the one hand, insufficient filtration, caused by a too short running time of your pool pump, can be the reason for the dirty water. If this is not the case, a flocculant can be the solution to your problem.

This is because some particles are too small to be retained by the filter. A flocculant binds these particles into small clumps that are large enough to be filtered out by the filter.

Photo source: 123rf.com / Izquierdo D.