Pool Flocculant: When Should You Use Flock for Pool Cleaning?

Published January 06, 2023

Though there are several ways to clean a pool, there are times when you can’t seem to clean it fully.

There’s a good chance even after all your efforts, you’ll still find small, perhaps even microscopic particles floating on the water surface. While small, they’re still hard to look at and are not hygienic.

Unfortunately, these tiny particles are particularly difficult to eliminate.

Not only are they too small for the filters to immediately find, but they also come in large numbers, so manually taking care of them is out of the question. That’s where flocculants come into play.

What Is a Flocculant?

Flocculants are chemicals that help clump together small or microscopic particles into one place. It has several applications, one of which is with pools. To be precise, it’s used to gather all the contaminants like algae, mold, dirt, bacteria, and other microscopic debris into a single place.

In doing so, the pool owner is able to get rid of the contaminants in one fell swoop. The chemical product got its name from the term floc, a term that refers to a mass of bacteria formed in fluids.

Some may also call them flocks, hence why pool owners would often use the term pool flocking when discussing the use of flocculants. Now, if the description of flocculants is familiar, it’s most likely because you’ve heard of clarifiers before—a chemical with essentially the same function.

Flocculant vs Clarifiers

Flocculants and clarifiers are the same in that they both clear contaminants from cloudy water by clumping together small particles. But of course, as they are two different products, they have a couple of differences—the main difference being the time it takes for the product to take effect.

Flocculants take 8 to 16 hours to gather the contaminants completely. Meanwhile, clarifiers will take one to two days to achieve the same result. Judging from this, you’d assume flocculants are better.

One thing to note, however, is that it takes a lot of work to add flocculants to the pool, at least when compared to clarifiers. For that reason, you must take a lot of considerations before deciding to use a flocculant on your pool. So, when is it good to rely on a flock for pool cleaning?

When Should You Use a Flock for Pool Cleaning?

As intimidating as it may be, it’s relatively easy to figure out the better option between flocculants or clarifiers. You simply have to ask yourself when you need to use the pool.

If you plan to use the pool after two days or so, you might as well use a clarifier instead. It’s much easier to set up, so you’re saving yourself a lot of trouble. On the other hand, if you intend to use the pool the next day, it would be best if you used a pool flocculant rather than a clarifier.

But if you want to use the pool right away, unfortunately, you have no choice but to abandon your plans. After all, the earliest you can floc or clarify the pool is eight hours, and that’s still generous.

So, you’ve decided to use flock for pool cleaning. What now?

How To Use Flock for Pool Cleaning

A pool floc is much more straightforward than you may think. Most of the steps in the flocking process are probably things you already do regularly. With that said, let’s take a look at the steps.

1. Add More Water Than Usual

You should already know the amount of water it takes to fill the pool at satisfactory levels.

For the first step, simply fill the pool as you would normally, but add maybe around 10% to 15% of the usual amount. That’s because at the end of this process, you will have to vacuum the masses of particles gathered through flocculation, and in doing so, you’ll inevitably suck some water as well.

Hence, it’s best to take that into account and add more water beforehand.

2. Set the pH Level to Around 7.0

Everyone knows that it’s important to balance the pH level of the water in the pool. However, it’s extra important in this process since it’ll affect the efficiency of the flocculation process.

If the pH level is too high, there’s a chance the particles will disperse once they coagulate, or in simpler terms, clump together. Similarly, if the pH level is too low, coagulation may not take place in the first place. In short, you need to be extra cautious when setting the pH level.

Experts advise setting the pH level to 7.0 for optimal results.

3. Dilute the Flocculant

Flocculants are usually very viscous. They’re not watery, so you must dilute the chemical product first. Since every brand will have different concentrations for their flocculant, you may have to rely on the directions or instructions from the packaging.

4. Add the Flocculant