The Chlorine and Ammonia Connection

A chloramine, or the more commonly used chloramines is/are a combination of chlorine and ammonia. In swimming pool chemistry, chlorine likes to mix with other elements in the water. This  makes chlorine an effective oxidizer of bacteria as it tries to combine with the bacteria, thus killing it. However, when ammonia is present in the pool water, chlorine and ammonia will combine together to form chloramines.

If you are a swimming pool or spa owner, it helps to know a little bit about pool chemistry, even if you hire a pool maintenance service to maintain and clean your pool.

A few basic facts about chloramines:

• Chloramines are considered to be very weak cleaners (and weak oxidizers of bacteria) because the chlorine is locked up with the ammonia and is not readily available to kill bacteria.The term most frequently used is chlorine lock.
• Those pungent chlorine odors in a swimming pool are actually caused by chloramines, not by using too much chlorine. The same goes for red, irritated eyes; chloramines are also the culprit.
• Chloramines are formed when ammonia is present in the water, often from human sweat or urine (which are chemically similar) and when there is insufficient chlorine present to combine with the available ammonia and to oxidize bacteria. Believe it or not, one person who is actively swimming for an hour can produce about one quart of sweat.
• The point at which you have added enough chlorine to neutralize all chloramines is known as breakpoint chlorination. After this point, the available chlorine returns to oxidizing bacteria and algae instead of combining with ammonia in the water.

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