Strong Chlorine Smell in Your Pool? It Means the Opposite of What You Think
That sharp smell almost never means too much chlorine — it means chloramines, formed when chlorine binds to sweat, oils, and other contaminants, creating "combined chlorine." Combined chlorine is weaker, smells strong, and causes red eyes — not pure chlorine itself.
If you can measure both free and total chlorine: combined = total − free. Above 0.2-0.5 ppm combined is worth addressing.
Fix: shock the pool to reach "breakpoint chlorination" — roughly 10x your combined chlorine reading in free chlorine, which breaks the bond and releases the nitrogen as gas. Prevent it by showering before swimming and keeping chlorine consistently topped up rather than letting it dip.
Pool Balance's free calculator factors in your combined chlorine reading and pool volume to tell you exactly how much shock to add.