Robot Pool Cleaner: How Soon After Shocking My Pool Can I Vacuum?
For algae, cloudy water, or regular shock for a general pool treatment, this is a crucial step you have to take. But when can you safely run your robot pool cleaner again? If you’re wondering how long to wait before vacuuming, this guide is for you.
Your pool robot, automatic pool cleaner, pool cleaner, and pool vacuum can only perform as good as the last pool shock you add once everything has settled. Let’s take a look at the perfect timing, and why it’s important for the health of your pool and the longevity of your equipment.
Why The Timing After A Shock Treatment Is Important
After shocking, chlorine reading rockets up—typically well over 10 ppm. NOW you will not want to be running you pool robot cleaning, or pool cleaning robot as the high chlorine will be harmful to the robot scrubber, and significantly shorten the life of the product. And on top of that, a pool vacuum robot might not be able to efficiently pick up the debris since the debris have not settled yet.
Wait until chlorine levels are at or below 5 ppm (for most, between 12-24 hours), before using your robot pool cleaner.
HOW TO TELL IF IT’S SAFE TO VACUUM AFTER YOU SHOCK YOUR POOL
Water is no longer cloudy
The chlorine concentration is lowered to a 3–5 ppm concentration
Dead Algae has located on bottom of pool
One resister and one skimmer are in operation
Now that you are at this point, it is okay to start vacuuming whether with a manual pool vacuum cleaner or robot pool. For algae brush and run pool vacuum for algae and backwash filter regularly.
How a Pool Robot Can Be Useful Following A Shock
When the chlorine level is safe, your robot pool cleaner can easily remove dead algae, debris, and bacteria remnants. Units such as the Beatbot AquaSense 2 Ultra, Beatbot AquaSense 2 Pro and Beatbot AquaSense 2 are built to clear fine particles and are able to get to hard to reach places with their wall climbing pool cleaneties.
You can also typically bring these cleaner machines alongside a maytronics pool cleaner or other similar brands, for a more precise clean.
Remember to Schedule MaintenanceServices
Consider the following, after you've shocked and vacuumed your pool:
- Cleaning filters and testing your pool booster pump
- Maintaining proper water chemistry with your testing kit
- How to acid wash a pool for deep cleaning
- How to drain an inground pool without a pump
These tasks will help you maintain a crystal-clear pool and extend the life of your robot pool cleaner.
Oh, and if you experience algae a lot, see my guide: How Often Should I Shock My Pool to Get Rid of Algae?
Do Pool Robots Pick Up Algae?
It does, especially after shocking. But you’ll get best results when algae is already loosened by a brush and pool vacuum. You robot pool will then be able to easily pick up the dead algae particles, leading to crystal clear results.
Conclusion
To keep your robot pool cleaner safe and ensure optimal cleaning power, allow 12-24 hours to pass after shocking, or until free chlorine returns to normal levels below 5 ppm, before using your vacuum. Clean-up quickly and thoroughly using a high quality cleaner such as Beatbot AquaSense 2 Ultra, Beatbot AquaSense 2 Pro, or Beatbot AquaSense 2 and your post-shock clean-up will be a breeze.
