Why doesn’t my pool smell like chlorine?

[pb4uswim]

I think my pool is in very good shape chemically speaking. A friend came over today and sat by the pool and commented that my pool doesn’t smell like chlorine. My wife opined that it doesn’t because it’s a salt water pool. I explained the salt to chlorine process but I really couldn’t explain why (technically) my pool doesn’t smell of chlorine. I run pretty hot - usually over 8ppm. My CYA is around 60. I figured the stabilizer was why but wanted to check here so I would understand better. What causes a pool to smell of chlorine?

 

[DrewLG]

What causes a pool to smell of chlorine?

@JoyfulNoise can probably answer with more precision, but as I understand it, the "chlorine" smell of commercial pools is really the smell of what's produced when chlorine reacts with particular bodily-fluid contaminants in the water.

Chlorine alone, at the very low concentration we use in pools, doesn't smell like anything.

 

[Bperry]

I think my pool is in very good shape chemically speaking. A friend came over today and sat by the pool and commented that my pool doesn’t smell like chlorine. My wife opined that it doesn’t because it’s a salt water pool. I explained the salt to chlorine process but I really couldn’t explain why (technically) my pool doesn’t smell of chlorine. I run pretty hot - usually over 8ppm. My CYA is around 60. I figured the stabilizer was why but wanted to check here so I would understand better. What causes a pool to smell of chlorine?

In addition to above, if you can smell the chlorine it means your water is reacting with stuff you don’t want in the water. Salt water pools have the same amount of chlorine as regular chlorine pools.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Chlorinated water that has no CCs by itself doesn’t have much of odor. You can only “smell” chlorinated water because the vapor/mist reacts with your mucous membranes and forms chloramines. Water that has high CCs is what that “chlorinated public pool” smell is. Mono- and dichloramine typically stays dissolved in water while nitrogen trichloride off-gases and has an extremely low odor threshold.

 

[Newdude]

Why doesn't my pool smell like chlorine

*username checks out.

 

[JJ_Tex]

I like running my pool hot and I hardly ever smell the chlorine. My MIL always talks about how much better my pool is for her skin since "I don't use chlorine".
I tried explaining it to her, but now I just smile and say thanks.