Gunk on pool chlorinator

[Kurt Ullman]

I am getting some tannish, sticky gunk inside the chlorinator of my pool that gets onto the threads of the top of the chlorinator and hardens which makes getting the chlorinator open harder and harder. Any ideas as to what it is, how to stop it and how to get it off the threads?

[giroup01]

Trichlor tablets are fabricated by filling a mold with trichlor granules and compressing them. The process creates heat and makes the tablet want to adhere to the mold. This heat and sticking slows down the manufacturing.

What you're seeing is probably stearates or some other binder or lubricant, added to the mix to minimize adherence and allowing the manufacturing equipment to run faster.

Try switching brands.

[Kurt Ullman]

Thanks. Any suggestions on how to get the stuff that is already there and set-up lilke stone off?

[giroup01]

I wouldn't know, sorry, I don't use trichlor. I don't even want to suggest anything as I'd hate to give bad/wrong suggestions and have the chlorinator blow up. Perhaps you could ask Richard Kinch, a frequent contributor here and an authority on pool chemistry and chemicals. He's at

Best regards,

[Keith Williams]

Same thing happened to mine. I just threw the chlorinator away and used a floating chlorinator. The floater worked better anyway. I just replaced the floater every couple of years.