Household bleach can shock a pool — if it's the right kind.

Yes, but only plain, unscented, non-splashless bleach. Check the label. Anything with additives (thickeners, fragrances, surfactants) will mess with your water chemistry.

Regular bleach is just sodium hypochlorite at a lower concentration than pool shock — usually about 6% compared to 10–12%. So you need to use more to get the same effect. There are plenty of online calculators to figure out the dose for your pool size. I would not use it for a heavy algae bloom, but for routine shocking or bumping up chlorine after a rain, it works fine.

Just make sure it’s fresh. Bleach degrades over time, especially if it’s been sitting in a hot garage for months. If you are going to do this regularly, buy a pool-specific shock. But if you already have bleach and need to raise chlorine tonight, go ahead.

This is a “good in a pinch” move, not a long-term strategy.