How does chlorine kill bacteria?

can anyone explain to me -

most pools use chlorine to decontaminate the water, and maintain a ph of 7.2 - 7.6. but most bacteria thrive in that ph range, so how then does the chlorine kill the bacteria? its interesting to note that as the ph creeps above 8 the efficiecny of the chlorine's bacteria fighting powers drops. you must use 2 or 3 times the chlorine to keep the pool free of bacteria at ph levels of above 8.

so chlorine is most efficient as killing bacteria at a ph of about 7.5, which - interestingly enough - just happens to be the overall ph of a healthy body.

so, what is the mechanism by which chlorine kills the bacteria? and further, does the same mechanism apply to Iodine as a bacteria killer? Tweet