Quick question about swimming with 1.5 CC

[JuJuBee]

Is it o.k to swim in a pool that is crystal clear clean, no signs of any other problems except for a CC level that remains in the 1.0-2.0 ppm range? If we keep our chlorine level above 6-7 ppm (between 6 and 16 like we've been doing?) I realize the potential for problems with CC above .5 ppm. But we've kept them at bay this past week already.

If so, I'd be content waiting until after the holiday to wrestle down/out the CC, via my other post, with the levels of FC that aren't safe to swim in.

I see many more urgent needs on here and with everyone wanting their pools ready by Memorial Day, I think mine is safe enough to use so long as I shock after use and don't let my CC go higher by shocking at night as necessary? Is my logic correct?

[aylad]

A CC between 1-2 means that there's something still in your pool consuming your chlorine, and adding people goo to that mixture isn't going to help much. Besides, CC is usually what is responsible for stinging, red eyes.

That being said, you'll probably be okay to swim in it if you keep your eyes closed, and if nobody that's sick gets in the pool, but I would surely raise your chlorine levels at night to try to help bring that CC level down...

[JuJuBee]

Thank you, Aylad.

Then is it true to say that a CC level of 1.0 has the capability to affect eyes (stinging) just as much as a CC level of, say for example, 7.0? Or is it less likely to create the same magnitude of problems a level of 7.0 will?

I have been adding several gallons every night for the past week. (6 gallons yesterday alone) and the CC never goes below 1.0. I plan on continuing to add the shock dose each evening in hopes it goes away - just wondering how to deal with swimming this weekend if it doesn't.

As per

. . . but I would surely raise your chlorine levels at night to try to help bring that CC level down. . .

You can see my efforts in unsuccessfully doing that by clicking on this link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/50351313@N03/7260036226/

[chem geek]

There are different kinds of CC and they are not all irritating. Municipal water supplies are now often chloraminated so have monochloramine at around 1 ppm which measures as CC but is not irritating. However, in a pool with chlorine that kind of CC won't persist and should get oxidized within hours. If the CC were a chlorourea, this too would not be irritating and would be fairly persistent. This is sometimes seen in indoor pools. It usually isn't seen much in outdoor pools exposed to sunlight because the UV in sunlight reacts with chlorine to create hydroxyl radicals which are powerful oxidizers. If you are not exposing your pool to sunlight, say because you are using a dark or mostly opaque cover, I suggest you uncover the pool and see if exposure to sunlight helps.