Safe swimming with elevated chlorine

[fcfrey]

First of all – My post was not intended as a “flame”. If I offended anyone, my apologies.

My intent was to open a dialog on a subject that seems to be very illusive. No one appears to be willing to back up their belief with hard scientific facts or evidence from the people who have the knowledge to say one way or the other.

Of the 4 sites I posted all mentioned to maintain a 1-3 or 4 ppm FC. The Australian site went on to say not to enter the pool if the CL level was above 4mg/L, if my math is correct that equates to 4 ppm. Several other sites not sited in my post say 5 ppm max. Admittedly they do not mention CYA levels ---- Why is that??? Perhaps it doesn’t matter in the context of their statements. Perhaps they don’t know any better. I do not know.

Believe me ---- I want to swim every available opportunity, but if we have shocked recently and the cl level is still high, I find it difficult to justify, or convince my wife, that it is safe.

[Madty]

Hey- I did ask about high chlorine and looked at many websites. Above 30 was were it started to become dangerous as far as irrated eyes and respitory(sp) problems. At 50 there were more dangers. At 1000 you can die within 5 minutes. Kid swam at my house when it was 20. I told all of the parents of any unknown risks and let them decide. Most kids had goggles. The one's that didn't had hurting eyes- After a couple of hours and eyedrops, all was ok. There is soooo much different information out there. Today it was 16 and no one swam- I will not let anyone until we get down to 5 or so. I have turned off my swg and the cl only dropped 4 from yesterday. Also, most of the high cl problems dealt with indoor pools that aren't well ventilated. I remember as a kid on swimteams finding it hard to breathe in deep after swimming inside all day. It would almost feel like you had a sore throat, and it took your breath away.

[fcfrey]

Thanks Madty,

Sounds like your looking for the same thing I am ---- definitive answers!!

I sent an email to the 3c site I posted. We'll see if they answer. I will post the answer if I'm not black-balled.

As you can see I got red mark --- I guess for dissent --- I guess I better let that go!!

[CarlD]

Any member can post a black mark against another--click on the scales on the right and you can rate THAT person at that moment. It doesn't necessarily come down from the administration.

[waterbear]

If I let the number of negative reputations that I've gotten upset me I would not be an active member of this forum. I just got one for a posting in a thread about filter sand but I was the only one that was able to provide any advice that actually helped the starter of the thread even though my advice went againts the beliefs of some of the Mods and Ben. Everyone else that posted in the thread just just kept asking, 'why do you think you have this problem?' It's just a way for people to express their opinions...not a big deal! Getting back to the topic of this thread. There is a lot of conflicting info about chlorine levels. Until very recently 1 ppm was considered enough. Now in many areas 2 ppm is the minimun for a commercial pool becase of new research on kill times for some water born illnesses. As far as maximum levels, that depends on the local health departments. I believe Texas has an upper limit of 8 ppm and if I am not mistaken Hawaii is 5 ppm. None of these take into account the CYA levels which are ususally permissable up to 100 ppm and most recommend a level of about 40 for outdoor pools from what I have seen. One commen requirement is an ORP reading of 650 mv if an ORP sensor is used. It is a known fact that higher FC levels are necessary at higher CYA levels to obtain an ORP reading of 650 MV....much in line with Ben's 'best guess' CYA chart. IF htere is no CYA in a pool then the 650mv ORP reading is obtainable with 1-3 ppm FC. As soon as CYA is introduced into the water a higher FC level is needed to obtain the 650 mv reading.

[cygnusecks]

I doubt anyone will say "yes, definitely, swim in 20ppm, no problem, you'll never get sick". These kinds of absolutes rarely exist (notice I say rarely instead of never). Never say never, that's the first rule of lawyer club!!

[cheshamjim]

Someone posted this on another thread recently. Seems like a really good article on the relationship of CYA and chlorine. It explains ORP (oxidation reduction potential) and references academic studies on this subject.

I was curious earlier whether the bad effects of high chlorine were somehow reduced in a high CYA pool, so I started a thread on the subject.

I am a believer in Ben's Best Guess chart and dose my pool accordingly, but I also appreciate the questioning of fcfrey. It contributes and keeps us honest.

edit: ...and prompts a pretty good post from PoolDoc.

-Jim